The Wrong Man

Chapter 8

My phone buzzes a few times after I have finished my schoolwork for the day. And when I put away my things, I realize that Madison is trying to message me about a hangout. I check my schedule for this week before I reply to her, asking where and when she wants to hang out with me.

She replies instantly and says that she wants to hang out at the entertainment center tomorrow in the morning so we can have plenty of time together.

I agree to go and contemplate whether or not I should tell Joshua since we rarely to never say where we’re going. I did at first out of habit but it took me a few weeks to adjust to his lifestyle. And after thinking about what he said before, I go against telling him since he told me that I didn’t need to if it isn’t about work.

***

I set my calendar for the hangout tomorrow and grab my gym bag to go work out for a bit.

The next day comes and I wake a bit too early but leave the mansion anyway, taking advantage of the early morning to get some errands done. My driver, who I recently found out is named Jiden, takes me to several destinations so I can get my errands done before taking me to the entertainment center to meet Madison.

And, of course, he gets out to escort me inside and guard me since the other bodyguards are busy.

I hope Madison doesn’t question this.

“Seraphine!” Madison walks over, waving at me.

I instinctively place my hand in front of Jiden to stop him from moving and wave back to Madison. “Hey!”

Madison’s gaze looks up at Jiden then back at me, still smiling. “I’m glad to see that you’re alright. Did you get here okay?”

“It wasn’t that long of a drive so yeah, I did. How about you?” It was but I don’t need to tell her that.

“Ugh, my boyfriend had to stop by a few places and almost made me late.” Madison groans.

“At least, you’re here now. Want to sit somewhere?”

“Yes, my feet are killing me and we haven’t even started yet.”

I laugh a little and follow Madison to an empty booth at the back.

I guess she’s not going to ask about Jiden. That’s relieving to know but it’s also making me nervous. What is she thinking? Is she judging me for having a bodyguard? I know she’s not like that but I can’t stand the suspense.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Madison asks. I mutter my response under my breath, but, not satisfied with that, she grabs her cup and sips her drink loudly as she tries to draw my attention from my phone, grinning complacently when I finally look up to see her. "Why did you decide to move so far from me? I never thought I would see the day that my best friend moves to another state to be with a guy." She pretends to be sad. "At least, he's hot..."

My new life has me so busy that I’m on my phone more often.

I giggle and put my phone down. "Sorry about that."

"I still wonder why that guy chose to live in such a big house for two people."

"We don’t live alone yet, we live with his parents. But, despite that, it’s the kind of house he loves to live in and knowing I’m growing fond of it makes him relieved that I feel more at home. Regardless his choice to live in an opulent house as a living proof that he can have anything he wants, he believes nothing will never buy his happiness. He loves the house just as he loves any other home. It’s really nice to see the staff that he recently hired keeping his residence a secret and respecting our wishes. His house has always meant a lot to him and he loves it even more now that he lives with me. He finds it to be quite perfect."

Sorry, Madison. I had to lie a little to make it seem like we're actually living a life as an average married couple.

"How long have you and your guy been together? A while?” Madison asks. “Usually, deciding to live together take time to fully settle on. My boyfriend and I are perfectly fine living together in the future. We have no second thoughts about the idea. We're ready to move in after we graduate since we both saved up enough to buy our own place. I mean, we have been dating for a few years now and still haven't broken up for any stupid reason. He works constantly away from home and I work close to home. We agreed that I would be lonely for a while if we move in together immediately so we're going to wait until we graduate. There's no reason to rush if we're still in high school. We're young still so..."

Didn’t you just talk about what it would be like to marry him last night?

"Let's be honest: You'll miss all your friends once you move with him. He wants to live somewhere far, right? Close to his grandma's house?"

"Yeah, he wants to take care of her after he graduates. I want to help him but I won't be able to see you for a while." Madison pouts. "And I don't want you to feel like he's my top priority. I just―"

"It's okay, Madison." I smile reassuringly at her. "You can do whatever you want with the person you love. I have my hands busy with my new life anyway. You should enjoy yours with him. I completely understand."

"Will your―" She pauses, looking away, "―never mind." She looks back at me. "How is it so far? The new living arrangements. I know I asked ten thousand times but, seriously, how is it?"

"It's pretty good." Was she going to ask about my parents?

"I wish I can meet him but I don't want to intervene."

"You won't intervene. He's just a very picky person with people he meets." It's not a complete lie. He is kind of picky.

"Even so, I can't drive that far to meet him. Maybe one day."

I nod. "Yeah, one day."

"Anywho," Madison slides her water cup to the side and taps her finger on the table, "Did you two finally have your first argument in that house. Did living together get stressful for the two of you?"

"No," I say, shaking my head, adding on in a low voice, "we haven't argued yet. We sleep in separate rooms, work at different times, and have already adjusted to one another. Our mar―" I clear my throat, "―our relationship is going steady."

It's still weird to say the word casually.

"I envy you. I want to live in a life like that."

No, you don't.

"Will he be following us all day?" Madison asks, pointing to Jiden.

"Uh," I look at Jiden, "will you?"

Jiden looks down at me, shrugging. "Depends on you. I can go back to the car if you want or stay here to watch your stuff."

"Can you stay here and watch our stuff? I don't want to lose anything."

"Sure thing." He nods.

"I wish I had a bodyguard like him," Madison says.

"Why?" I ask.

"He's so reliable."

"Yeah, he is."