Chapter 9 - I've got a job to do

I sip the milkshake with my head down.

Hopefully if I don’t look at him he won’t notice me
“Hey, Hannah!”

Darn

“Amazing we keep meeting each other like this, huh?"
I turn around and see Alex, perfect teeth a shining. A give an uneasy smile and say, “Yeah, amazing,”
“Hey I didn’t know you knew about CC’s!”
“Well, yeah, I’ve been coming here forever” I said without thinking.

Darn!

“But I thought that you only just moved here?”

Oh grrrrate! What am I going to do now? I know.

“Hey, look! We like the same drink!” I practically cry.
“Well so we do,” he says, grinning at me. “What else do you like?"
Think, think, think. I look at the menu in a fluster and see the word chicken on it.
“Um, birds,”

Um, birds?

Alex laughs at me. “Yeah, that’s pretty vague,” I feel a bit more at ease. I stifle a laugh, “So what about you?” I say, trying to keep the conversation going.
“Before I tell u I’ll ask you a question, when you first saw me, what did you think?”
I look around the room, trying not to give my blush away. How could I tell him that there moment I saw him my heart gave way and fainted? What would I have normally thought? If I hadn’t fallen for him?
“Sort of…popular jock,” I say, biting my lip and hoping he wouldn’t hate me.
“Well, the thing is, I’m from Ireland and…”
My mouth as a mind of its own, “I knew it!” I yell a bit too loudly. I cover my face in shame. “So sorry, go on,” I manage to mutter.

Alex begins to talk but I don’t hear a thing he says. My mind wonders to my auntie. Is she safe? I ask myself. Memories flood my mind and I think of my mum. My dad. Betrayal. I try to think of what they want with her. Do they want information? About me? How is she doing, why did she have to go outside, of all places! Wait. What am I doing here? How could I be sitting at my favourite cafe, drinking strawberry milkshake with the boy of my dreams? While my auntie is probably being kidnapped, gagged and locked up in a cell, while I sit here chit-chatting. I suddenly realise Alex is still talking.
“-and the arts”
“the arts?” I say, trying to sound like I was listening all this time.
“Yeah. Painting, drawing, music, drama. All that kind of stuff. I also loved stories, writing and poetry. By the way, this is all the stuff I’ve never told anyone before,” he seems to sigh and relax, as if all his worries were let out in on single breath.
“Poetry? Really?” I say, thinking of my mum and her passion for a rhyme.
“Yeah, would you like to hear what I’ve got?”
I think for a bit, and with a cheery smile I say, “Yeah!”
He pulls out a large writing book from his rucksack and opens it to the middle page.
“My Love:”
“Beautiful, stunning and everything more
Think I love her, though I’m unsure
I know I want to be with her forever
I’ll be happy if we’re together
I wish I could just let her know
Tell her that I need her so.”
I realise that tears are in my eyes, blocking my sight and my smile has turned into a frown. For a second, the way Alex looked at me, it seemed to tell me that he was talking about me? I want to run up and hug him, kiss him, tell him I love him too, but I remember my auntie. And I remember my promise.

“You must not get too close to anyone, ya hear me? They will use that against you. They will kill them,”

“Alex that’s, -I-I-I, I gotta go,” I leave him with his mouth open in shock and tears rolling down my cheeks like fountains. I wipe my tears away with the back of my hand, once I’m outside, and remember that I’ve got a job to do.
…

I race home in a flurry, my legs a blur. I know that I must do something, I know it. I have to get to Rosemary, Rosemary knows what is happening. I turn the corner to my street and race towards my house. My key is in my pocket. I push the shiny steel key into the lock and open the door...
The house is a mess! There are broken jars everywhere and cups on the carpet. The lamp on the table is now on the floor and shattered glass fills the room. The windows are broken.
An Ambush
There is a hole in the ceiling letting the moon-light flood the room. I see a note on the kitchen table. With my hand quivering with fear I reach for the yellow slip and read:
"Dear Daughter,
We have captured Rosemary and your Aunt and hidden them away.
You will never see them again...unless of course you come to find them? Your life is worth both of theirs. I promise that I'll spare their lives if you come. But then again, my fingers might have been crossed. Oh well, its a chance you will take, right? You know where I am.
Your loving daddy"

Suddenly I feel myself fall to the floor. I knew that something would happen. But now that it has, it doesn't feel real. Beads of sweat fall from my forehead and I start to feel so light, so light.
No, this is just what he wants. He knows what you will do, do the opposite.
Do the opposite? What would that be? I think for a moment and suddenly it clicks.

...

"Ding Dong"
"Hello?" Alex's eyes open wide as he sees me.
"Can I come inside?" I say, more or less inviting myself in.
"I need your help,"