Chapter 49: Bossy Bodyguard: Part 4 – Chapter 49

I shrieked in surprised and quickly covered myself, straightening my dress and hiding behind Cillian when he buttoned his shirt, his face emotionless.

“Caleb,” he started.

My heart hammered in my ribs when Caleb kept staring at us both. The last time I talked to him, he was sorry that my hand got hurt while fighting the stalker. We didn’t even bump into each other at school very often, and if we did, we acknowledged each other before moving on. But now… he had seen me bent over his kitchen island with his dad behind me.

“No… I—Do we have bleach?” he asked Cillian, making me frown. “I need to bleach my eyes after what I just saw—Emma, really?”

“Calm down, Caleb,” Cillian said, and I really admired how he could remain stoic even in this situation.

“I just saw you… my ex—What the fuck?” he said to himself, running a hand through his hair and pacing around the living room.

Yep, he was losing it.

“Caleb, we are in a relationship,” I blurted, holding Cillian’s hand and squeezing it.

He stopped, looked at us, our entwined hands, and laughed. “That’s hilarious.”

“She is serious,” Cillian said in his stern voice.

“You’re telling me…” he pointed to himself, his eyes still wide with a flush on his cheeks, “that my dad is not only protecting you from that creepy stalker, but…” He made a circle with one hand and rocked the index finger of the other in and out of that circle repeatedly.

I stared blankly at him and crossed my arms. “Yes, I slept with your dad.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Caleb whimpered, kneeling on the ground and covering his face.

Cillian glared at me. “Did you have to be so blunt?”

I raised my brow. “He is acting like a dramatic little bitch. It’s not like we were hiding it from him.”

“He is sensitive,” Cillian whispered in my ear.

“I’m not sensitive!” Caleb yelled, staring at both of us with tears gleaming in his eyes.

“I know he is,” I whispered back. I couldn’t stand seeing him on his knees like that and helped him up. “I think you should have this conversation alone with your dad—”

“I don’t want to talk—” He tried to leave, but I held his arm.

“No. You’re not leaving again. You’re going to talk to Cillian like an adult.”

He made a face and looked at both of us. “Please don’t tell me you are going to get married, and I’d have to call you my step-mommy or some shit.”

“Are you high?” Cillian asked, narrowed his eyes at his son.

“No, but I wish I was so I could be saved from this—”

“Caleb, you owe me big time for what you did,” I snapped, and pointed at the couch. “Go sit down and calm your ass.”

He glared back, but shut his mouth and sat down. Cillian was staring at me with an amused look. “I can definitely see who wore the pants in your past relationship.”

“Talk to him and apologize,” I whispered to Cillian, squeezing his hand. “I’ll be upstairs and if I hear shouting or something breaking, I’m going to be disappointed.”

His eyes softened, and he was going to kiss my hair, but stopped. “Yes, ma’am.”

Cillian

The silence between Caleb and me stretched. Neither of us were willing to look at each other. Emma would definitely be disappointed.

“I didn’t know you were home,” I said quietly.

His jaw was clenched as he kept staring at the rug. “I was planning to watch a football match with you.”

“Oh.” I blinked at him, confused and guilty. “You could’ve told me. I would have bought some beer—”

“Tell you when, Dad?” he asked, his voice rising. “You are at Emma’s house all day.”

“It’s my last job, Caleb.”

He sighed, running a hand down his face. “I know you are keeping her safe, but…”

“Before you say anything, I am sorry.” I clenched my hand, my stomach tightening. “I didn’t take care of you when you needed me. I kept wallowing in self-pity. I know you hate me, and our relationship will never be okay, but I want you to know that I care about you, son. I apologize for not showing it to you.”

Neither of us said anything and I couldn’t bring myself to look at him as shame creeped over me.

“I don’t.”

“What?” I glanced at him.

His face was red when he scratched his neck and cleared his throat. “I don’t hate you, Dad. I never did. I was just upset that you were never around to see my games or have dinner with me.”

“O-okay, good.” I swallowed the lump in my throat, my eyes burning.

“Do you really like her?” he asked, finally looking at me.

“Of course, I do.”

“Good.” Caleb nodded and shook his head. “I mean, not good. Fuck. It’s weird.”

“It is.”

“Out of all the people in this world, you had to fall for Emma?” he asked.

I shrugged, leaning back on the couch. “I didn’t ask for it, Caleb. It just happened.”

“Right,” he said softly, staring at his hands and I knew he had someone special like that, too. “I… I need to tell you something.”

I straightened up.

“I-I think… I don’t know for sure, but I like men too,” he stuttered, blinking at me and the rug. I let him continue and listened closely. “I like women, though. And everyone. Despite their gender. So… yeah.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “You’re pansexual?”

His face snapped at me. “You know what it means?”

“I touch grass.”

He made a face and shook his head. “You’re hanging around Emma too much. Stop speaking Gen Z. It feels weird hearing it from you.”

“Deadass?”

“Jesus Christ.” He groaned audibly, covering his face. “Please don’t.”

God, I loved being a dad sometimes.

I slapped his shoulder and stood up. “You’re not matching my vibe, son.”

“Please leave me alone.” He sounded like he was in pain.

I smiled proudly. “I don’t care about your sexuality, Caleb. Date whoever you want to… just take care of yourself and call me when you need me.”

He met my eyes, his dark eyes softening as he nodded. “Okay, cool, Dad.”

“Yeet,” I made a peace sign and made my way towards the stairs, hearing a groan that made my grin widen.

But it was short-lived when I heard it… the sound of thud coming from upstairs.

“Caleb,” I whispered, grabbing a gun from the drawer and checking if it was loaded and planting my back on the wall.

“What are you doing?” He asked, his eyes wide.

“Someone’s upstairs,” I mouthed. “Follow me.”

My heart was pounding in my ears when I slowly crept upstairs, with Caleb following me and holding a baseball bat in his hands. He was trembling, but I would not let anything happen to him. I was worried about Emma. If she was okay.

The hallway looked clear, and I quickly made my way to my room, taking a deep breath before opening the door and pointing the muzzle in front of me, my finger on the trigger.

“Emma?” I called out, noticing the room was empty, with an open window and a lamp on the floor. “Emma!” I rushed into the en-suite washroom finding it empty with the lights on. There was a sharp sound of something hitting—

“Dad!”

I turned back and stormed into the hallway, seeing Caleb clutching his stomach.

“Cillian, don’t!” I heard her scream and turned back around. My hand didn’t move fast enough to block the baseball bat that struck me on the side of my head, pain reverberating over my entire body as I fell on the floor, warm blood slicking my face.

I could hear Emma scream and scramble for me, but he held her by her hair, yelling in her face, “Shut the fuck up!”

I glared at him, pushing my palms on the ground, and stood up when he kicked my ribs, making me groan.

“I’ll take care of her, don’t worry,” the man said, his voice raspy and dark gray eyes gleaming with something evil when he took Emma over his shoulder and climbed downstairs.

No, no, no. I can’t…

Blood poured out of my mouth and dripped onto the floor when I used all my strength to sit up. Caleb was clutching his stomach, and I knew the fucker had attacked him first. I took my gun and tucked it on my back, calling emergency care at my home.

“I’m sorry.”

I patted his shoulder and stood up. “Stay. I’ll bring her back.”