The day was young and Angela only wanted to do one thing. And that one thing filled her with such anxiety that it was difficult getting her thoughts straight. Her eyes darted at every sign of movement, her mind running at 20 miles per hour, and tried as she did, she couldn't focus on a thing her father was saying.

She was sitting in his office, the sound of his fingers flying over the keys droning on in the back of her mind. There was wonderful peace in the room, with only her, Stephen, and Roger -- who was standing at the door with his hands clasped behind his back.

Angela would have been annoyed by this very presence, as she normally was if she wasn't so worried about the day ahead of her.

Annoyed at herself for even allowing herself to get this bothered, she rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. Her father didn't look up at her when she did, so focused on his work. But Roger did. She felt his eyes on her, the curious tilt of his head. She looked at him and her annoyance increased when she saw the utter lack of expression on his face.

"Does he have to be here, Daddy?" she asked, her lip curling in disgust. Roger only slid his eyes back in front, seemingly unbothered by her words. She wouldn't let herself believe he really was.

Stephen glanced up distractedly. "Yes, of course, Angela. He would hardly be my bodyguard if he wasn't."

"What exacty is he guarding you from in your own office?" she asked. "You think people are going to come bursting in through the windows?"

"It's possible," Stephen murmured.

Angela scoffed. "It's as possible as that Bozo over there being able to protect you even if it did happen."

The sound of his rapid typing came to a stop as Stephen looked up at Angela in slight confusion. "That doesn't make much sense. If the first one--"

"Daddy, it doesn't matter!" Angela said quickly. "And how long do you plan on working? You called me here, remember? You don't plan on telling me what it is you want?"

Stephen frowned. He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "What is the matter with you, Angela? It seems as if something is bothering you."

Of course something is bothering me, Daddy. You insist on having this shady guy as your bodyguard and I have other things to take care of than to sit around waiting for you to talk to me. But she didn't say it aloud. Her father was one of the only people, alongside Helman, she cared about being respectful toward. And she knew he had only asked the question because she was being snappier than usual. Angela sighed, trying to calm down.

"I'm fine, Daddy. I...just have a lot of things to take care of today."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"I..." She hesitated, but not for long. "I plan to go shopping. My wardrobe desperately needs an upgrade and I think it's going to take me all day. Every second counts, you know."

"Shopping?" Stephen's brows dipped into a deep frown. "Alone?"

"Yes, alone. What, do you think I'm going to take Helman with me?"

"You could have your mother accompany you--"

"Not a chance, Dad."

The frown remained. He looked almost...worried. Angela leaned closer, her own frown marring her brows. "Dad...?"

"You went to the dance studio last night, didn't you?" he asked.

"I did. So, what about it?"

Stephen shook his head, folding his arms. A look of determination came over his face. "I don't think you should be going out alone, Angela. Had I known you were leaving I would have sent someone with you. The last time you were out alone you..."

He didn't need to finish his words. She knew very well what happened the last time she'd been alone at the dance studio. The kidnapping was engrained in her mind, a memory that would always arise in her nightmares. She could not escape it as fully as she wished, and she was only just now realizing that neither could her father.

Lines of stress lined his forehead as he stared at her and Angela's heart broke at the sight. She sometimes forgot that she hadn't been the only one affected by that ordeal. She'd been kidnapped before, but that last one had been the worst by far. Angela wasn't sure she'd ever be able to get over it.

As she stared at Stephen's concentrated look, she knew what he would say. Angela's jaw dropped and she sat up a bit straighter, gripping the arm of the chair. "Daddy, you wouldn't..."

"I already planned on getting you a bodyguard," he said. He wasn't listening to her, already sinking into his new decision. "But until then, you can have Jason guard you today."

"No way in hell!"

Stephen waved his hand dismissively. "I'm not negotiating this with you, Angela. I do not want you out there alone. I haven't announced my candidacy yet but you were a target once before and I do not intend to make you one again. In fact, I should have gotten you a bodyguard a long time ago."

"You're right, Daddy." Desperate, she rushed to his desk, her blond hair falling down past her shoulders. "You're right, I need a bodyguard. But I'm sure nothing is going to happen to me today. No one even knows that I'm back in the country!"

