MWB CHAPTER 4: The Punishment

　　I woke up with an unfamiliar feeling around me. Why does my bed feels less soft?

　　I rolled around to find a soft spot, but instead, I fell on the ground.

　　"Ouch!" I groaned in pain and finally opened my eyes. I looked at my bed and squinted my eyes. "Why did my queen size bed turned into a single one?"

　　I observed it for more seconds before reality hit me. This is not my bed.

　　I stood up and looked around the cramped room. Four walls, wooden floor, window, one door, one bed and one closet. This is not my room!

　　And as if the culture shock wasn't enough, I started hearing footsteps coming towards the room.

　　Panicking, I quickly grabbed a pillow and threw it the moment the door opened.

　　"Hey!" The guy shouted in surprise, catching the pillow with a confused expression. "Is that how you greet people?"

　　His confused expression immediately turned into an annoyed one.

　　"And why the hell am I gonna greet my captor?" I questioned back. His expression turned back into a confused one. "How did you even kidnapped me?!"

　　"I don't know what you're talking about." He shook his head

　　A criminal acting dumb? Well, unfortunately for him, I'm no dumb at all.

　　"HELP! HELP!" I started shouting and panic took over his face. "I'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED- HMPHF!"

　　He covered my mouth with his right hand and held my body with the left.

　　Why is he so strong?! Plus he's tall too! My headbutt won't reach him! Despite my obvious disadvantage, I still tried to fight back.

　　"You didn't read the letter!" He exclaimed and turned me around to the bed. That's when I only noticed an envelope on its upper left side. "I'm gonna let you go, and then you're gonna read your father's letter. Okay?"

　　At the mention of my father, I paused and stopped struggling at his hold. Dad's involved in this?

　　Following his word, he released me and signalled me to take the envelope. With hesitance, I decided to pick it up.

　　"Go on, read it." He said impatiently

　　What could Dad be possibly thinking?

　　I figured that I'll only get my answers if I read the letter. And so, I opened the envelope and took out the letter.

　　'This is your punishment, Thea. From now on, you'll live at this cheap apartment and will be watched by Axel every single day. He will be your bodyguard and he'll report to your Mom from time to time. He will also be the one to handle your budget. And also, take care of him. He'll be going with you in school too, and I made sure that he has the same classes as yours. He'll be in your care, Thea.'

　　The letter was signed by both Mom and Dad. And if this guy named Axel will be reporting to Mom, then I guess this was really her idea.

　　There's just something really off with letter though. He'll be my bodyguard but they want me to take care of him? So am I supposed to babysit him or what?

　　Just thinking about it is already tiring. I just sighed and turned my eyes to the beside me who seems to be observing my every move.

　　"So you're Axel, huh?" I asked and analyzed him from head to toe

　　Like what I said earlier, he's really tall. He looks like he's 6'0 feet tall. He has broad shoulders and I can see a little bit of his defined collarbone showing from his v-neck white shirt. His jawline is sharp that I can see him being popular with girls in school. With plump lips, pointy nose and blue eyes like that, they will definitely like him. His simple clean cut fits him too.

　　"Miss Thea?" He asked and clapped in front of my face, causing me to flinch. What the hell?! "I said, you're making me uncomfortable."

　　"Me? What did I do?"

　　He rolled his eyes at me. Again, what the hell?!

　　"I said that my full name is John Axel Lopez, but you were just staring at me!" He sounded like a kid complaining to his Mom

　　Am I actually going to have to babysit him?!

　　"That's not cool, Miss Thea!" He continued

　　He's really like a kid. A kid with a bitchy attitude.

　　"Okay, jeez! I'm sorry!" I apologized and he just rolled his eyes again. What is it with this guy?! "The heck is your problem?"

　　"Your sorry doesn't sound sincere." He sulked

　　A kid. He's a kid.

　　I just sighed and tried to sound as sincere as I could. No point in arguing, I know I'll just get pissed.

　　"Look Axel, I'm sorry."

　　He stared at me for a few seconds and shrugged. "Okay."

　　I so want to explode right now! Until how long will this punishment last?!

　　"So Thea, tell me about yourself." He said and sat at bed, crossing his arms and legs

　　I want to throw this sassy guy out of my life already!

　　"Why don't YOU tell me about yourself?" I countered and also crossed my arms

　　"Hmm." He hummed while squinting his eyes. "Fair enough. I've read enough about you anyways."

　　"Wait, what?"

　　"So I was raised by my older sister and she was basically my mother figure." He completely ignored my question and went on with his story. What a complete jerk. "The rest is a secret for now because I don't trust you yet."

　　I closed my eyes to stop myself from releasing all my frustrations and annoyance at him.

　　Calm down Thea. He might report it to your Mom if you come at him.

　　I opened my eyes and forced a smile. That's right. I should act good so that I can quickly get rid of him.

　　"If she's your mother figure, then how about your actual mother?" I asked, acting interested

　　He smiled back. Is he acting nice too or- nope, I take it back. He's smirking.

　　"Secret."

　　.. I hope someone will make this guy disappear from my sight.