The Numbers on Our Arms

Chapter 12

"a mango iced-tea, please," she asked for.

"I'd like a coffee. No cream, no sugar," Arlo said.

"Alright, coming right up!" The waitress walked off to the kitchen, notebook in hand.

"Hm... Black coffee, huh?"

"Yeah?" he questioned.

She smirked. "Plain and bitter. Just like your personality."

Arlo scowled.

He grapsed his arm, flattening out his sleeve.

"You worried?" she asked. Her heart thumped.

"How can you be so relaxed?" he asked back.

Well, we are either going to have an extremely pissed off John with every paranoid delusional having come true for him (and our relationship over for the recognisable future) or a dangerous organisation that has tried to harm us both. Choose your poison.

"Well, it's the least I can do. If I can't even keep my cool, then I'm dead weight>"

The bell dinged and the door swung open to the café.

"They're running late. If they take any longer, we should leave-."

Seraphina stared off ahead over his shoulder at the woman who was walking towards them. Her lilac hair fell in deep waves down her back and she wore large gold hoops in her ears. She wore a dark blue top had rolled up sleeves to the elbow with a visible black vest beneath and a pair of black jeans with a gold buckle. A grey leather handbag was slung over her shoulder and she clutched the strap in her hand. The other arm had a gold hoop bracelet on the wrist.

On her left hand was the golden 4.2.

Leilah.

"There you are!" she cried out and began to rush over. "I hardly recognised you! How've you been-?"

Arlo stood up to his feet. "Excuse me, miss. Who are you?"

Leilah stared at him as she pushed her lips together. "Ah, I'm sorry. I got a bit ahead of myself." She offered out her hand. "My name is Leilah. I'm the one who invited you here. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Tch!"

Seraphina jumped up to her feet with the chair screeching out behind her, both hands firm on the table.

"Why is it you?" Leilah's eyes fell. "After disappearing for over five years, how dare you appear in front of me like this?"

As Arlo stood there with scrunched up eyebrows, Leilah rushed over toe the table, hands out.

"Sera, you have every right to be angry, but-."

"But nothing," she replied. "You abandoned me! And now you want to walk back into my life as if nothing happened?"

"I... I couldn't stand another day in there! I had to get out..."

"So you left me alone with them?!" Sera shouted. "Without letting me know? Not even a goodbye?"

"You were so young, Sera, and you showed so much promise. I didn't want to distract you."

"Did you ever think about how mom and dad would react after you ran away? How they would treat me?!" she questioned.

"Sera," she said. "I'm sorry. I promise to make it all up to you. But right now, I just need you to listen. I don't know how much time I have-."

"So you plan on running off again after this?" she questioned. "With your soulmate, Doc?"