Page 26 of I Don’t Need Your Protection (Harrington Bay Academy #1)

Addie

I wake up in a rotten mood on Sunday morning. Because today is Parents’ Day. It’s a reminder that I don’t have parents and that I’ll be forced to spend the day with strangers pretending to be my parents. What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.

When I turn my head to the left, I find Caleb doing pull-ups over a bar he must have installed…recently? I don’t remember seeing it before. Sheesh, how does he manage to do everything so stealthily?

He’s once again not wearing a shirt and I find myself staring at the way his burly chest moves as he does his workout.

My gosh, the guy looks so freakin’ strong.

He doesn’t walk around with a gun or any weapon, so if I ever find myself in need of rescuing, he would have to resort to his fists.

I imagine him doing all these ninja moves as he takes the enemy down. Wham, wham, wham, knockout!

“What are you smiling at?” he asks, yanking me out of my daydream.

“What? Oh. Um, nothing. I’m surprised your trumpet didn’t blast my ears off this morning.”

“It’s half an hour early.”

“Oh.”

I pull the covers closer to my chin and stare up at the ceiling.

It’s not surprising that I can’t sleep, considering what today will bring.

Not only will I have to spend the day with fake parents, I’ll have to watch the rest of my classmates hang out with their parents and families. I wish I could stay here all day.

I suddenly sit up when a thought occurs to me. “Are your parents coming?” Even though he technically is a student here, he’s on a job. It would be odd if his parents came, wouldn’t it? But won’t it be suspicious if they don’t come?

“My dad has to work,” he says as he lowers himself from the bar and reaches for a towel.

“And your mom?”

He pauses wiping his face, then turns around and walks to the kitchenette. He rummages in the fridge before producing a bottle of water and chugging half of it down. Okay…I guess he doesn’t want to talk about his mom? He’s just made me super curious. But I won’t pry if he doesn’t want me to.

“So do I at least get briefed on my fake parents or am I supposed to be surprised?” I ask.

After throwing the towel over his shoulder, Caleb heads to his tablet that sits on the desk, sweeps it into his hand, and then makes his way to me.

The little hairs all over my body stand on edge when he steps closer to me.

His body is damp from his workout, and despite that he smells really, really good.

Leaning even closer and causing my heart rate to spike, he unlocks the tablet, taps a few times, then hands it to me. “These are your parents, Julie and Jonathon Nelson. Your mom is a teacher and your dad works for the city.”

I stare at the strangers whom I need to embrace as my family for the next few hours.

I get that they were hired by my grandfather for the sole purpose of keeping me safe, but I can’t help but feel like my heart is shattering.

Why can’t it be my real parents staring back at me?

I guess if I were to go down that rabbit hole and my parents were alive, I probably wouldn’t even be here.

I would be back in my own bed in my own house. Where I was happiest.

“I know this will be difficult for you,” he says as he takes the tablet and places it back on the desk, “But you have to play your part if you want to be safe. It’ll only be for a few hours.”

“Can’t I stay in here all day?”

“Definitely not.”

With a sigh, I drag myself out of bed and walk to my closet.

What does a person wear to Parents’ Day with fake parents?

It takes a few minutes, but I finally settle on jeans and a shirt with a random logo.

After I go to the bathroom and get changed, Caleb hurries back to his room for a quick shower, and then he meets me back in my room.

He’s wearing jeans and a black shirt, and his hair is slightly wet from his shower.

Since it’s a bit early, I sit back on my bed and browse social media while Caleb keeps his eyes on me. It’s a good distraction from what is to be a sucky day, but it doesn’t change my situation or make the time go by any faster.

Eventually, it’s finally time to start the day.

“Your parents will be waiting for you in the main building’s foyer along with the other parents,” Caleb tells me. “Your focus should be on them only. Don’t worry about possible threats—that’s my job.”

“Okay.” I sigh as I open the door and walk out.

