I fidgeted with my hands as I took quick steps down the stairs. My head pounded heavily as I thought of what would happen to me if my parents saw Daniel. I also thought up some lies in case they do see him - I was very quick at making up lies but they usually come out all wrong.
"Helena!" A loud and rather familiar voice filled the confounding silence downstairs. Standing on the welcome mat infront of the entrance door was my aunt Vivian. I found out why my parents were putting up an act of being in love again. They didn't want anyone to know about their divorce yet.
Aunt Vivian beamed at me, revealing her signature teeth. They were two rows of shiny pearls... that were quite large. She resembled a white rabbit, not only because of her teeth and her pink button nose, but because of the limpid white hair she had flowing down her shoulders. She was only thirty two but her hair had been that way for many years because of a rare gene problem.
She travelled half way across the world to meet her Internet boyfriend Fred and settled down with him for a year before she found out that he was a drug smuggler. Ashamed and heartbroken, she broke it off with him and moved to Scotland where she stayed in a hut with twenty two cats.
After hearing Aunt Vivian's tragic love story, my parents became immensely cautious about whoever I talked to on the Internet. But that didn't stop me from having an online relationship of my own. I guess you could call me a rebel - I am an extremely curious girl and I tend to do things I shouldn't.
And that has gotten me into trouble.
"Aunt Vivi... what a surprise." I forced a smile, attempting to hide my distress.
"How is it possible to grow that much in a year?" She asked, placing her hands on her waist. "Well, aren't you going to give your aunty a hug?"
I couldn't comprehend what she was saying. I was distracted by the fact that Aunt Vivian might have seen Daniel outside, since she'd only arrived.
"Helena hasn't really been herself since she arrived home from that trip." My father added. He raised an eyebrow, prompting me to give his sister some sort of response. I realised I'd just been standing there with a blank face.
"Oh you've got a cat!" Aunt Vivian exclaimed when she spotted Jelly Bean on the couch. She rushed to the living room, leaving our conversation on stand-by. Her eccentricity had come to great help.
"I need some air." I quickly told my parents who looked on worriedly as I headed out the entrance door.
I shut the door behind me, careful not to leave it ajar. I couldn't risk it. The frigidness of the weather outside made me grit my teeth as they began to chatter. I unravelled the woolen scarf around my neck and wrapped it around my shoulders instead.
My dark hair capered with the cold wind as I looked around for Daniel. He wasn't where I'd seen him. Then I heard clanking noises from the rubbish bins in the garden.
I rushed to the bins to see Daniel slumped between two large rubbish bags. He was a wreck. I was almost felt sorry for him. His red face and heavily bagged eyes lit up when he saw me.
"Hel... baby..." He murmured, trying to stand up. He kept falling back down so I helped him get up with a pull on his arm.
"Daniel... what happened to you?" I asked when he was back on his feet. His hair was a mess, it looked as if he had a brown Abyssinian guinea pig on his head.
He struggled to balance himself. "Helena, I love you." He muttered.
The strong scent of alcohol from his breath saluted my nostrils. "You're drunk again... please go home. My parents are going to kill me." I told him firmly. "I'll get you a taxi."
