Saving Rose

Chapter One

"Ally, can you give me a piggyback ride? Please!" Elizabeth asked me. I was at work, although I loved it so much that I didn't consider it that.

"Of course! Come here." I told her, bending down so she could jump on my back. Ever since I gave Adam a piggyback ride last week, she's been asking me everyday. Although most days, it turns into her asking me every few minutes. I jumped around a bit, making her bounce up and down on my back and squeal, clutching onto me tighter.

"I'm hungry, can you bring me to the snacks and see if I can do it without touching the ground?" I headed back inside to the playroom where the table of snacks was.

After getting her favorite, a bag of rainbow goldfish, I put her down on the couch. "Why can't I give people piggyback rides? It's so much fun, I bet I could do it. I'm strong!" Elizabeth asked me, flexing her arms. She was one of our regulars and has been since she was two years old. She was quite a character as well.

"I'm going to go check on some of the other kids, I'll be back, okay?" I headed back outside where I assumed most of the kids would be since it was such a beautiful, sunny day.

"Ally!" Adam yelled, running up and hugging my legs.

"Adam!" I mimicked, picking him up and swinging him around.

"Come push me on the swings." He grabbed my hand and started to pull me towards the playground. There were two other kids on the swings, Jackson and Hannah, with Sydney taking turns pushing them. Sydney was my co-worker, but also my best friend. She was the one that started the daycare. We were pretty much the only ones who worked here, so it could get pretty busy at times, but we loved it anyways.

"Adam, you going to swing with us?" Jackson asked.

"Ally is going to push me so high, I'm going to fly!"

"I don't know if I'm that strong kiddo, but I'll try my best," I told him.

Sydney moved closer so we could talk. "My brother is moving to town this weekend. He got a job next door as a lawyer so we'll probably be seeing him around often." Her brother lived in New York, but he got laid off because his job was moving, so he decided to move up here. I had never met him in the five years I'd lived here, but Sydney had talked about him a lot. She didn't always seem too fond of him though.

"That's great. I'm excited to meet him. I have a feeling we'll get along pretty well!"

"Dont be so sure about that, he can be pretty cocky sometimes and I know how much you don't like that." I smiled, thinking about how true that was.

Around seven, once all the kids were picked up and rooms were cleaned, I said bye to Sydney and headed back to my apartment. It wasn't very big, but when I moved here it was all that I could afford.

I went straight to the kitchen to cook myself some dinner because I was starving. Thirty minutes later, I was sitting down at the table with a book in front of me and my plate of enchiladas. Not even seconds after I sat down, the doorbell rang.

"Ugh, who is rude enough to interrupt my dinner?" I murmured to myself as I headed to the door.

"Hello, Miss Bell?" There were two police officers standing on my doorstep, both dressed in their navy blue uniforms with guns holstered on their hips.

"Um, yes, that's me."

"May we come in?" The male asked me, gesturing inside.

"Oh, of course. Come in." I closed the door behind them as they walked over to my living room and both sat on a couch. I walked over and sat on the armchair opposite to them.