Hostage

Foreigners

Six years ago

Roxi's POV

Pete was right.

I should have gone home.

I sighed as I struggled to clean off the coffee stain,but to no avail. It had been thirty minutes. Thirty whole minutes since I saw Richard off to the airport. The whole ride to the airport,I had smiled and pretended to be okay.

But I wasn't okay....

I was far from being okay.......

I bit hard on my lower lip and then drew in deep breaths. I could feel his burning gaze on me. There was no way I was going to break down here,in front of all the customers,not in front of him.

What did I care anyway?

He was just another regular customer,just like the rest of them.

I didn't realize I had been staring at the coffee machine for what seemed like ages until I heard Pete's voice behind me,causing me to jump.

"Are you sure you're okay Roxi?" He asked,his eyes filled with worry. "You should take the day off. I'm sure I could manage the cafe on my own today." He continued. I smiled faintly and sighed.

"I'm sure you can." I grabbed a menu. "I'll be fine." I assured him as I slipped away and then moved towards the two men who had just walked into the cafe. They were both dressed in expensive tuxedos.

"Good morning and welcome to Morning Glory. What can I get you?" I faked a smile. The both of them exchanged confused glances for a short moment before one of them spoke up.

"Uhm... Buongiorno." He started.

My jaw dropped!

Foreigners........

This day couldn't get worse.

I didn't even know what language that was.

"Vorrei un cappuccino." His voice was dismissive. He wasn't even looking at me. The other man beside him seemed nicer so I focused all my attention on him.

"Uhm---" I smiled broadly. "I. only. speak .English." I said as slowly as possible,hoping they'd get the gist. The second man finally looked up. He gave me a questioning look that made my knees buckle. I drew in a deep breath.

" Benvenuto nella Gloria Del Mattino. Come posso essere di aiuto?"

I whirled around quickly. My jaw dropped. I didn't notice when he stood up from his chair, or when he walked towards me. But he was standing directly beside me now and I definitely couldn't ignore that now.

"Ciao. Come stai?" The first guy smiled broadly,his initial sulky attitude completely disappearing, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Molto bene grazie." He looked at me for a mini second and then gave me an assuring look that said 'I've got you.'

Or maybe it was just me assuming things.

I felt my body relax a bit.

"Come posso aiutarti?" He asked again.