The Masked Truth

Chapter Six

WILL EDIT THIS AGAIN LATERS. MY MIND IS A LITTLE DEAD FROM WRITING 2.5K WORDS :)

C H A P T E R   S I X

Nathan's hand tightly clasp with mine is the only thing that keeps my body moving forwards and weaving between the people on the busy street. My lungs burn and every breathe I breath in burns my lungs. I'm not out of shape, just not used to running so fast in a short amount of space without a warm up.

We come to a skidding halt in front of the restaurant. I sort of recognise the outside from the picture I viewed on the web. But standing outside the building in a dark lighting makes the place seem a lot different. Perhaps the photo was also old and didn't capture the recent exterior. Either way, Marina has a great eye for finding small, but popular restaurants nobody would think to go to.

I rest my hands on my thighs as I lean over and try to catch my breath. My chest unevenly lifts up and down and the air starts to fill back up. It feels nice to relax from pushing my muscles, but a weird sort of tingly feeling overcomes my body with makes shake my limbs and move for the entry door.

As we walk through the establishment, the warm air numbs my cold limbs and I suddenly realise that I'm still holding hands with Nathan. I don't want to throw his hand away like a sour reject, so I slowly drop his hand and then brush a section of my hair behind my ear smoothly.

I walk ahead of Nathan when I spot Marina and Michael at a table ahead of us. Marina is the first one out of the pair to jump up and come running over towards me. She locks me into a tight hug against her body, and then passes me over for Michael to do the same thing.

"Do sit," Michael says, as he gestures to the table behind us.

Nathan and I walk to the opposite side of the table and take our seats. I place my handbag on the ground near my feet as I shuffle in closer to the table. I look over to see Nathan taking a sip from his glass of water.

I don't get a chance to drink in my surroundings, because out of nowhere, a plate of food is placed in front of me. The sweat enticing aroma swirls through the air and instantly makes my stomach growl in hunger.

"You look famished." Marina comments.

"I probably don't eat the best on my down time," I admit. "I prefer being on tour in the respect as it's usually all organised for me. It's like being at home with your parents, you don't have to worry because your parents usually have something prepared, cooked and waiting on the table for you," I explain.

"At least you're being taken care of." Smiles Marina, "You need that nutritious food for such a busy schedule!"

"If she catches you eating unhealthy, she'll send you to her dietitian," whispers Nathan, "She's very big on eating healthy these days." Michel laughs along with Nathan and I watch Marina try and hold off a little pout from springing onto her face.

"I just want to ensure my boys have the energy to sustain their daily activities," she defends.

"And I think that's really sweet of you," I reply, "My manager is much the same, which is why I think of her as my tour mother."

"A mother away from home, I think we all need a beautiful people like that in our lives." Marina nods her head.

"She's great, but I do love my down time, though it's a bit weird at times. She's usually got me pinned down by the minute doing something." The table laughs and we then move to start to eat our meal.

"Tell me, Riley, how is your family?" Marina questions.

I quickly chew through my mouthful of pasta before addressing Marina on her questions.