Many girls from my floor chatter happily as they make their way to the stairs.

A handful look like they’re about to meet the Grim Reaper while others seem completely excited to spend the day with their families.

I swallow hard as I follow them outside and toward the main building, where many students and families are already gathered.

“Addie!”

I turn around and find Raven waving at me. She’s standing next to a man and woman and a girl around twelve. She looks like a mini version of Raven. With a smile, I make my way over and say, “Hi.”

“These are my parents and little sister, Robin. Fam, this is my new best friend, Addie Nelson.”

I exchange hellos with her parents and little sister, trying not to show how much this hurts me. I’m super happy for Raven that she’s seeing her family again after all these weeks, but my heart feels like it’s bleeding.

“Where are your parents?” Raven asks as she cranes her neck in different directions .

“Oh, um…” I scan the area for Julie and Jonathon, but I don’t see them anywhere. “I guess they’re not here yet.”

“Well, let me know when they are. I can’t wait to meet them.” She smiles as she waves and walks away with her family.

With another sigh, I skim across the adult faces packed into the room, searching for the people from the photo. Maybe they decided not to show up after all?

“Addie?” a female voice says from behind me.

I slowly turn around and come face-to-face with the people from the photo.

I must say, they did a good job with their disguises.

Julie dyed her hair to match mine and Jonathon is wearing contacts so his eyes would match mine.

They’re dressed more casually, like how my parents used to dress.

Julie’s even smiling the way I do. I wonder if she practiced that in front of the mirror.

“Yep, that’s me,” I say with a nervous smile. “Addie Nelson, your daughter.”

Julie’s face completely transforms into pure joy as she cries out happily and gathers me in her arms. “I’ve missed you so much, sweetie.” She kisses the side of my face. “The house is so quiet without you.”

“Your mom has taken up cooking foreign foods to fill the void,” Jonathon says with a chuckle as he, too, pulls me into his arms. “Most of them have been failures. My stomach cannot take it.” He groans as he pats his stomach.

Using everything I have, I force myself not to break down in front of them. Pushing a smile onto my lips, I say, “You have no idea how much I missed you, too! I was so miserable my first few days here.”

“Aw, honey.” Julie hugs me again.

“I guess I’ll show you my room,” I say.

As soon as we leave the main building, we come face-to-face with Carly, who’s hugging a tall guy with the same red hair as her. After they break apart, she playfully whacks the back of his head. Then she notices me and beams, waving me over.

“Do you want to say hi to my friend?” I ask my parents.

After they confirm that they do, we head to Carly. She throws her arms around me and then introduces her parents, her brother, Blake, and his best friend, Ryder.

“Pay no attention to the cretin and his lackey,” she tells me. “They’re just here for the free food.”

“How do you know it’s not because I missed you?” her brother asks.

“Because you brought that one with you just to annoy me.” She nods toward Ryder.

Ryder chuckles as he shakes his head, causing his blond hair to fall away from his brown eyes. “Why do you think the whole world revolves around you?”

She puts her hands on her hips. “Why else would you be here?” She stops when she remembers my parents and her cheeks grow pink. “Uh, sorry. Hi, I’m Carly. You must be Addie’s parents.” She shakes their hands. “Addie is the best person in the world.”

Julie and Jonathon smile. “She sure is.”

“These are my parents.”

We exchange hellos and handshakes with her parents. Both of them have red hair, too. It’s so cute that her whole family are redheads.

As the parents talk and the boys run off to check the football field, since they play football at their high school, I poke Carly. “What’s up between you and Ryder?”

She raises both brows. “Why would there be anything between us?”

“The way you were bickering. I kind of got the vibe that there might be something between you.”

She grabs hold of her throat and makes retching sounds.

I laugh. “Do you hate him that much?”

“That guy is the bane of my existence. The day he was born was the day the world turned evil.”

I laugh again. “I’m sure he’s not that bad.”

