The Bodyguard

by Katherine Center

Especially not painful things. But I suddenly understood why people did it. It felt like relief. It felt like dipping your feet in cool water on a hot day.

His breath tickled my neck.

stayed awake all night, curled as small as I could get in the closet, listening, at attention, trying to decide if my mother had lived. I never fell asleep. When the sun was up, she came to find me—and she had a split lip and a cracked tooth. As soon as I saw her face, I wanted to get us both out of there. Every atom in my body wanted to escape.

But I didn’t feel safe anymore. I don’t think I ever felt safe again after that, to be honest—not really. But guess what I still do even now when I feel scared?”

“So sleeping on my floor is an improvement.”