This time, it was Stephen's turn to scoff. "Trust me, Angela. If the right sort of people wanted to know, they would. Jason will keep his distance and he'll make sure that nothing happens to you. You won't even know he's there."

"But--!"

"No buts. Unless you want to put off your shopping today until I can hire you someone good?"

Angela gritted her teeth. She would have easily said yes to that if it wasn't for the fact that she'd lied earlier about going shopping. Her plans today couldn't be put off for another day.

She sighed heavily. "Fine! I won't argue any more."

"Great. Now, give me a kiss." Angela rolled eyes as she went around the desk and pressed a kiss on Stephen's cheek. He grinned at her, patting her lovingly on the back. "You have fun shopping now."

"Yeah, yeah." Angela made her way to the door. She watched Roger as she approached, narrowing her eyes. She came a stop right next to him, glaring.

He didn't move. Didn't so much as blink. 

But when she was just about continue on, annoyed by his lack of response, she saw the side of his mouth twitch. Angela stormed out of the office at the sight.

She could not express how much angrier it made her when he came out behind her, keeping up easily with her raging strides. "You seem upset," he drawled.

"Oh, you think?" she snapped back.

"If I didn't know any better, sweetheart, I would think you didn't want me around you."

She whirled to face him, pointing a manicured nail into his chest. "Why don't you go about your business and leave me alone? You and I both know that I don't need you."

Roger gave her that infernal grin that drove her up the wall. If he wasn't so sneaky and dangerous, she might actually find him attractive. She certainly did when he first showed up to rescue her after she had been kidnapped. But now, Angela felt nothing but acute irritation as she stared into his green-brown eyes.

"You hear what your daddy said," he said to her. "You never know what might happen. Someone might take you away again."

"We both know that someone was your boss," she hissed. "Now that he's gone, we shouldn't have to worry about that."

"Are you sure?"

Angela blinked. He tilted his head to the side, his smile disappearing as he regarded her. She suddenly didn't know what to say. Was she truly safe? An organization like the NPA had been very engrained into the government, even if it was made secret to everyone else. From what Angela had learned, she had been kidnapped because the head of the NPA had lost his damn mind and wanted to teach her father a lesson. Even though he was dead now, should she really relaxing?

Roger suddenly laughed. "You should see your face, sweet cheeks. I didn't think it would be so easy to make you scared."

Angela's face went red. Whether it was anger or embarrassment -- or maybe both -- she didn't know. She only whirled on he rheels and stalked away.

And that damned man kept up easily.

She said nothing to him as she made her way out the mansion, slipping into the car that was already waiting for her. She'd intended to leave an hour before, but then her father had called her into her office to talk about something. That something had remained unaddressed and now she had twenty minutes to get to her appointment. She had hoped to do a little bit of shopping to calm her mind before then.

Having Roger with her, sitting up front next to the driver, was not going to help at all. If anything, she felt even more flustered. She hoped he really would keep his distance as her father said he would.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the cafe. It had been her favorite hang out spot during high school and she'd hoped to come back here as a way to reminisce. She got her usual table, order her usual frappucino. Then, she sat there and waited. Roger said nothing as he stood behind her.

After a few minutes, she looked up at him. "Do you really have to stand there?"

"Would you like for me to sit with you? I could order a drink, we could get to know each other..."

She rolled her eyes. "You're impossible. Just sit down somewhere. People are looking."

After a while, he nodded, choosing to sit in the chair behind her, with their backs to each other. She turned away from him, intending to ignore him but she knew that was not going to be easy.

And he didn't make it easy when he said, "What's gotten you so tense, anyway?"

"I'm not tense."

"Yeah? You're not lashing back at me and baring your fangs the way you usually do. That means something's on your mind. Does it have anything to do with the person you're meeting today?"

"Stop acting as if you know me." Angela ran her finger up and down the sides of her untouched frappucino. "I'm Angela Staton. I do not get tense about anything, least of all over someone I'm meeting with in a cafe. Just stop talking to me."

"Whatever you say, princess."

She gritted her teeth at the obvious lack of belief in his voice but said nothing. Just then, the two persons she was waiting for walked in. Courtney and Chelsea, the twin sisters who were her best friends during high school.

They spotted her instantly and made their way over. Angela lifted her chin and gave them a small smile. "You guys are five minutes late."

