Chapter 10: Seperation Anxiety
I could hear Nari's alarm go off in the next room loudly. A tired groan and a crash followed. I jumped out of my bed and out of my room without hesitation. I threw her door open and flicked the light on to find Nari on the floor in a heap of blankets and a mess of long black hair.
"Are you okay?" I offered her a hand but she was too busy shielding her eyes from the lights.
"Mm fine." She grumbled.
I picked her up off the floor and laid her down on the bed.
"Don't put me back in bed unless you want me to go to sleep."
"You need adequate sleep for your health."
"Have you ever heard of 'school'? There is no such thing as 'adequate sleep'." She sat up and rubbed at her eyes roughly.
"I was informed that I was to keep you safe at all times. You not getting sleep is dangerous in the long run."
"Okay, Dad." She stood up shakily and rummaged through her drawers.
"What am I supposed to do while you are at school. I can't keep you safe if I'm here and you're there."
"You're going to school, duh. We both have to suffer." She pulled out a ripped dress and shrugged before pulling off her tank top.
My face heated up and I swung around. "I could use some warning next time."
"Oh shit. I have skin. Oooo!" She mocked.
"That's not funny."
"It is to me. You can turn around now."
I turned around to find her in the shredded, red dress and black ripped tights. She was in the process of pulling on beat up combat boots.
"How are your clothes still in one piece?"
"I like it like this though." She looked down at her outfit with confusion.
"It's cold outside. It's November."
"And I need to scream 'punk'."
"What even is that?"
"You'll find out when my friends come over after school for practice." She smiled mischievously.
"You're father said he was enrolling me in school. I'm not sure how I feel about that." I rubbed my arm subconsciously.
"Well, a lot of kids complain about it,but I'm glad we have it. Not everyone does. You'll do fine." She picked up an old hair brush and worked on untangling her rat nest of a head.
"What's it like?"
She glanced over from the mirror with a confused look. "You've never been to school?"
I went to training camp. Not school. "You can say that."
"It can be okay. I like learning. It's just the people there are pretty shitty."
Looking back on my orders, I remembered Mr. Yung had said Nari had assholes that picked on her, but she wouldn't tell him about it. "I heard about bullies."
She turned back to the mirror to avoid my statement. "Yeah, I don't have them. I'm too cool for school." She picked at her hair. "Or bullies."
"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
She frowned into her mirror. "I'm not hungry but I can find something for you though. What do you want, Nick?"
"You need to eat."
"I'm fine. I said I wasn't hungry. I'll just eat lunch" She said as she smeared eyeliner on her eyes.
"Do you do that often?" If she didn't normally eat breakfast, what is stopping her from eating lunch or dinner?
"Usually, I don't have time to eat and get ready so I just choose to get ready." She yelped when she stabbed herself in the eye.
"Why don't you just wake up sooner?" Where was her logic?
"Do you see how early I already wake up? I'm not wasting anymore time I could use to sleep."
She carefully applied subtle lipstick and slung her book bag over her shoulder.
"You should go back to bed, Nick. I have to catch the bus."
"I need to come with you to make sure you get on the bus safely."
"Are you some kind of body guard my dad hired?" She grinned.
"He didn't tell you?" My orders were no laughing matter.
She eyed me sideways with concern. "What didn't he tell me?"
I straightened out as much as I could and my face grew stern. Just the way I was trained when reciting orders. "My orders were to protect you at all costs. I am Nick, your protector.
"Is this some kind of joke?" She didn't look amused.
"I can assure you this is no joke." My posture didn't relax.
"Where did you come from?" She whispered nervously.
"The ca-" I was cut off by the sound of a loud engine and a school bus outside.
"Oh shit! We will definitely be having a chat after school."
With that, she hurried out the door and onto the bus. I waited in the doorway and watched as the bus drove off. She turned to look at me from her seat in her foggy window. I waved and she gave a small wave back. A look of strong concern was the last I would see of her for the next few hours.
I lay in my bed clutching my stomach in intense pain. Sweat pooled around me. Staying away from her meant I was going against orders. Going against orders meant going against programming. Going against programming meant excruciating pain.
Only six more hours.
I hugged the toilet as I lay on the ground. I had been throwing up for the past thirty minutes.
Mr. Yung had left for work hours ago. I was home alone in agony. The floor tiles were no longer cool to the touch. My fever was rising again. At least they can't hear my bitching.
Only two hours to go.
I dragged my body across the carpet to the sofa. The material rubbed my skin raw. That was the least of my worries. I had spent the past eight hours vomiting and praying to whatever God that was allowing this to happen.
The front door opened and I heard Nari's voice travel through the house.
"Nick, where are you?"
"Sofa!" My words were slurred.
She rushed into the room and immediately dropped her things.
"Oh shit! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Her voice was panicked.
""I had to go against my orders." Seeing her almost entirely dissipated all my pain. She was safe with me.
"We really need to talk about that fucking bodyguard shit." She patted my forehead with a rag from the table.
I sat up on my elbows. "What would you like to talk about?"
She sat next to me on the couch. "Tell me everything. I want to know about you. Where you're from, who you are, why you're here, and anything else you need to tell me."
I cleared my throat and stood up from the couch. Anytime the contract is discussed, it is to be professionally.
"My name is Nick McKinnley. I am from Project Flag. I was trained as a soldier. I know how to attack, disarm, and kill anyone you would want me to. I am highly trained in ranged weapons but I am above average in knives. We are written into contracts. That is our lively hood. We are the contract. Whoever holds the contract is in complete control of me. I have been given orders to protect you at all costs. Failure to follow through with my orders leads to excruciating pains as punishment. I am, for lack of a better word, a slave. A soldier."
Nari's jaw hung down in shock. "I can't own a human being. What has my dad done?"
"Would you like for me to recite the rules of the contract?"
She held her head in both hands and mumbled under her breath. She shook her head after a moment.
"Are you certain?"
"We can go over it later. This is too much." She hugged herself tightly.
"Have I upset you?" She was definitely upset.
"No. I just can't believe that my dad lied to me. He said he was going to foster a kid. Not buy a slave."
My brow furrowed. "You can just call me 'Nick', you know. Nothing has really changed. I just need to make sure you don't leave me again. I need to go to school with you from now on."
She nodded. "I'll do it today. Shit, we can do it right now if you want."
"I would like that. Before we do, do you want something to eat?" She could lie to me about having eaten lunch.
"I'm fine. I don't feel hungry."
"That wasn't really a question. You will eat." I crossed my arms. I am to keep her safe. Health is a major part of that.
She glared at me from under her hair. "I said I wasn't hungry."
"And my orders are to keep you safe and healthy. You will eat. What do you want?"
She sighed dramatically, "I'll make something for us."
"I said I would do it."
"You just need to protect me, not treat me like a princess."
"I would have to do that if you command it."
She raised a brow. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"I command you to let me take care of you while you take care of me." She grinned smugly.
I stared at her in confusion. "I shall. But why do you want to do that?"
"Because we're family from now on."