Scared to be Lonely

Chapter 7

"Scarlett, hurry up or you'll be late for school." Camila called up the stairs of her Mothers house as she stood by the door, impatiently waiting for her daughter.

"Coming mommy." She called back as she appeared at the top of the stairs, rolling her eyes.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, missy." Camila warned.

Scarlett let out a cheeky giggle and started walking down the stairs, dragging her sparkly purple backpack behind her. Once she was at the bottom, Camila helped her put it on her shoulders and they set off. They walked through the neighborhood and into town. Camila was walking quite far ahead of Scarlett who was trailing behind, stopping every time something interesting caught her eyes.

Camila turned around to check where Scarlett was and saw how far behind she was. "Baby, you gotta stay with me." She called, holding out her hand for Scarlett to catch up.

The little girl ran up to her mother and took her hand. "Watcha' doing Mommy?" She asked as Camila turned back to look at her phone.

"My boss wants me to do something for her." Camila replied.

"I thought you didn't like your boss?" Scarlett asked innocently.

Camila held in a laugh and brought their joined hands up so she could tap her daughters nose. "I don't, but don't tell anyone." She whispered.

Scarlett squinted up at her mother as the morning sun shone in her face and grinned. "Promise."

Camila's phone started ringing and a picture of her boss appeared on the screen. She rolled her eyes before answering it. "Hi Meredith." She answered in her best cheery voice.

"How long will my carpets take to come?" Meredith asked down the phone.

"I don't know, I'm ordering them now." Camila replied.

"You haven't ordered them yet?!"

"No, I didn't know what color you wanted." Camila replied.

Scarlett spotted a cat scurry across the road to their side of the pavement. The bell on its collar jingling as it reached up to lick it's paw. Scarlett let go of Camila's hand and walked up to it as Camila turned a corner while her boss started ranting on about the material of the carpets, not noticing Scarlett trail back. She took a step closer to the cat but startled it and it quickly ran off. When she stood up, she couldn't see Camila anywhere. She looked all around her but her mother was no where to be seen. The five-year-old panicked and her eyes filled with tears.

A middle aged woman spotted the little girl standing in the middle of the sidewalk alone and went up to her. "Are you okay, sweetie?" She asked softly.

Scarlett looked up at her but didn't respond. "Where's your Mommy and Daddy?" The woman asked again.

"I don't know." Scarlett mumbled back, shoving her fingers in her mouth as she tried her best not to cry.

"I'll help you find them." The woman smiled kindly as the door to the corner shop next to them opened and a man stepped out, shoving the packet of cigarettes he had just bought into his coat pocket . "Excuse me, sir?" The woman asked, getting his attention. "I couldn't borrow your phone, could I?" She asked. "I've left mine at home and this little girl is lost."

"Yeah, sure." Shawn nodded, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it to her. Then he looked at the little girl, she looked about four or five and had long, curly brown hair. She looked truly terrified and like she was about to burst into tears. He offered her a small smile and she blinked a few times before giving him a tiny smile back. He didn't know what but something about her looked so familiar to him.