Page 71 of I Don't Need Your Protection

I remember what he said to me a few days ago, about life not being fair. I wonder if he was referring to his mom’s death.

“I want to be happy,” I say. “I want to move on with my life and look forward to new things. Because that’s what my parents would want. For me to be happy. But on days like today? I just want to be sad.”

He nods in understanding. We sit in silence for a minute or two before he says, “Do you want to ditch this place?”

“And go where?”

“Anywhere you want.”

“Won’t my ‘parents’ worry about me?” I ask.

“I’ll text them.”

“My grandfather won’t mind?”

“All he cares about is that you’re in good hands.” He slips his phone out of his pocket and shoots off a text to Julie and Johnathan. “Okay. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. Back to my room so I can dive in my bed and disappear until today is over.”

He searches my eyes with an intense look. “Is there something fun you did with your parents?”

“Of course. We did a lot of things together.”

“A specific fun activity?”

My brows dip. “We hiked together all the time. And we always went bowling. My dad was a bowling champion in high school. We would go almost every weekend and invite my friends, too. My parents were so embarrassing, but none of us kids minded.”

Caleb stands and nods to me. “Want to go bowling?”

Chapter Twenty-One

Addie

So Caleb and I are at a…bowling alley.

I never in my wildest dreams thought my bodyguard would actually want to partake in a recreational activity, and definitely not bowling. But here we are, waiting to get our shoes after paying for two games.

Ever since we got in the car, I’ve been bursting to ask him why. Why did he offer to take me bowling when he’s never done anything like this before? Is it because he feels bad that I had to walk around campus with fake parents? Has he been yearning to bowl because he hasn’t done it since he was a kid?

Or is it because he feels just as lonely as I do?

Whatever the reason, it’s taking everything I have to keep my mouth shut. Because I don’t want to make him feel weird. The fact that we’re doing a fun activity together makes me feel like…I don’t know, different about him. I want him to have fun for a change, and I want to have fun with him.

“Let’s go to our lane,” he says once we receive our bowling shoes.

There are mostly adults here with their kids. After Caleb and I find our lane, we sit down on the chairs and put on our shoes.

“It’s kind of gross if you think about it,” I tell him with a laugh as I slide my right foot into my shoe. “How many people wore these before you.” My laugh dies down when a memory plays in my head. “My mom and I planned to surprise my dad with his own bowling shoes for his birthday, but…my parents died before we could.”

Caleb nods without saying anything. Just his close proximity makes me feel better. I can’t explain why—maybe because despite his lack of words, I sense that he understands exactly how I feel?

Once our shoes are on, I go to the machine to punch in our names. Mom, Dad, and I always had fun making up funny nicknames for one another. I decide to put “Mr. Big Muscles” for Caleb and gesture for him to choose a name for me. He sits there for a few seconds as he contemplates what to choose, and I can’t help but notice how cute he looks. I guess I never saw him concentrate so hard on anything before.

My eyes widen when the words appear on the screen. Miss Beautiful Soul.

I’m so flabbergasted that I just gape at him. He reaches for one of the black balls and holds it out to me. “Is this too heavy for you?

“What? I m-mean, um…” I take the ball from him and nearly drop it. “Sheesh!” I gasp as he quickly catches it. “I bet most guys wouldn’t be able to hold that. It’s definitely made for a guy with huge muscles. I’ll go look for a lighter one.”