06

She lasted a lot longer than I thought she would, but finally, she got angry and stormed out, screaming, “You are impossible. I give up !”

“Thanks for nothing,” I called out to her retreating figure, laughing when she made some sort of frustrated, throaty noise.

I walked over to my closet when she was gone, picking an outfit out immediately. I’d already been considering outfit possibilities while I took a shower and had already made up my mind. I just wanted to make Taylor suffer.

It actually only took me an hour and a half to finish getting ready, which was much less than I’d expected. It usually took me at least three.

Taylor, who usually took even longer to get ready than I did, which was seriously saying something, was actually ready before me. That may have been because she was freakishly excited about this, but still. It was weird.

As soon as I strolled into the living room, Taylor clapped her hands together and squealed. “You look gorgeous, Em. Where was that dress when I was looking through your closet ? I would’ve stolen it !”

I laughed, twirling and showing off my flowy dress. How had I never worn this dress before ? It perfectly complimented this jacket, and it was so soft.

“Where’s Jack ?” I asked, subtly steading myself once I’d stopped twirling. I guess I’d twirled a little too hard.

“In the kitchen.”

“Of course he is. I’ll be right back.”

Jack was peering into the refrigerator when I walked into the kitchen, and he turned around when he saw me. “Are you ready to go, Em ?” He’d stopped the formalities a long time ago, something that was more than evident by that point. The rest of my bodyguards only called me “Miss” but Jack usually went with “Em.”

“Yeah, but I had something I wanted to ask you…”

He shut the refrigerator reluctantly. “I’m listening.”

“Could you, I don’t know… maybe let us on our own for this one ?” I asked innocently, going for the puppy dog look.

I loved Jack ; I really did. I gave him a lot of trouble and constantly pestered him, but he was like family. He was obviously around more than my dad was since he was basically my shadow, and after a while, an unbreakable attachment was formed. That being said, I could’ve done without his clinginess. I knew he was just doing his job, but there were some moments where I wished I could go somewhere without having to bring him along. This was one of them. I wanted to have one independent night. Just one. Was that so much to ask ?

“Not a chance,” he said, shooting me down before I’d had the chance to really start the guilt-inducing persuasion.

My face fell, and I bit the inside of my cheek to control my temper. He’s just doing his job, I reminded myself. I knew why he was saying no, but I still felt the need to ask. “Why ? I’m eighteen, and Taylor turns eighteen in a week. We can take care of ourselves for one night.”

“It’s my obligation to protect you. This has been my obligation for six years now. I don’t know why you seem to think this is a new thing. You know why I can’t let you go off on your own.”

“I know it’s your obligation,” I replied calmly, “but this is just for one night. It’s not really your scene, anyway. Why don’t you take the night off ?”

“None of the places you frequent are my scene. It’s not about me. It’s about you. I have to make sure you’re safe, and if that means never letting you out of my sight, then so be it.”

Neither Jack nor my dad had ever told me why security was so strict when it came to me, but it wasn’t hard to guess. My dad was loaded. A ransom for his only daughter would be ridiculously high, and he had plenty of enemies who would love to hurt him in any way they could. Did that mean I wanted to live my life in a cage ? Of course not. Besides, it was one night. Nothing was going to happen.

“You’ve let me out of your sight plenty of times. You don’t follow me into the bathroom, for instance.”

He wasn’t taking me seriously by that point. He had that stupid half-smile on his face, the one he only used when he thought I was being inane. “I’m assuming you can go to the bathroom by yourself.”

“What a genius assumption on your part.” The look on my face was sour at best. “I don’t need you to be joined at my hip. You’re like a flea.”

He shrugged. “Then I’m a flea. So be it.”

His nonchalant attitude just made me more upset than I already was. “No, you know what ? You’re like cancer. No, you’re like recurring cancer !”

“If you say so.”

I attempted to ditch him for five more minutes before finally admitting to myself that it was a lost cause. There was no way he was letting us go to this concert by ourselves.

“No go ?” Taylor asked knowingly, raising an eyebrow at me when I came back.

“No go.”

She shot me an apologetic smile before standing up. “Well, come on. I’m sure the concert will cheer you up !” She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards the front door. “Are we taking your car, mine, or the limo ?”

“My car,” I said, wiggling out of her grip so I could walk by myself.

“I would feel more comfortable if we took the limo,” Jack said, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

“I am not taking the limo. It’s beyond ostentatious. Besides, I want to drive.”

He eyed me warily before giving in. “Okay. But I’ll still follow in my car.”

“Of course you will,” I muttered.

He gave me a reprimanding look before we each went our separate ways. I’d refused to take the limo partly because I thought it was too flashy, but it was mostly because I still planned on ditching him. My resolve to ditch Jack grew when we got on the road and he decided to drive right beside us in his giant black SUV.

“He’s such a creeper,” I complained, glancing over with disdain. Why couldn’t this be a narrow, two-way street ? “Do you see this, Taylor ? He’s right next to us. If he scratches my car, I’ll kill him.”

Taylor laughed. “I see it. It’s his job, though ! Quit complaining, Emmy. Give him a break !”

“It’s creepy,” I insisted. I knew Taylor was right, but I was still annoyed because I hadn’t gotten my way, and I pretty much always got my way. This was not cool.

“Cheer up,” she exclaimed, shaking my arm. “We’re about to have an awesome time ! Ignore the bodyguard and have fun. I mean, we get to meet Paramore ! How cool is that ?”

“Too cool,” I said, smiling over at her. “I just hope it goes better than the last concert we went to. Lady Gaga was just erratic. I thought Jack was going to run out of the room or pee his pants.”

“Oh, I know, and we only got half an hour with her ! It was supposed to be an hour.”

“What did you expect ?” I asked. “It’s Gaga. She’s beyond busy.”

Our conversation continued like this for a while. We’d been to a lot of concerts, and we had plenty to talk about, but I kept losing focus throughout the conversation. There was a car right behind us, and it had been there for a while. Actually, it had been there for at least half an hour, maybe more. What the hell ?

Finally, I decided enough was enough and voiced my concern aloud. “Do you see that car right behind us ? It’s been there for a while.”

“Um,” Taylor said, sticking her head out the window to get a better look.

I smacked her arm violently, pulling her back inside. “Don’t be so obvious !”

“Sorry ! I just don’t see what the big deal is.”

“I think that car has been following us.”

“Well, I think you’re being paranoid,” Taylor said. “They’re probably just going the same way. Maybe they’re going to the concert, too. I don’t know. Now quit being so paranoid and just have fun ! You’re going to ruin this concert for us.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, but I didn’t think she was. That car didn’t look like it belonged to someone with VIP tickets to Paramore’s concert, and they didn’t let everyone else in until six-thirty. It just seemed shady, but I didn’t want to be the one to ruin this for us, so I kept quiet. I really shouldn’t have, but again, I wasn’t psychic. I didn’t have a premonition about what was going to happen, and even if had had one, I probably would’ve ignored it. Jack was with us. What could go wrong ?