Keeping Me (Spy Chronicles Book 2)(4)

“I would love to go shopping,” I say.

Because I’ve never actually been shopping. All of the clothes that I own, my mother... or kidnapper... picked up from garage sales and thrift shops. I’ve never even owned new clothes, so this is definitely going to be a change. I mean; not to be a girl or anything, but I’ve dreamed of going shopping. Only in my wildest dreams. And now it’s happening.





Thirty minutes later, we are at a huge shopping mall. What surprises me is that we left the walled city and went to a town close by. I didn’t think it was safe to leave, but I trust my dad’s judgment. If he says it’s okay for Jasmine to take me here, then it must be.

After looking around, I notice there are a lot of familiar looking people—including Jax, Hunter, Brett, Sander, Sebastian and a few other people I recognize from school. I am pretty sure I even saw my math teacher earlier. But nobody comes up to talk to me, and I’m thinking my dad made them come to guard me, which makes me feel bad. There must be at least twenty different people.

“Did my dad force all these people to come?” I ask Jasmine, as we walk into a clothing store.

She nods. “Your dad takes the word protective to a whole new level. Though, I can’t blame him. What Nolan did... none of us saw coming. Nolan is the absolute best. If I were your dad, I would be taking a lot of precautions. Though, maybe getting thirty people to guard you today was a bit overboard.”

“Thirty!” I half-whisper, half-yell.

She just grins and holds up a dress. “Try this on. I need to see what size you are.”

I grab the hanger from her hand and head back to the dressing room. I don’t have to look behind me to see that she’s following.

“All clear,” a guy tells me, opening a dressing room door for me.

“You’re not coming in with me,” I say.

He laughs. “Nope. I’m just here to make sure nobody else tries to.”

As in Nolan.

I let out a sigh and shut the door.

Goodbye privacy, hello twenty-four hour surveillance. Still, I’ll take this over being starved and locked in a room, any day. At least I have somebody who cares.

I slip the dress on and look at myself in the mirror.

It fits.

I’ve never worn clothes that fit before. And somehow, I look less like a twelve-year-old and more like a teenager. A too-skinny teenager. But still, a teenager. I seriously can’t wait to gain some weight.

I walk out of the dressing room so Jasmine can look at it. I am not sure how this whole shopping thing works, but I pretty much need her opinion. She’s standing there, waiting for me, along with the other guy, whom I don’t know.

“What do you think?” I ask her.

“You’re really skinny,” she says, frowning.

“Malnourished,” I say, using the word that my doctor used.

“Yeah,” Jasmine says. “If I ever meet the woman who did this to you... well, she’d better hope I don’t meet her.”

As sick as what she’s saying is, I smile. Jasmine cares about me, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I have so many people who care about me, and I like it.

“This dress looks good on you,” she says.

“Thanks.”

“We will pick up a couple of dresses and some shirts, skirts and pajamas,” she says. “I don’t want to get you too much, because you’re going to gain weight soon. We will just have to come shopping again.”

I smile at the idea of shopping again with Jasmine.

I go and get changed back into my clothes and walk out with the dress in hand.

“Please make sure that none of the guys take me shopping,” I say, as we continue looking through the racks. “I always want you to bring me.”

“I don’t think your dad wants you spending any more time with those boys than absolutely necessary,” she says.

Her comment makes me roll my eyes. “My dad thinks I’m going to run off and marry every guy that I meet, which is just ridiculous. I’ve never even had a boyfriend, and I don’t see any of the guys as more than a friend.”

“Really?” she asks. “That surprises me. Pretty much all the girls have a crush on Sander.”

I laugh. “Of course they do. Sander is very likable. He’s cute.”

“But not to you?”

“I like Sander as a best friend,” I answer.

“What about Bass?”

“He hates me,” I say, giving my automatic answer.

“But he’s hot, right?” she asks. “All the girls like him too, but he’s never given anybody the time of day.”

“He’s very... good-looking,” I say. “But, like I said, he hates me. So, there is no point in seeing him as anything more than a friend.”

“I see,” she says, but she has a huge smile on her face.

“What do you see?” I ask.

“Nothing, nothing,” she says, and then holds up a skirt. “Try this on.”

I grab the skirt from her and head back to the dressing room.

I think I’m going to like having Jasmine as my babysitter.





Friends.





Dad actually hangs out with me later that night. He cooks me dinner, which is amazing. I didn’t think men were supposed to be good cooks. My stepdad and brother never did anything in the kitchen, except occasionally get a bowl of cereal. But my dad is a great cook, and I love eating his food.