I’d spent years fighting my mother for my independence. When she hired a bodyguard, I never expected to fall in love with him. But just as I began trusting him, a stranger appeared…
“You didn’t speak to him, did you?”
I lowered my fork.
“Speak to who, Mom?”
“The man outside your college.”
I hadn’t mentioned a man.
“Speak to who, Mom?”
My mother glanced at Marlon, who sat across from me.
He looked down at his plate.
“How do you know someone approached me?” I asked.
Mom reached for her glass.
He looked down at his plate.
“Marlon mentioned it.”
“Then why didn’t he tell me he’d reported it?”
Neither answered.
I’d spent three months believing Marlon was there to keep me safe.
Now I wondered what he’d been telling my mother when I wasn’t around.
“Marlon mentioned it.”
***
Three months earlier, I’d turned 20.
My mother, Valerie, celebrated by arriving at my apartment with a stranger.
“Marisa, this is Marlon. He’ll be staying close to you for a while.”
I looked at him.
Three months earlier, I’d turned 20.
“Does he come with a return policy?”
Marlon almost smiled.
Mom didn’t.
“He’s your bodyguard. I need you to take this seriously.”
“Does he come with a return policy?”
“No, he isn’t my bodyguard, Mom.”
She walked inside.
Mom had never been good at accepting that I could make my own decisions.
She’d questioned my clothes, friends, and boyfriends for years. Even after I moved out, she called several times a day.
“No, he isn’t my bodyguard, Mom.”
“What’s happened now?” I asked.
“This isn’t about you being irresponsible, Marisa.”
“Then what’s it about?”
She hesitated.
What happened next changed everything… FULL STORY on the next page.
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