2. She Is a Psycho

~Kiara~

My dad walked into the treatment room. Behind him was my eighteen-year-old brother, Elijah.

"It's official, Kiara. The paperwork has been finalised," my dad said as he rubbed his eyes. He looked so tired.

I had never seen him this heartbroken. He was a strong man who had never once shown fear.

"The bank gave us thirty days to clear out our equipment. I never imagined I would be the one turning off the lights in this building for the very last time."

"We aren't closing, Dad," I said.

I forced a big smile so he wouldn't see me panic.

I looked at Elijah. He looked terrified. "Mateo and I have a plan. It's a temporary consulting job out of town. It pays a huge upfront bonus. Trust me."

Elijah walked over and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

He was getting so tall, but right now he felt like my little brother again. "You better not be doing anything illegal, Red. We need the clinic, but we need you more."

"It's totally legal, Elijah," I promised.

I hugged him back tightly, burying my face in his shoulder for a second. "Just take care of Dad while I'm gone. Keep him away from the bills."

Elijah nodded. However, he was still too young to shoulder all these responsibilities.

I wanted him focused on finishing senior year and preparing for college applications. Instead, he spent his evenings working shifts after school because we could barely keep up with tuition payments.

He still talked about playing college hockey one day.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him we might not even be able to afford the application fees.

After, Mateo and I walked out of the back room toward the front desk.

Suddenly, someone screamed near the front desk.

"There she is! There is the psycho!"

It was the angry girlfriend from this morning.

I did not expect her to actually show up at the clinic again.

Her boyfriend was hiding behind her.

He had a small white bandage stuck to his forehead from where I hit him.

"You ruined his athletic career! You lied about him touching you just because you are an unhinged maniac!" she screamed.

She lunged directly across the reception desk toward me.

Before Mateo could even move, the girl reached out.

She grabbed a huge handful of my hair. I felt a burning pain spike straight down my neck and immediately my temper skyrocketed.

"Get your hands off me!" I yelled.

I grabbed both of her wrists and I twisted them hard until she gasped and let go of my hair.

I pulled her forward and shoved her straight into a row of plastic waiting room chairs.

And that was apparently the moment Mateo realised neither of us possessed a single ounce of common sense.

"Oh no, absolutely not.” He practically launched himself between us.

Using both arms, he shoved the woman backward while keeping me pinned behind him.

"Security!" Mateo shouted. "Reception! Anybody! Please come collect this discount WWE contestant before she catches these hands!"

The receptionist immediately slammed the panic button beneath her desk.

An alarm sounded somewhere deeper in the building.

The woman continued screaming threats.

I was still trying to get around Mateo.

"Move."

"No."

"Mateo."

"No."

"Move."

His head whipped around.

"Kiara, you are flying to Hawaii in three days."

I blinked.

"So?"

"So if you end up arrested for assaulting this woman, your father is going to murder both of us."

That was actually a fair point.

By then, two security guards had appeared from the back hallway and were already moving toward the lady and her boyfriend.

The lobby was a complete mess.

Patients were standing and the receptionist looked ready to quit.

The boyfriend was trying very hard to pretend none of this was happening.

Mateo immediately grabbed my arm.

"We're leaving."

"What?"

"We are leaving right now."

"Mateo—"

"Nope. Conversation over."

He dragged me toward the hallway before I could protest.

Behind us, the angry girlfriend was still screaming insults while security escorted her toward the exit.

*

*

*

Three days later.

Mateo had officially signed up as my manager for the show. He said every rising star needed representation.

We boarded the flight to Hawaii, and the next thing I knew, the production crew was locking me in a luxury holding room inside a massive villa.

The room was beautiful.

The room was furnished with white leather couches and adorned with fresh tropical flowers.

It looked elegant and inviting, but I was trapped inside with three other contestants.

From the arrangement, it was obvious that the four of us would be sharing this room until the end of the show. Like it or not, the other three contestants were now my roommates.

"I'm telling you, it has to be a royal," a blonde girl named Chloe said.

She was pacing the floor in a tight blue dress. "The producers are being way too secretive. No one gets this much security unless they have a title."

“My money is on a regular guy who made it big,” a sweet-looking brunette named Maya said.

She sat right next to me on the couch.

“You know, like an athlete or a hometown hero who wants a real connection. I just broke up with my ex because he was too obsessed with me. Even now, while I’m on this show, he keeps sending money to my bank account trying to win me back. It’s exhausting when a guy can't let you go.”

I looked at Maya, genuinely wondering how she could be so chatty with people she just met less than three hours ago.

We were all strangers trapped in a room, yet she was spilling her deepest relationship secrets like we were at a sleepover.

I tuned out the rest of her talking.

I leaned my head against the cool glass window.

My mind kept drifting backward anyway.

Something about the way Maya talked about an ex who refused to let go reminded me completely of Zane.

Five years ago, we were just 19 and 21 college students.

Zane was just a regular student who happened to be a fiercely talented hockey player for our university team while I was the girl who spent her afternoons in the athletic training room helping bandage his bruised ribs as his girlfriend.

I didn’t know about his family background but I knew he had those intense grey eyes and a massive dream to make it to the NHL.

My younger brother Elijah actually had that exact same dream now.

Elijah spent every waking hour practicing his shots, hoping to get scouted just like Zane did.

But because of what happened with Zane, I completely blocked out the sports world.

I never listened to hockey news, I never watched the sports channels, and I muted any mention of the league on my phone.

I didn't want to know if Zane ever made it to the big leagues.

I didn't want to know if he was rich, poor, or playing for some random team.

Knowing anything about his life would just make my chest ache.

I still liked him back then.

Honestly, a part of me probably always would. But I had my reasons to walk away that day.

When the professional scouts started showing up back then, Zane totally changed.

He became cold and arrogant.

The night he lied straight to my face about where he was after a major championship game was the exact moment I packed my things.

I swore I was done.

He had called me hundreds of times after that.

Eventually, the pain became too much, and I was forced to block his number completely just to survive the heartbreak.

Since that day, I hadn't really dated anyone.

I decided to just focus on myself, my degree, and my dad's clinic.

Sure, I had a few talking stages with different guys over the years. But every single one of those flings failed.

The guys just couldn't handle my personality. I was too blunt and stubborn, and after what happened with Zane, I didn't take crap from anyone.

"Hey, Kiara, are you okay?" Maya asked. She snapped me out of my memories.

"Just nervous," I lied, forcing a smile on my face.

Suddenly, the doors of the room swung open.

A female producer with a large headset stepped inside.

"Alright, ladies, the wait is over," she announced, waving her clipboard. "All twenty contestants are heading to the red carpet right now. The cameras are live and the network is already streaming, and it's time to finally meet your Bachelor."