Alana Boone

After completing the errands dad gave me, I walk home forgetting about coffee, hurrying to fill Raquel in on everything.

The town I live in is deserted, with only five houses where one of them is empty. Mrs. Brown, an old woman, lives beside our house, her daughter and two sons check on her from time to time, and my mum visits her often. The Dawkins family lives in the house on the other side of the street, facing Mrs. Brown's house. They have four kids, two of them are twins. And then there's the house facing my house. It was empty, until three years ago, when Raquel and her family moved in here.

I make my way to the house to change my clothes before going to Raquel's. My mum hurries to the door when she hears my keys, and she welcomes me with a worried face. "I was watching the news. There's an incident in this town close to us… where you buy your coffee. Were you there?!" she asks, concerned.

I put my keys in the pot near our door, and I go to the kitchen to grab some water. Mum comes after me. "Well, yes, I got my coffee, and the incident ruined it before even being able to taste it."

"Oh god, please tell me you didn't put your damn nose in it… I know you, you're so nosy!" Mum scowls.

"It's called thrill-seeker, mum, not nosy." I gulp a cup of water.

"I'm being serious here. You didn't even deny!" she grabs my arm to make me face her.

"Ugh… Yes, I tried to stop it, but it was too late." I open the peanut jar and toss some in my mouth. "When the guy was shot, police officers arrived. I wasn't hurt, but his blood was all over me." My brows scrunch in disgust.

"You'll never learn, will you? Me and your dad were sick worried about you. You can't do things like that without thinking." Her voice is high and unsettled.

I turn to face her, trying to be calm. "Mum, I'm almost nineteen. I can take care of myself. When will you accept that?"

I close the peanut jar as she lets out a heavy sigh. "I know darling, it's just… if something happens to you, I'd die. I trust you, but I don't trust the cruel things outside."

She's about to pull me in for a hug, so I surrender to her. "It's okay, you don't have to worry… I'm fine."

I pull out of her embrace after what felt like thirty seconds. "I'm going to change my clothes and hang out at Raquel's. Love you, mum."

"Come eat breakfast first, baby."

"I'll grab something before heading out." I kiss her on the cheek and sprint to my room.

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I change my clothes and comb my hair, then I head to Raquel's place. Her mother lets me in, bragging about how her daughter is still asleep. "Finally, someone came to wake her up."

I chuckle while hugging her. "How are you, Mrs. Marsh?"

"Hey, how many times do I have to tell you… Call me Ellen, kiddo." She pats my shoulder.

I smile at her, and whisper loudly, "Okay, okay… wonderful Ellen."

She lets out a giggle as she ushers me to Raquel's room.

I barge into the room aggressively, letting her know she will not like what's coming. Her room is small and classic, the walls are yellow and white decorated with different art pieces by her, on one side there's the bed under a window, and on the other there's a white desk, with several books on it and tiny souvenirs.

I slip the blanket off of her and half shout in her ear, "RED CODE! WAKE UP SLEEPYHEAD…"

She opens her eyes almost immediately, trying to remove strands of red hair from her face and take in her surroundings. "What the actual… Alana Boone, I'll give you ten seconds to run before I punch you."

"Oops, someone is annoyed… Using my full name, are we?" I ask jokingly.

Straightening herself to sit on the bed, she pushes me on the floor and we both burst out laughing. "You used code red. What happened? Gosh, you're always in trouble." She rolls her eyes.

"Shut up, I'm not in trouble. But I have so much to tell you."

Raquel gets up and changes her pajamas, while I go through today's events briefly, in details. We head downstairs so she can grab something to eat, and I continue depicting my morning for her. She often looks at me blankly, but she also shows reactions by oohing, and some face expressions that I found funny. I leave the strange thing on my wrist for the end, because it's eating my brain up to know who is Sirius Covelli, and what's his relation with the special agent Mason Covelli, or why this ink is weirdly indelible. Obviously, I'll work on that with Raquel. Our detective skills combined are good enough, I think.

"That's crazy Alana, now you can cross 'A man dying on me' from your wild list." She says, giggling.

"Wild list? You're insufferable. It's not like I planned it."

She washes her hands and I stare at my wrist, thinking of a way to tell her about it. After what felt like seconds, she eyes me suspiciously as she dries her hands with a towel. "There's something you want to say… Spill it."

