a hopeless romantic | r.s

Chapter Sixteen

"Who is this boy?" her father demanded.

Amy turned back towards her father in disbelief. "I just told you your daughter's dead, and all you can think about is a simple, harmless boy?"

"Well, I wouldn't say..." Romeo trailed off when he noticed her glare.

"It could've been much worse," her father said coldly. "It could've been you."

Amy gaped at him, blinking the tears from her eyes. "So that's it? Are you truly that heartless?"

Her father lowered himself back into his seat, staring at her steadily. She vaguely noticed Romeo joining her side. "There were these men... all very mysterious-"

"I didn't ask for a history lesson," Amy sneered.

Her father glowered at her. "Just... listen. This group... they called themselves The Unknowns. Or, call themselves, I should say. They are a group of violent thieves who steal for their own personal gain. They use malicious methods to get what they want, and they don't let anyone get in their way. The sick-"

"Just tell us what they have to do with any of this," Amy pleaded.

Her father stared coldly at the desk in front of him. "It wasn't meant to happen, you see. It was only a sick twist of faith that allowed me to stumble upon their work. I'd known nothing about them prior to this, and it was clear that this was how they intended it to stay. I had gone to the Governor about it, of course, but I was only able to get a few letters to him before the letters suddenly stopped coming back, and I knew something horrible was quickly approaching."

"But they didn't steal anything from you," Amy countered, confused, "did they?"

"They did steal something from me," her father replied gravely. "They stole my wife."

Romeo and Amy both exchanged uneasy glances.

"It was later during the day," her father began. "Laura was at a friend's, I presume. You, your mother and I were sitting in the living room when they broke into the house. I'd quickly ushered you under the table. It was already too late for her. She was dead by the time I'd turned back around at the sound of a gunshot. It had struck her right between her rib cage and killed her almost instantly. Just before they left, they told me to forget everything I'd seen if I wanted to keep you alive."

Amy shook with the knowledge. They'd known she was there. "So why now? Why Laura?"

Her father was silent for a long moment. "The young boy who died at the end of last month was not an accidental death. There were rumours that they - The Unknowns - were coming back for what they'd lost, and I feared they suspected I knew where the things they were looking for were. Seemed I was right."

"What things?" Amy demanded.

"The stolen objects, of course," her father replied. "It seems their hard-earned valuables have gone missing, and they must've thought I knew something about it."

"Do you?" Romeo questioned.

Her father stared at him distrustfully. "I can't say. I've already entrusted you with enough."

Amy was about to tell her father exactly where he could stick his stuffy opinions, when Romeo squeezed her hand gently. "So that's why you didn't want me around the newsies? Because you were afraid of a few rumours?"

"Partly," her father said, but didn't elaborate. "Then there was that Delancey girl. I knew she was trouble from the start. Many rumours surrounded her, as well."

"Ya sure do love puttin' yer trust in rumours," Romeo mentioned bitterly.

"I put my trust in the truth," her father snarled. "And so when I saw my little Amy leaving my house, I quickly ordered Laura to tell me where you had gone. Of course, it only took me telling her that it was for your own safety, and that your especially promising future would be threatened for her to give in."