“Very good, Lara!” Professor Blake exclaimed.
As I looked over my shoulder and gave Lara a thumbs up, I caught sight of Brian standing guard out in the hall, and again, my blood began to boil as I reminded myself that my father, the one who was so overly concerned with my safety, had never even met Dominic. Come to think of it, my father had never made the time to come to campus and see what was going on or even offer to come see me. Instead, every year he’d assign one of his minions to pack up the car, drive me to school, and drop me off in my dorm room, and the night before he’d come in and hand over cash, one new credit card for all my school expenses, and another one “for fun,” he’d say with a wink and a nod, then I’d roll my eyes and tuck the cards in my wallet. It became our yearly ritual.
Sometimes during the year, I’d fly to New York and go on a huge shopping spree just to see what he’d say when he got the bill, but he never said anything; n
ot even when I spent over $15,000 on clothes and shoes in one trip to Dior. I’m not sure he even noticed.
“What do you think, Ava? Do you agree with Jessie?” Professor Blake’s voice cut through my thoughts, pulling me away from my family and bringing me back to the classroom.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” I apologized as I turned beet red from the embarrassment of being caught off guard.
“Ah ha, I see,” he nodded and then rephrased the question. “What is the base definition of Stockholm Syndrome? What makes it so powerful?”
“That the victim finds a way to identify with the abductor and actually falls for him,” I said without hesitation.
“Good, good!” he encouraged. “Can you tell me more about it, Ava? What’s the danger?”
“That the captive empathizes so much with the abductor that they see the abuse as kindness…” my voice trailed off.
“Yes! Excellent answer, Ava!” Professor Blake crowed as he turned his attention back to the whiteboard at the front of the room, where he began writing terms and asking other students to define them.
I sat quietly, listening to my classmates calling out the answers to questions the professor asked in rapid fire, and wondered if Brian was still out in the hallway. I quickly turned to check and caught his eye before he turned and scanned the corridor again.
I wasn’t scared, but something felt off, and I didn’t know what it was.
*****
“What did he say about the exam, Ava?” Lara was tugging on the back of my shirt. “Did he say it was 50 percent of our grade?”
“No, he said the essay would be 50 percent of the exam grade,” I answered in an irritated tone. “God, Lara! Would you just slow down and listen every once in a while?”
Lara’s pouty lower lip told me that I’d hit a nerve, so when I finished packing up my things, I stood and put an arm around the tiny redhead and said, “C’mon, cheer up! You answered so many questions right today that you’re bound to be on Professor Blake’s good side. I’m sure he’ll cut you slack on the essay.”
“I did do a good job, didn’t I?” Lara chirped, and my scolding was completely forgotten - or at least, forgiven.
Brian was waiting outside of the classroom, but I ignored him as I linked arms with the girls and said, “Let’s go get something to eat, I’m starving!” Lara and Jessie enthusiastically agreed that burgers were just what we needed, so we headed over to Five Guys and proceeded to polish off enough food to keep us full while we studied all afternoon. Halfway through the meal, Jessie elbowed me and quietly asked if we should order something for Brian.
I shrugged and felt a little guilty, but when I turned toward him, I saw he was positioned in a corner table eating his lunch while scanning the premises for any threats. I rolled my eyes and turned back to the girls. “Apparently he can take care of himself,” I reported with just a hint of sarcasm.
I’m not sure why I felt so angry at Brian. He’d had nothing to do with the situation and he was only doing the job he’d been hired to do. My real beef was with my father, so I vowed to refrain from taking it out on Brian anymore. I’d just ignore him and go about my life as I had before he’d arrived. If he was really good at his job, he’d find a way to keep up with me.
For the rest of the day I tried to ignore the large, muscled man tagging after me, but the people around me made it difficult as they gave me funny looks and then stopped to whisper to each other as they looked back and forth between me and Brian. It didn’t faze me too much since I’d grown up in a family with money and was used to being stared at, but the attention that Brian brought was on a whole other level. His handsome good looks caused women to literally stop and stare, and then when they noticed that he was walking a few feet behind me, they’d make a comment about me just loud enough for me to hear.
The last straw for me was when I stopped in the bookstore to pick up the study guide for the Psych exam and overheard two of the cashiers talking about me. Their backs were turned to the registers, so they didn’t see me walk up behind them and place my items on the counter.
“I heard the bodyguard was hired to ensure that no one talks to her unless she acknowledges them,” whispered the girl with the mousy brown hair to her friend, a tall blonde with a buzz cut and a pierced nose.
“Oh, I heard it was because she carries so much cash on her that it’s dangerous for her to be out in public!” the blonde replied excitedly as she twisted the ring in her nostril.
I cleared my throat and looked away, embarrassed that I’d overheard them. The mousy girl spun around and I watched as the color drain from her face, and wondered if she was going to faint.
“I’m…I’m…I’m…so sorry!” she stammered.
“It’s okay,” I said shrugging. “It happens all the time.”
She rang up my purchase without saying anything. She didn’t even tell me the total, so I slid my card through the reader and punched in the code. I could see her searching for something to say that would erase the shame of having been caught talking about me, but I had nothing to offer because I was so aggravated by Brian’s presence and the fact that he was the reason this was happening. And then it came to me.
As I grabbed my bag off of the counter, I leaned in and quietly said, “Actually, neither theory is correct. He’s an actor friend of my dad’s who is researching a role for a movie. It’s annoying, but you know…” and I turned and shrugged toward Brian.