Let Love Down

Chapter Four

The only Joanne's I found was probably a fabric store, so I typed in the full name of the restaurant. As soon as I found the actual address, I yelled at Jamie from my room.

"Go to the car! I need to go somewhere before dark! Hurry!"

I heard Jamie groan and I chuckled to myself.

"It's a restaurant!" I added.
I heard the front door open. My plan is a success so far! If I come across Mom, she'll give me a hug, take me away, and we can just leave the whole Cooper family behind. I slid my phone in my pocket and ran out of the front door.

As soon as I got in the car, Jamie turned it on.

"Where are we going, exactly?"

I tried not to make a big deal of it, but I failed.

"It's an Italian restaurant called Joanne Trattoria, and we have to get there quick!"

She started to back out of the driveway, and then she slammed on the brakes, nearly knocking my head off of my shoulders.

"Wait a minute," she said with a frustrated tone.

"You're telling me that you want to go to Stefani's parents' restaurant? Even after th-"

"Oh, come on! Just this once! If you don't tell Steven, it'll be just this one time!"

We have a strict rule that I forgot about: Louise is not allowed to go to the family restaurant unless permitted to do so by Stefani herself.

Well, we all know how that turned out.

"Stefani will kill me if she's there."

I shook my head violently.

"That's why you aren't going in! Besides, if you don't hurry, it'll be a wasted trip!"

Jamie pulled out onto the road.

"If she sees you, she'll know I'm there."

As we kept driving, I kept telling her why it would be okay to go in by myself. When we arrived, she finally agreed.

"I'll give you five minutes in there. If you're not out by then, I'll tell Steven you were here," she raised her chin up.

"Plenty of time!"

I jumped out of the car and sprinted to the door of the restaurant. I wanted to stop and take a picture of the scene, but there was really no time. I swung the door open and everyone in the restaurant turned their head toward me.

I needed to calm down a lot.

I took a deep breath and looked around for a waitress, since they are easier to talk to.

"Ma'am," I squeaked at a waitress, "can I speak to you?"

She nodded her head quickly and scurried over to me.

"Is Cynthia here?"

Her facial expression told me that she was here, but her mouth told me she wasn't.

"I'll give you fifty dollars to speak to her," I bribed. She looked both ways and sighed.

"Fine."

We walked to an office-type area.

"Mrs. Cynthia, this young lady would like to speak to you."

And there she was, my own grandmother, staring back at me.

"Thank you Rosali, you may be excused now."

She ran out of the room to continue her job.

"I have needed to talk to you for so long," I mumbled and covered my face.

"What is it, honey?"

I looked up at her.

"Where's Stefani? Was she here?"

Cynthia shook her head.

"She left about two minutes ago. You just missed her," she spoke with slight annoyance. My heart sank. My stomach started turning in knots. Two minutes.

"I only have five minutes, so I need to use this time wisely," I explained.

"Is there any way you could take me to her?"

Cynthia shook her head again.

"No, I'm afraid I can't. We don't do things like that, especially for-"

I interrupted, "Her daughter?"

Cynthia furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have no idea what you're talking about sweetheart. We can talk about it later, but I've got important business to take care of."

I am ruining everything.

"Do you know who Louise Kinney is?"

She nodded slightly.

"That is me. I am her. This is I. Will you PLEASE tell me Mom's phone number at least?"

Cynthia started to shift around uncomfortably in her seat.

"This is just a Little Monster gimmick, isn't it?"

"I'll call Jamie to prove it. I paid fifty dollars to come talk to you."

That didn't work either. My five minutes was up, so I started to leave the restaurant. I felt someone's hand grab my shoulder, so I stopped walking. Who could it be?
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Sorry this chapter is a bit weird, but I've got stuff I've been working on, and this is all I could do. I hope you liked it!