I clear my throat, giving her a small smile. "Come, look at this." I extend my arm to her, she throws the towel on the counter, coming closer to my side. "I found this name while I was washing off the blood." She holds my arm, scrutinizing the ink carefully, then she looks at me confused. "Who the hell is Sirius?"

I shrug my shoulders, tracing the letters with my thumb. "Let's search him online."

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Raquel sits on her desk, typing 'Sirius Covelli' into her laptop, and I stand behind her, gripping the desk with my hands from both sides, waiting for some results to come out. After the page loads, it shows photos of a young man in suits. One photo is of him with the special agent that talked to me this morning. I ask Raquel to open a photo of him alone; he's wearing a black elegant suit, looking with such serious demeanor. He's tall, but it doesn't appear if he's muscular or not. His eyes match his brownish wavy hair that seems thick, he has a light skin and a sharp jawline with a short beard, his nose is small and upturned, his lower lip is fuller than the upper and they're a rich rose color; damn, he's hot. "What?" Raquel laughs. Oh my… I said that out loud. "Nothing he looks so mean." I tap her on her back to continue browsing. She scrolls down, his social media accounts appear and a short biography; 'Sirius Covelli is a 22-year-old law graduate, born and raised in Vihnlox, studied at The University of Vihnlox, newly employed at 'Just Justice' where he works with other lawyers in different cases.'

I take the wireless mouse from Raquel's hand and click on his Instagram link. The page loads as his account comes into focus. His posts are mostly of his family, and some of work. I view his story highlights realizing that he's always working in a cafe on afternoons. After finding the exact place of the cafe, I sigh and take a glance at Raquel. "I will go to that cafe today. If he's a regular there, then the employees definitely can help me with more information."

Raquel stretches her arms and yawns. "Okay, I'll tag along with you."

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I spend the rest of the day in my room, counting the minutes for the afternoon to arrive and reading a book I wasn't able to continue before because of the graduation rush. Finally, I finish the book after eating lunch with my parents. So I decide to get ready to go to the café with Raquel. I toss a white blouse with jeans shorts and an emerald green comfy dress on my bed. Someone knocks on my door. I know it's Raquel, so I let her in. "Help me choose." I point at the clothes laying on the bed.

"Green brings out the sweet hazel in your eyes. I am team dress."

I wear the dress and put on soft makeup, then I curl the tips of my hair. Raquel wears a cute yellow blouse with a white jeans short, it looks good on her white skin and shiny red hair. As we finish getting ready, we head out and make our way to the café driving mum's car.

The café is dark themed, nothing like the one I go to. It gives luxurious vibes, like not any person goes there. Only VIPS. The word 'push' is written on the door. I push it and enter, holding the door for Raquel as I examine my surroundings. The café seems as busy as it gets, with people in suits and formal clothes working on their laptops, and some having small work meetings. I spot an empty table in a corner and head to it. We settle ourselves on the table and wait for a waiter to come. There's two men sitting behind our table, my back to them. The people sitting across from us are gathering their stuff and leaving. A waiter approaches us with a smile, clutching a notebook and a pen in his hands. He takes our order but I stop him before turning to other customers. "Hey, um... I want to ask about something please." I say awkwardly. "Actually, about someone. A regular someone here." This time more confident.

The young guy clears his throat. "Do you mean one of our employees?"

"Well, no I mean one of the customers. Sirius Covelli. You heard of him or something?"

The guy now looks at me troubled, he laughs nervously. "Yes. H-he comes here often to work." He stutters. "A lawyer, he's a lawyer. I can give you his card if you want, you may contact his assistant." he smiles softly.

Raquel is about to agree to his offer, but I cut her immediately. "No I don't need him for work purposes. I'm curious what kind of person he is. He seems cold and arrogant." I chuckle. Raquel snaps me a death stare, I ignore her and turn to the waiter. "Is he not?" But I realize something changed in his expression, like he saw a ghost. He looks pale and anxious. "Hey don't worry I will not tell your boss." And suddenly the young man turns and goes out of sight. I glance at Raquel confused, just to see that she, too is pale and nervous. Kind of in a shock. "Oh Lord, Raquel I was kidding." She doesn't even flinch.