“He purposely destroyed my Lego when I was six. It was a castle and I spent two days on it. Then he just kicked it with his foot and it got destroyed within seconds. Seconds !”

“You still hold a grudge for something he did ten years ago?”

“Yes, because he is the same monster.”

I shake my head as I continue laughing. There is definitely a vibe between them.

“Your parents seem cool,” Carly says. “But did you get into an argument with them?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, but something feels off. Like you’re distant or something. I hope you didn’t get into a fight. It sucks to fight with your parents right before they leave and you won’t see them for another few months.”

“No, no, nothing like that,” I quickly say, cursing my luck for not being a better actress. “Things are great. My dad is stressed about his job and my mom…er, she has, um, bills.”

Carly gives me a confused look.

“Just the everyday stresses parents deal with, right?”

She nods. “I get it. And they must miss you like crazy, which doesn’t help with the stress.”

“Nope.”

Ugh, I hate lying to my friends. What would her parents say when they find out the truth? Would they be okay with the fact that I tricked them into believing Julie and Jonathon are my parents? Or would they be cool with it once they learned my life was at stake?

“So we should get going,” I tell my “parents” with a fake smile. “There’s still so much I want to show you.”

We say goodbye to Carly and her family and then I take my fake parents to my dorm. I feel so pathetic as I show them around, but I have to listen to what Caleb told me. The only way to keep myself safe is to stick with this charade.

As I show them the rest of campus and my favorite classes, I meet Raven and her family again, as well as Sophie’s. It’s obvious Sophie’s parents are protective of her, since she lost her two siblings.

The school set up various activities we can do with our parents, and of course there’s food.

Carly’s brother and his friend basically spend all their time there, when they’re not annoying Carly.

Sophie doesn’t leave her parents’ side once and Raven plays some of the games with her little sister.

I feel so…lonely. And sad. And miserable.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell my fake parents. “Bathroom.”

Except, I don’t head to the bathroom. I run off toward the backyard, where, thankfully, not a soul is present. I plop down on one of the benches and wrap my arms around myself. The weather is pretty decent, with just a light wind, but the way I feel has nothing to do with the temperature.

Now that I’m alone, I finally have the freedom and privacy to let the tears fall.

They burst out of my eyes like they broke through a dam and rain down my cheeks like a river.

My parents have been dead for over a month, but it hasn’t gotten any easier.

And now I have to witness everyone else celebrate theirs?

Of course I’m happy for all of them, but it still hurts so darn much.

Someone lowers themselves beside me. I quickly wipe away the tears, assuming it’s my fake parents—I don’t want them to see me in tears and feel bad, or worse, report it to my grandfather—but then I smell a familiar scent. Caleb.

“I thought we’re not supposed to be seen in public,” I say.

“Fortunately, most people are preoccupied.”

We both sit in silence.

“Did you ditch your parents?” he asks.

“Are you going to report that to my grandfather?”

“Of course not. I understand what you’re going through.”

“Do you really?” I turn to face him. “Why aren’t your parents here, Caleb? For real.”

He keeps his eyes on the spot before him for a long time. I assume he won’t answer my question, but then he says, “Like I told you, my dad has work. And my mom…” His voice trails off.

“Your mom?” I gently press.

“She died two years ago.”

I stare at him as my heart breaks for his loss. “You really do understand,” I whisper.

He nods slowly, still keeping his eyes on the spot in front of him. Then they slowly trek to mine, and I finally see emotions in his eyes. Pain and loss.

“Caleb, I’m so sorry.” I want to reach for his hand, but I curl my fists at my sides. I have a feeling he wouldn’t like me touching him. “Do you miss her?”

“Every day.”

“So it doesn’t get easier.” I lean back in my seat and release a pained sigh. “I don’t know why I thought it would.”

He turns to face me. “It gets a little easier, but the void in your heart is there to stay. Forever.”

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?”