The Bodyguard

chapter 11

Two weeks had passed since the barbecue. Somehow, life at Alexander's family's house had started feeling normal. I had settled into a routine.

Mornings meant breakfast with Alexander and his parents. Days were usually spent helping around the property or staying inside whenever Alexander had work to handle. Evenings were quieter. Sometimes Alexander and I watched television together, Sometimes we'd sit on the porch and talk, and sometimes we simply existed in the same room without saying much at all.

The strangest part was how comfortable I'd become. I wasn't used to staying anywhere long enough to have a routine. I wasn't used to people asking me how I slept, whether I wanted coffee, or what I wanted for dinner.

I definitely wasn't used to someone saving the last pancake for me. But I was getting used to it.nMaybe that was dangerous.

"Alexander!" His grandmother's voice echoed through the house.

I nearly dropped my coffee.

"She's here." Alexander looked up from his phone.

"Your grandmother?" I raised an eyebrow

"Unfortunately." He nodded.

"She seems nice." I laughed.

"She is." He says..

"Then why do you look terrified?" I ask.

"Because I know her." He deadpans.

His grandmother appeared in the doorway carrying a small velvet box.

"There you are.” She smiled when she saw us.

"Grandma." Alexander immediately looked at the box.

"What?" She asks.

"What's in the box?" Alexander had a feeling he knew.

"Nothing." She smiled innocently.

"You're a terrible liar." He stared at her.

"I'm an excellent liar." She walked into the room.

I tried not to laugh. She sat down across from us and placed the box on the table.

"Grandma." Alexander stared at it.

"Hannah, sweetheart, come sit beside me." She ignored him.

I glanced at Alexander. He shook his head slightly. I had no idea what was happening, but I sat beside her. She opened the velvet box.bInside was a beautiful diamond ring.

"Oh." I stared at it.

"Here we go." Alexander rubbed his forehead.

"This ring has been in our family for generations." His grandmother picked up the ring.

I looked at Alexander. He looked like he wanted to disappear.

"It belonged to my grandmother," she continued. "Then my mother. Then me." She smiled.

"And now it's time for the next generation." My eyes widened.

"Alexander..." I spoke softly.

"Don't." He said to his grandmother.

His grandmother smiled. My face went hot. She held the ring toward me. "Try it on." She says.

"I'm sorry?" I stared at her.

"Try it." She says.

"Grandma," Alexander said.

"What?" She asks.

"You can't just give her the family ring." He states.

"Why not?" She asks pointedly.

"Because we're not..." He stopped. I looked at him.

"Not what?" His grandmother's eyes narrowed. "Not what?" She repeats.

"Nothing." Alexander cleared his throat.

"Exactly." His grandmother smiled.

She handed me the ring. I hesitated before taking it. The diamond caught the sunlight coming through the window. It was beautiful. Too beautiful. I slipped it onto my finger. It fit perfectly.

"Oh, look at that." His grandmother gasped.

"That's... actually perfect." I stared at my hand.

Alexander looked at the ring. Then at me. His expression changed. Just slightly. His grandmother noticed. Of course she did.

"Well?" She says.

"Well what?" Alexander looked at her.

"Doesn't she look beautiful?" She asks.

"Yeah." He looked at me again. "She does.” His voice was quiet. My heart skipped.

"I knew it." His grandmother smiled.

"Knew what?" I asked.

"That the ring would fit." She says.

"Grandma, you're not seriously expecting me to propose right now." Alexander stood.

"Why not?" She shrugged.

"Because we're not ready." He says.

"How long do you intend to wait?" She looked at him.

"Maybe you should give it back to her." I slowly removed the ring to give it to Alexander.

"No." His grandmother shook her head. "Keep it.” She closed my fingers around it.

"I can't." My eyes widened.

"You can." She says holding my hand.

"Really, I shouldn't." I try to reason.

"Between you and me, sweetheart, I think that boy has been waiting for an excuse to propose." She leaned closer. I nearly choked.

"Grandma!" Alexander's face turned red. "She's trying to embarrass me." He mutters.

"Someone has to." His grandmother laughed.

I looked at Alexander. He looked at me. Neither of us knew what to say. Then the front door opened. His mother walked into the room. She stopped when she saw the ring on my finger.

"Oh my goodness." Her eyes widened.

"Mom, don't." He says.

"Did he finally do it?" She ignored him.

"No!" Alexander exclaimed.

"Not yet?" His mother looked disappointed.

"Mom!" He yells. I covered my mouth to hide my laughter.

"I'm working on it." His grandmother smiled proudly.

"Good.” His mother immediately sat beside her.

"You two are unbelievable." Alexander stared at both women.

"Hannah, sweetheart, you should keep the ring on." His mother looked at me.

"I don't think that's a good idea." I looked down at it.

