"I looked at the cute little girl who had offered me pancakes with a pure heart, then at her mother, who watched us both to see what would happen next, and then at her father, who had the same expression on his face.
I let out a deep breath and slowly got down on my knees. The little girl reminded me of my sisters, and I felt a pang of homesickness.
'My hands are quite dirty right now, dear, and I have to go home now. Maybe some other time,' I said to her, our eyes still locked on each other.
'What's your name, by the way?' I asked her. She glanced at her mom before replying, 'I'm Emily, but you can call me Emmy.'
'Emily is a pretty name you have there,' I said. 'Thank you,' she replied. Her mom interrupted our conversation, saying, 'Okay, that's enough, baby. Eat up before it gets cold.' Brent chimed in, his mouth full of pancake, 'If I were you, lad, I would go check my belongings just to be sure she didn't steal anything from you.'
I responded, 'Okay, maybe you guys are taking things a little too far now. Look, I know you said she tried to steal from you and all that... I got your point, but please can we just let it all die down? Please, it's not like I have anything she would want to steal from me...'
I trailed off, realizing how wrong my words were about to turn out. If she was really a thief like they claimed, she wouldn't want to steal my half-broken phone... but she would definitely steal a golden wristwatch."
Fuck !!
"I immediately got back on my feet and ran as fast as I could back upstairs, covering more than half of the staircase in two leaps. I barged into the room, rushing towards the hoodie where I kept the watch.
I searched through that hoodie over six times, as if it had more than one pocket. I saw my phone, I saw the book... but I didn't see the watch.
No, no, no. It's one thing for a bitch to play with my feelings... it's another to play with my feelings and steal from me. I swear I'm going to kill that bitch". I said and I could feel my eyes hit with rage.
Losing that watch meant everything I've worked for going down the drain, and I couldn't let that happen.
All these thoughts raced through my mind as I put on the hoodie and ran downstairs.
'Where did she go?' I asked immediately, entering the living room and throwing everyone a glance, even Emmy.
'How do you expect us to know that?' Brent replied, getting up from his seat. 'Besides, isn't she your girlfriend?'
'No! I don't want her, she's not my girlfriend. I just want my watch back,' I said with a straight voice.
'Oh, now she's not your girlfriend, huh? So you just picked up a girl at a club, a girl you don't even know, and decided to spend the night with her and now she steals from you, you deny her Brent said letting out a loud laugh.
Well, I didn't know she would turn out to be like this, okay?' I raised my voice back.
'Okay, guys, that's enough already. This won't help us get anywhere with this. It won't help us get the girl back or help the kid find his... um... what did you call it again?' Franca asked, pointing at me. 'My wrist watch,' I completed the sentence.
'Ha! Just a wrist watch? Be happy she didn't take something more valuable, okay. Just let it go, kid.
Let it go?' I can't let it go. And it's not just a wrist watch, okay?'
'Well, I don't care if it was Ben Ten's wrist watch. It's not worth risking your life for,' Brent said, slamming swinging his hands around.as he kept on blabbering.
"This mother...! Argh !!I'm doomed.
I felt a rush all over me and started feeling hot again till I just couldn't take it anymore.
'Shut the fuck up!' I screamed so loudly that I heard birds take off from outside the window. 'Please, watch your language,' Franca said, drawing Emily close and covering her ears.
'Look, I don't have time for this. I need you guys to tell me which path she took. Didn't she mention anything before she left? Is there any way we can trace her down?' I asked, but Franca and Brent exchanged a glance.
'She's a member of the Blood Cross,' Franca said, taking her seat again and putting Emmy on her lap. 'Honey, are you sure you...?'
'No, my love, let him know. If that watch really means a lot to him, then this is the least we can do for him,' Franca said to Brent, then her gaze fell back on me.
'She woke up yesterday before you and needed to freshen up. She didn't have any clothes, so I offered her mine. I left for a moment to get something from the kitchen, and she could pick anything from my wardrobe.' 'Cut to the point, please; I don't have much time,' I interrupted rudely, but she continued calmly.
'She's a very dangerous person; that's the point. And you're lucky you aren't dead now. I'm guessing she really likes you; that's why she left you. You spent the night with a horrible cultist boy that's the point.
'She's a member of the Black Cross,' Brent continued, 'one of the most feared societies in Liberia. Nobody comes into contact with them and leaves alive.'
'How do you guys know this?' I asked, letting out a deep breath.
Franca continued, 'I mistakenly barged into the room yesterday, totally forgot she wanted to change her clothes. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know she was naked, and she left the door open. I came in; she didn't know I was there. She came out of the bathroom naked, and I noticed the tattoo on her breast - the crucifix right there.' Franca demonstrated, pressing her left breast with her finger.
'Only members of the Black Cross have those kinds of tattoos.'
Franca's explanation made me remember last night. 'While we were making out in this very dining room, I saw the tattoo. I remembered.'
'So Franca was right?' I asked, but Franca and Brent burst into laughter. 'Not forcing you to believe it,' Franca said, dipping her hand into her pocket and bringing out a squeezed piece of paper.
'Here, I didn't want to give this to you at first, but... Just have it.' She stretched her hand towards me. 'I think it's her number; she left this behind on the table before she left.'"