"I have to what?"

Several miles out of town in a quiet, boring suburb with quiet, boring people in a lavish and pristine house, a young woman was fuming at what her father had just told her.

"You're going to be accompanied by a new guard starting Monday. Now, he's going to be going with you to classes and whatever it is you do after until you get home and I better not hear anything about you being uncooperative or I swear to God I'll have you enrolled in an online university."

The young woman, about twenty years old (although with her height she could be mistaken for much younger) with long dark hair sat at her spot at their kitchen table, her breakfast forgotten as her father told her the news. It was much too early for this and she couldn't believe the man had gone and got her another one. And then he had to nerve to go back to reading the paper and checking his phone after being alerted to a new email.

This was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. How could he- She ran her fingers through her still-disheveled hair. "I don't need another guard," she forced out through gritted teeth, her other hand gripping the edge of the table so hard her nails would probably leave an impression.

Her father continued to scroll through his phone, not even looking up at her. He figured he would get this reaction from her and he simply didn't have time for it this time. "Well, honey, you don't exactly get to decide that. Until they catch that guy and I feel it's safe-"

"But nothing's even happened! Why should I have to deal with another damn babysitter because you're paranoid!"

Clove's mother chose this time to enter the kitchen, coffee mug in hand, and rolled her eyes. "Clove, stop being so dramatic and finish your breakfast, please," she said with a sigh and walked over to the fridge.

Clove turned to glare at her mother, her dark hair whipping behind her. "I can't believe you're going along with this, too. Aren't you tired of always having someone watching your every move? When are we finally going to go back to living like normal?" Clove slumped back into her chair dramatically and lazily pushed the eggs on her plate around with her fork.

It felt like this nightmare was never going to end. It had been a few months since the whole incident sparking this entire thing had happened and she was tired of feeling so caged in. At the beginning of the summer right after it happened, there were several guards at her house around the clock. And she couldn't even think about going anywhere without a chauffeur and bodyguard with her at all times. She hated this. Hated having someone always there. Hated someone watching her every move and reporting it to her parents. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why did she have to be on such a short leash? She was so embarrassed that she hadn't told her friends for two weeks why she couldn't go out with them. She attributed it to being sick but eventually they were suspicious.

Her mother let out an exasperated sound and joined them at the table a few moments later. "It won't be for very long, dear. Just think of how lucky you are that your father can afford such measures to keep you safe."

"Safe from what though? It's been over two months," she mumbled before taking a small bite of her toast. "I don't get why you and dad are still so worried."

"It's just a precaution," her father finally answered, looking up from his phone and setting the paper down beside him. A stern expression then appeared on his features and he folded his hands in front of him. He looked as though he was trying to explain something to a small child. "And until we get the all-clear, you will behave with this one. No more terrorizing whoever you get or disappearing on them, young lady. Understood?"

Clove didn't rush to answer. She smirked slightly as she thought back on how she treated her last three guards and "terrorizing" wasn't a completely inaccurate word to use. She had been bitter, cruel, and sometimes completely unreasonable with those her father had hired to protect her. The last one she had, she had managed to disappear on him for several hours, leading him on a wild goose chase until she got several calls from her father and quite the homecoming later that night. She had never seen her father's face get so red. Her mother wouldn't even speak or look at her. She thought it would send a clear message that she could manage on her own, even make the guards look incompetent, but her father refused to give in to her. Her punishment was that she was technically on lockdown for an entire week.

"Fine..." she dragged out reluctantly before looking down and playing with her food again. She'd have to be craftier if she was going to stay under her father's radar this time. Hopefully this new one would be weak-minded and easily manipulated.

Her father seemed to be satisfied with her answer and gathered his things. "Good. Now I'll see you both later tonight. Have a good day, be safe," he told them as he moved around the table and kissed the top of both their heads. Clove didn't respond to the gesture, keeping her narrowed gaze locked on what was left of her breakfast.

Her mother bid her husband goodbye and when he was gone, focused her attention on her daughter, who currently looked as though she was about to destroy whatever food was left on her plate. "You really should stop giving him such a hard time. He's only doing what he thinks is best for this family."

"I'm giving him a hard time?" Clove asked, finally looking up. "And what about me? I haven't been able to do anything all summer and now I have to go to school with some gross middle-aged guy following me around? That's gonna be great, mom. Just how I pictured the beginning of the year to start."

Her mother rolled her eyes once more and took a sip of her coffee. "There you go again, being dramatic. And you'll see, it's not gonna be so bad. It's not like he's going to sit next to you in all your classes or you're going to be attached to each other with handcuffs. They're trained to be discreet and I'm sure you're making a big deal over nothing. You should be grateful your father is still letting you attend school this semester with all this going on," she added, giving her daughter a pointed look.

Clove's dark green eyes widened. She had never even considered that. If she thought she was miserable over the summer, she couldn't imagine how much worse it would be being stuck at home while all her friends were in class. But she still wasn't crazy about her current situation.

Her mother had always said she inherited her stubbornness from her father so chances weren't good that her whining would convince him. She'd either have to behave and wait this whole thing out, however long that may take, or really go back to the drawing board and find some loophole in which she could make her new bodyguard's job a living hell. He was probably going to be another guy around her father's age so how difficult could it be?

"See? It could be worse. Now, finish your breakfast. You have to get ready soon. We're going to go meet him for lunch," he mother announced, standing up and putting her mug in the stainless steel sink.

Clove raised a brow. "We just had breakfast and we're going to meet dad for lunch?" They hadn't met her father for lunch on a Saturday since she was twelve.

Her mother began to walk toward her on her way out of the kitchen. "No, dear. We're going to meet your new guard for lunch. Your father's already met him; now it's our turn, mostly for yours and his sake. That way it's less awkward when he goes with you to school on Monday."

Clove had taken a forkful of hash browns into her mouth and when her mother clarified what she had meant, she dropped her fork and almost choked. She coughed as she tried to clear her throat, her eyes watering slightly.

"We're meeting him today? Why didn't Dad say anything?" she questioned, her voice still sounding a little strained before she took a drink of her juice.

"He must have forgot or didn't feel like starting that whole ordeal with you. He has to go in to work today for a meeting. He told me last night anyway. So as soon as your done with that, go shower and get ready. I know it takes you like three hours so get started" she told her daughter, running her fingers through the girl's hair as she passed and made her way up the grand staircase to the second floor.

Once she was gone, Clove sat there for a moment at the table, thinking about all that had happened in such a short amount of time. She looked down at what was left on her plate and frowned. She wasn't even hungry anymore.

Wonderful. Just Wonderful.