"Nonsense." She smiled. "It looks perfect on you." She gushes.

I looked at Alexander. He was staring at the ring. Then at me. There was something in his eyes that made my stomach twist. Something that didn't feel fake.bI quickly looked away.

"I told you." His grandmother leaned toward his mother.

"I know." She says..

They exchanged a satisfied smile. I had a feeling they were planning something. I wasn't sure Alexander could save either of us from it. I escaped to the kitchen under the excuse of making coffee. Honestly, I just needed a moment to breathe.bThe conversation in the living room had become too much.

A family ring and marriage proposals. I wasn't prepared for any of it. I poured coffee into a mug and leaned against the counter. I could still feel the ring on my finger. I looked down at it. It was beautiful.nBut it didn't belong to me. At least, it shouldn't. I started to remove it.

Then I heard voices coming from the hallway. Alexander and his grandmother.

I froze.

"I don't understand why you're waiting," his grandmother said. I stopped moving.

"Grandma..." Alexander sighed.

"No. Don't 'Grandma' me." She says firmly. I smiled faintly. She was definitely not afraid of him. "You're in love with her." She states.

My smile disappeared. I held my breath. There was a long silence.

"It's complicated." Alexander spoke.

"Love usually is." She says.

"You don't understand." He sighs.

"I understand more than you think." She scolds him.

I stepped closer to the kitchen doorway. I shouldn't have been listening. But I couldn't make myself walk away.

"That girl looks at you like she trusts you." She says. Alexander was silent. "And you look at her like she's already yours." His grandmother continued. My heart started pounding.

"She's not mine," he finally said.

"Why not?" She questions him.

"Because this isn't that simple." He states.

"Then make it simple." She says.

"Grandma, there's a lot she doesn't know." He sighed. My stomach tightened.

"Then tell her." She says.

"I can't." He says.

"Why?" She asks..

"Because if she knew, she might leave." He says softly. My heart sank. I stared at the doorway.

Leave? He thought I might leave? His grandmother's voice softened.

"Alexander, if you love her, you can't keep hiding behind excuses forever." She states..

I looked down at the ring. Love. She had said love. Alexander hadn't denied it. He hadn't said he didn't love me. My chest felt strangely tight.

"I'm not telling you to rush her." His grandmother spoke again.

"Then what are you telling me?" He asks.

"Tell her how you feel." She says.

Silence.

"You make it sound easy." Alexander laughed quietly

"It is." She says.

"No, it isn't." He replies back.

"Why?" She questions him.

"Because she's not just some woman I met." He says. My breath caught. Alexander continued. "She's been through things most people couldn't survive." I closed my eyes. "She's finally starting to trust me. I don't want to do anything that could make her feel trapped." His voice softened.

I swallowed hard. His grandmother was quiet for a moment.

"So you're afraid." She said, Alexander didn't answer. "You're afraid she'll say no." Still nothing. I heard his grandmother laugh softly. "My stubborn grandson." She sighs.

Then footsteps started moving toward the kitchen. I quickly stepped away from the doorway. I grabbed my coffee and pretended to be looking through the cabinets. Alexander walked in. He stopped when he saw me.

"Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." His eyes moved toward my hand. The ring was still there.

"You kept it on." He says.

"I forgot." I looked down.

"Right." He smiled.

I could tell he didn't believe me. His grandmother walked in behind him. She looked at me. Then at Alexander. Then at the ring.

"I'll leave you two alone." She smiled.

"Grandma—" He groans.

She walked away before he could finish.

"She really doesn't listen, does she?" I laughed nervously.

"Never." He says softly.

There was an awkward silence. I took a sip of coffee.

"Alexander?" I ask.

"Yeah?" He responds..

"Do you really think I might leave?" I looked at him. His expression changed. He knew exactly what I was talking about.

"You heard us." He says.

"Some of it." I nodded.

"I shouldn't have listened." He looked away. "You weren't supposed to hear that." He sighed.

"I'm sorry." I say softly..

"Don't apologize." He looked back at me.

"Would you really be upset if I left?" I stared at him.

"I'd be more than upset." His jaw tightened.

"Why?" My heart skipped.

"Because somewhere along the way, this stopped feeling like an assignment." He stepped closer. I couldn't breathe. He looked down at the ring on my finger. Then back into my eyes. "I just don't know what happens when the assignment ends." He replies softly.

Neither did I. For a moment, we stood there in silence.

"Alexander! Hannah! Come look at the wedding photos!" His mother called from the other room.

"Oh my God." I closed my eyes. Romantic moment ruined.

"We're never going to survive this family." Alexander laughed.

"Maybe not." I laugh.

He smiled and for the first time, I didn't know whether I was afraid of the family discovering our secret or afraid of what would happen when we finally had to admit there was no secret left between us.