Shadows of a Broken Bond

Welcome to your New Home

(Kamile)

I lean into his touch, surprised by how good it feels. My body is reacting to him in a way I only thought would react to my Xander. I blink a few times, snapping myself out of everything.

“I… uh… I’m hungry. Would you like to have lunch?” I asked him. He looked at me for a few seconds and I wondered what was going through his mind.

“Okay” he says. I looked around, not knowing where to go for a second.

“They have good steaks here” I said, pointing to a restaurant and he nods. We go in, and we’re greeted by a server who takes us to a booth.

“I’m Stefany and I will be your waitress for today. May I start you with something to drink?” the waitress asked.

“I will have a virgin piña colada” I said.

“I will have a sweet tea with lemon”, Xander said.

“Of course. I will give you a few minutes to look at the menu”, she said, before leaving.

“What would you like for an appetizer?” I asked Xander.

“How about… the wings, mozzarella ticks, and blooming onion” he said.

“A man after my own heart. Sounds good”, I smiled. When the waitress came back, we ordered our appetizers and then our main food before she left.

“Tell me a little about you. I need to know who I’m working for”, Xander said.

“What would you like to know?” I asked, taking a sip of my piña colada.

“Anything. Everything. To be your personal bodyguard I need to know about you” he said.

“Fair enough. Well, I’m twenty three, my favorite color is purple, my favorite fruit is strawberries. I love chocolate. I graduated from college six months ago, and I’m an only child” I said. He takes a sip of his sweet tea just as the waitress comes back with our appetizers. When she leaves, I continue to talk, telling him my likes and dislikes.

“Earlier, you talked about your parents in a past tense”, Xander says carefully.

“My parents died in an accident when I was seventeen. They left everything to me, including the company” I said truthfully.

“Wait, you have been running the company since you were seventeen?” he asked, a bit surprised, and I nodded.

“Yes, since I was little I always went to the company after school and learned what my parents were doing. When I was eight years old they stopped taking me to the office and I spent a few years alone, well, almost alone. I had a friend, but a couple of years later…” I trailed off as my childhood friend and crush Xander’s face popped in my head.

“Anyway, after a couple of years, I started going back to the company, but I was shown by my parents' personal assistant what they were doing. I hardly spent much time with my parents after that. They were usually working or going out seeing the world. The night before they died, we went out to eat and, for the first time in years, I felt like we were a family. We laughed, talked, danced, and just had fun. The next day, my parents' personal assistant and police showed up at my school and took me out. That’s when I learned my parents died in a car accident”, I said.

“I’m sorry” Xander said.

“Thanks” I said.

“So, do you have other family members? I know you said you were an only child”, Xander says.

“I am, and I do have an uncle and aunt. They have three children. I don’t speak to them, and they don’t speak to me. I haven’t seen them in years” I said truthfully. Our food finally arrives, and we eat while having small conversations.

“You said you liked to cook?” Xander asks.

“Yes, I was thinking about opening my own restaurant but then my parents died. So I took over the company and the mall instead”, I said and he nods in understanding.

“Will you open your own restaurant?” he asked.

“I don’t know” I said honestly. I haven’t thought of opening a restaurant in a long time. This was my best friend and crush’s idea because he liked my cooking. We finish eating without having any dessert and head out to the parking lot. We get in the car and I head home.

“Let’s take your stuff home. I have to go grocery shopping. You can either come with me or stay home”. I told him.

“I’ll join you” he said, and I nodded. We arrive at the gate and I put in my code followed by my fingerprint.

“The code is 1023. I will add your fingerprint to the database”, I tell Xander and he nods. I pulled up to the house and parked.

“How many people live here?” he asks as he gets out and looks at the house.

“Now, just you and me. I have a cleaning crew who come once a week. They usually come on Thursday mornings before I leave for work. The same people come every week and never bring anyone new unless I approve it” I tell him and he nods. I unlocked the door and opened it, walking in.

“Welcome to your new home, Xander Blackwood”, I smiled. He stands at the door for a few seconds just looking around.

“Don’t you like it?” I asked, a bit nervous.

“It’s huge,” he says.

“I know, but it’s home” I said, and he nodded.

“It’s beautiful” he says. I looked up only to see him looking at me and I couldn’t help but blush.

“My room is on the fourth floor, and it's the first door on the left. There are rooms on the second and third floors and there are two more rooms on the same floor as mine. Which floor would you like?” I asked.

“I’m your personal bodyguard. I need to be close, so I’ll take one on your floor” he said, and I nodded.

“Okay, let me help you with that” I said, and grabbed some of his bags. We went up to the third floor.

“As I said, this is my room. This is the second largest room” I said, opening the door to the room across from mine.

“That one is the third largest room” I said, pointing to the last door to the right.

“I’ll take this one” he said, going to the room across from mine. I placed the bags on his bed as he looked around.

“The double doors are the walking closet, and that door is the bathroom. There are fresh towels in the closet. If you don’t like something, then we can change it”, I told him. I wanted to make sure everything was to his liking. After all, he's the first person ever moving in besides me.

“Everything is great” he said. He looked at me and I felt the heat of his gaze going up and down my body. Goosepumbs rose all over my body.

“Okay, well... umm... I’m going to go change before we go grocery shopping”, I said, before walking out of his room to mine across the hall.

***