They didn't laugh or issue their apologies like she expected them to. They only sat in their chairs, while Chelsea signaled for the waitress.

"Angela," said Courtney in a tender voice. "It's good to see you."

"I'm surprised you reached out to us," Chelsea picked up. "We thought you would have wanted more time to...get better.

Why does it sound as if they're pitying me?

Angela tilted her head to the side. "I had an entire year to get better. I don't think I need any more time than that."

"Oh, right, right." Chelsea giggled. "You have always been a little smarter with science than us so I suppose you should know."

What the hell is she going on about?

Courtney reached out and placed her hand on top of Angela's. Angela was far too shocked by the movement to act. Neither sister would never dare to touch her without her permission before. And the way they were looking at her, as if she was some tender patient who needed their pity, was bothering her.

"So," Courtney said. "How are you?"

Angela lifted her hand from under hers. "I'm fine. I'm always fine. I actually want to know how you two are. You guys are probably running around like headless chickens without me, aren't you?"

"Well, no actually, we're in college," Chelsea said.

"We're studying at Columbia," Courtney picked up. "Though we're kinda on a little vacation right now."

"Columbia?" Angela wasn't surprised. They'd never been the smartest but they had enough money to get them in anywhere. What did surprise her was that they actually went to college in the first place. 

"Yeah, you left in senior year, remember? We're finishing up our first year of college now. Aw," Again, she put her hand on Angela's. Angela frowned, confused as to why she had the nerve to do it again, "it would have been so fun to have you there."

"Fun, right?" Chelsea sighed. "Oh, it's really too bad you're so unwell."

"Unwell?" Now Angela was confused. "What the hell are you two talking about?"

The twins shared looks. It was Courtney who spoke. "Well, you stopped coming to school for a while and so we went your place to see if you were there. Your dad told us that you were feeling a little unwell and that you," she leaned closer to whisper, "went somewhere to get better."

"When we asked where," Chelsea picked up, "your dad said it was best if we just let you get better and that you couldn't take any visitors."

Angela only stared at them, incredibly bemused. And then...it hit her.

They thought she'd gone to a psych hospital. They were talking to her like she was a patient because they thought she really was one!

Angela huffed a mirthless laugh. She couldn't believe this. "You two are such idiots," she said in a low, irritated voice. "I didn't lose my mind if that's what you two are thinking. Nor did I go to rehab. I went to Jamaica for a vacation because I wanted to get away from everything."

Again, the twins shared pitiful looks. Angela's irritation surged into anger. She gripped her mug so tightly it was a wonder she didn't break through it.

"We understand, Angela," Chelsea said softly. "We wouldn't want anyone to know either."

"After all," said her sister. "You were the most popular girl in school and now everyone thinks you're a lunatic. I wouldn't want to face anyone either."

"You damn idiots!" Angela slammed her fist on the counter, her coffee spilling everywhere. "I said I left the country! What part of that do you not understand?"

"I think it's best if we leave." Chelsea rose as she said those words, her sister right after. "You look as if you're getting a little upset again."

Courtney shook her head sadly. "If only I had known this before. It would make sense. Why you were so crabby. Why you didn't talk about your family. Why you would follow Jessi around like an idiot. You were just bipolar."

Angela wouldn't be surprised if Courtney was just throwing out the first word she knew regarding mental illness. She didn't have the power to respond though. She was too shocked at that last mention of Jessi.

They took her silence as an agreement judging by the sad looks on their faces before they both said, "Take good care of yourself, Angela," and then turned to leave. Chelsea added, "And don't forget to take your pills."

Angela watched them go. She couldn't believe what just happened. How it happened. It was so...outrageous that she could only sit there and stare after them in disbelief.

Someone came to sit before her, blocking her view. Roger.

"Hey," he said softly. "You okay?"

She hardly heard him. Angela got to her feet and walked away. She wasn't thinking about the fact that she might see the twins outside, that they would catch her making her escape and continue to pity her. She wasn't thinking about where she was going or what she was going to do. She had to get away, to clear her thoughts, to sort through the waves of emotions she was feeling.

Angela had to scream. She just didn't know if she could.

***

Hey guys! I hope you like the chapter. What do you think about Chelsea and Courtney's reaction to seeing her? Poor Angela, right?