I shut the door and sighed. Ah, the house all to myself.

Never mind. My phone rang in the kitchen. I hurried to look at who was calling and instantly wanted to cry. Evans.

“Hello.” Kill me.

“Hello, Miss Montgomery. I would like to announce we have heard that you have not changed your major and we are going to assign you a bodyguard as our new emerging CEO.” His voice lacked personality.

“Is a bodyguard necessary?” Did my mom have one? Did I even know about them? My life was turning into a weird mess one day at a time.

“You are the sole heir to your mother’s company. I would expect you to thank me for sending James, your new bodyguard.”

He was serious and his tone never diverted from being stuffy and personality-less. Speaking with members of the board made me curious about my mother’s life—the one she never shared with me or bothered to mention. She left it all to me, but why did I feel so blindsided by everything?

“And you didn’t think to send me one when I was younger?” It was a fair question.

“We tried. Your aunt and guardian told us no and sent over the paperwork for refusal.”

Sylvia. The bane of my existence. I always wondered what else she could have gotten up to when I lived with her. Outside of drinking and trying to sleep her way into money, she treated me oddly. Sure, she was cruel and hit me when she was drunk, telling me to go back to my room, but she was always acting...strange. There was always a creepy smile plastered on her face like in horror movies.

Maybe she was possessed by the devil.

“She what?”

“She was appointed guardian after all. We will discuss it when we meet formally in the boardroom. Be on the lookout for James in the morning. He will bring paperwork for you.” Click.

I was given a bodyguard and had mild anxiety. Somehow Sylvia still haunted me after she kicked me out of her house. When would the drama end? Last semester was far better, and I wanted to go back.

Back to just Kelly and me hanging out at home. Back to no boys around. Back to scary movies and popcorn nights. In reality, I wanted to go back and talk to my mom again so I could ask her all the questions I had. She left me far too soon.

There was no way to go back or way to change the past. All I could do was enjoy the memories.

I plopped myself down on my bed, resigning myself to the thought that I wouldn’t be doing anymore homework—or thinking. My brain was too overloaded and didn’t feel like a sponge anymore. Instead, I grabbed the remote and flipped on the television in my room to watch some low effort, empty brain content.