We Begin Again

What's going on?

Frantic banging on the front door woke the three girls with a start- the deafening pounding rattling the walls and a man's voice followed.

"Layla! Layla, you in there? Wake up!" Peter, Layla's father, shouted desperately, door handle rattling as he tried to get into his friend's house. "Vinnie, open the door. Please."

Footsteps thundered down the stairs as Ada looked between her two friends, meeting Zoe's eyes which were flooded with anxious confusion. Something was wrong. Vinnie unlocked the front door and muffled panicked voices came from the hallway, and Ada's chest constricted tightly. She strained her ears to listen to the commotion. 

"What time is it?" Zoe whispered frantically, squinting through the darkness at Layla. Ada couldn't make out what the men were whispering to each other behind the closed door. "What's your dad doing here?"

"No idea." Layla grumbled dismissively, pulling her duvet over her head, unbothered by the commotion on the other side of the door.

"My phone is playing up. Can't get any signal." Ada noted, unable to refresh any messages or calls to her phone. "Was fine last night but-."

Peter burst through the living room door, making a beeline for the curtains, throwing them open and peering up to the sky. It was still dark out.

"Layla. Layla c'mon wake up." He urged, coming over to shake his daughter awake, voice unnaturally panicked. "Ada. Zoe. You guys too. You all need to get up and get dressed, right now."

"Uncle Peter, what's going on?" Ada spoke, unable to fully mask the tremble in her voice, blue eyes wide and searching for answers in his.

"Please just do what I say. I need you all up and dressed." Peter asserted, pacing the living room. Ada fumbled with her bag on the floor and Zoe threw her blanket off to clamber to her feet, but Layla stayed stationary under her blanket, ignoring her fathers desperate attempt to get them moving. "Layla! Now."

Peter was a towering, broad man with a kind face. He had the same forest green eyes as Layla but usually wore a funny smirk, unlike his daughters' scowl. Except for now. He seemed frantic, eyebrows knitted together and jaw tightly clenched against whatever was panicking him.

"What are you even doing here?" Layla whined, pulling the duvet impossibly tighter around her. "Why are you waking us up? It's still early."

"Layla, for once in your life do not argue with me and get up and get dressed. Now." Peter's voice was a dangerous mix of scared and angry as he yanked the duvet away from her, grabbing his daughter's arm and pulling her to sit her up. Layla shouted a disgruntled protest, only to be silenced by a firm glare. Ada and Zoe froze. Their Uncle Peter was always so fun and easy going, but right now, he was terrifying. "You too, girls. Get dressed. Zoe, your parents are getting ready upstairs. We're all leaving."

"Dad...what's going on?" Layla asked, now fully awake like the others, voice laced with worry.

"I'll explain once you're dressed. Right now I need you three to go upstairs and get your clothes on- be quick, we don't have long."

"Yes Uncle Pete." Ada and Zoe mumbled in unison.
"Okay, dad."

Ada grabbed her overnight bag and hurried upstairs, following Zoe and Layla, who had grabbed onto each other's hands in fear. Upstairs was just as chaotic as downstairs- Rani and Vinnie hurried between rooms throwing random clothes into bags. Zoe's younger sister Sara was packing toiletries into an old rucksack, hands trembling as she struggled to fit everything in.

"Mom, what's going on? I'm scared." Zoe's voice wavered as she called out to her mother.
Rani had tears in her eyes as she paused, dropping her pile of clothes before striding across the landing to pull her scared daughter into her arms.