Secrets |

Chapter two | Crimson.

It was Julia's working day today; Monday. The weekend had come and gone, as well as the rain that danced and bickered in the chilly November air. It had slowed to a mild drizzle now, but Julia could see the townspeople rushing around trying to shelter themselves both from the rain and the cold.

The atmosphere in Roma's was calm and subtle as customers scurried in and out, clutching their fresh morning coffee; not sparing Julia a second glance as she cleared up the tables farthest from the entrance. Julia liked being alone. In her own silence that pushed away the outside world, and sometimes even made her appear more hostile than she had intended on being, or actually was. Roma's was never really as busy as you'd expect a coffee shop to be on Mondays, in fact it was quite the opposite and the sole reason for that was the fact that most townspeople preferred the fancier, more popular cafes.

Rob had left a while ago. He had gone to drop of his twelve year old son, Dwayne to school and he said he would be back as soon as possible to help out. But he really didn't need to, the café wasn't busy and if Rob did chose to help out he would be neglecting his health.

He always did so, but whenever Julia would ask him he would wave her off and say he was fine.

But he was not.

Julia wasn't blind she could see that Rob was hurting, badly. However no matter how hard anyone tried he wouldn't pull out of his misery. But that wasn't his fault - he couldn't help or change the course his life had taken but it was maddening, both for Rob and the people who cared about him.

Everyday Julia would see Rob, he would smile at her and say the nicest things, and he would treat her like a daughter, putting her happiness first; making it seem as if he had no problem nor a care in the world. It hurt Julia to see him like this and at times when she would really sit and watch, it would seem to her as if Rob was drowning, but without the water or the struggle.

Julia was dragged out of her thoughts as she heard the bell above the door ring and a chorus of howls and laughter filled the small café. She turned her head to see the usual group of friends, all males. With how long Julia had worked here she had begun familiarising faces and orders, which allowed her to sometimes interact with the customers and sit whit them, like she did with Anna.

Anna was an old lady, with white hair and wrinkles and she was the sweetest lady Julia had the pleasure of getting to know. On the other hand though, the loud group of six that had just sauntered in - Julia found not so pleasant.

They were disruptive and arrogant. Clad in leather jackets and massive boots, their hair would be styled in the same i-just-got-out-of-bed-messy look and they all seemed to fashion a smirk that was forever plastered onto their handsome faces. Yes, they were indeed handsome but that does not mean they were nice. Two out of the group especially enjoyed ticking off Julia and made her mornings hell. The rest, were slightly more bearable and so Julia had decided she would loathe their existence a little less.

Wolf whistles and exasperating comments were thrown Julia's way but by now she was used to it. Which is why she continued to their table, put on her best fake smile and proceeded in taking their order which always took longer than necessary.

Noon had rolled around pretty quickly and the annoying bunch of horny males had left a while ago. Rob had also come back and began helping out as more people came and left.

Time was going fast and the café once again held a peaceful atmosphere as the rain continued outside creating the perfect melody. It was also almost time for Julia's shift to end due to the fact she had to go and collect her younger sister in about half an hour. She was busy putting away the cutlery she had been cleaning when a scream echoed the thin walls.

Rushing out and almost tripping on her untied laces, she looked up to find a woman - no a girl, she looked fairly young, maybe sixteen or seventeen but that didn't matter right now. What mattered was the girl's ripped white shirt that had three cuts going down the middle, almost as if it had been clawed out. Thick crimson blood enriched the girls strawberry blonde hair, making it look a mix of different shades of red that varied from light to dark. Customers and workers rushed to the girl's side and helped her sit whilst she struggled and squirmed, not accepting the glass of water now being offered to her.

She was panicking and continued murmuring incoherent sentences, her breathing was laboured and she searched the room frantically with alert eyes.

The girl lurched out of the chair, making it fall behind her " I can't.. what if he? No - NO! PLEASE SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING! HELP ME! He.. PLEASE" her cold hands were now a death grip on Julia's shoulders as she shook her head frantically

"He's going to.. please just.. im begging you I.." her words were left hanging as her hands that were a firm grip slipped and fell limply to the floor with her. Everyone stared at the petite girl lying motionlessly on the floor, gasps and whispers filled the air and the crowd began growing as more people looked in, hoping to find out what the girl could possibly have be talking about.

The west wood police came in soon after and ushered the audience out, keeping behind the staff at Roma's. They interrogated the two and only servers at Roma's but when they got no answers they had paramedics carry out the young girl.

"What was all that about?"

"I honestly don't have a clue little one, you're going to pick up your sister now yeah?" that was the first proper sentence Julia had heard from rob since the incident a while ago.

"yeah.." her reply was more of a sigh and Rob had figured out by now that Julia was petrified.

"listen to me kid, hey look at me." Julia lifted her head to look at her the aging man - "there's nothing to be afraid of okay? You will walk out there with no fear. What happened to the girl was frightening yes, But I will not let you be afraid. Not even for a second."

Rob had his hands firmly on Julia's shoulders, and was successful in bringing out a small smile from the woman he considered his daughter.

The rain had begun falling heavily now and Julia cursed her luck as she began her walk to Rob's beat up Toyota. Julia had no car of her own yet, but she was saving up so she could confidently pay for a car and the extra costs that came with it. As of now though, she was content with the small car Rob would lend to her in times like these.

I 'edited' this and found there were a couple of mistakes but because im lazy when it comes to editing i wouldn't mind it if there were corrections in the comments but please try to be nice //