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I've been visiting the same cafe almost every day for the last two months. After I sold my company, I had a lot of free time on my hands. Lots of time to think about my next project and the last place I wanted to do it was my house.
My imagination and creativity always thrives when I'm not in the comfort of my own home. So I decided to venture out and I stumbled across a quirky little cafe called Chessman's. I would sit at the back with my coffee and get to work on my laptop.
It's much more peaceful than a Costa or a Starbucks where the drinks are barely made with care and they get your order wrong most of the time. And let's not bring up the clientele it brings in.
Chessman's is peaceful and I have to say, the barista whose name is Luca, he makes a damn good cup of coffee. I gathered that he owns this place along with his mother, he's here everyday without fail. Just like I am.
He always greets me with a warm smile and remembers my name and my order.
At first he caught my eye because he has surfer-like blonde hair that's unkempt but still somehow looks incredibly positioned. There is a silver ring that sits in his right nostril and he has the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen.
His kindness is a part of why I keep coming back here, it's almost like familiarity now. It would be weird if I didn't rock up one day, I'm sure.
We don't say much except for exchanging a few words about our day, the cafe and the price of the coffee–which I think is far too cheap for how good it tastes.
Today I'm a bit later than usual because I decided to change my morning routine around, sorting out some work for Nick before heading to the gym. Now I can grab my coffee in peace and start working on finding a project to start so I can finally get my father to shut up and take back my Gran's belongings.
As I walk down the street, I spot Chessman's a few shops away. There are two women standing outside who are peering in with terrified expressions on their faces. One of the women has their phone to their ear and is speaking incredibly quickly.
I furrow my brows at the pair as I inch closer, my head twists to the window of the cafe and I notice a man wearing a black balaclava standing against the counter. Luca's face looks grave and pale, a knife pointed at his neck.
Before I even realise what I'm doing, I walk through the front door of the cafe. The women behind me cry out to stop me from going any further but I'm not going to stand here and do nothing, even if he has a knife in his hands.
The bell rings above me and the thief turns to look, dark eyes full of frustration. Luca is shaking, the knife so close to his neck as he attempts to open the cash register but can't open it with the key.
"Stay the fuck back!" He growls in my direction, the knife dangerously close to a vein poking out of his throat. Then he turns his attention back to Luca. "Now give me the fucking money now before I cut off your head!"
I glance at Luca whose hands are trembling as he opens the register after a few moments. But I shake my head and storm towards him, trying to catch him off guard because I refuse to let him walk out of this shop with that money.
Not when Luca doesn't deserve this.
The till pops open and the thief lurches to grab the money, Luca stumbling back into the wall. I grab onto the thiefs hoodie and I yank him towards me, forcing his hands to open and drop the money but all he does is glare at me through the holes in his mask.
As he twists towards me, the knife catches Luca's chest sharply and he hisses, pressing his hand to the wound before falling to the ground behind him. The thief turns to me as I attempt to grab the knife but he slashes it in front of my face once before taking another handful of cash and running out the door.
I rush around the counter to find Luca on the floor, blood pouring out of a cut below his collarbone. "Shit," I curse as I fall to my knees in front of him. He attempts to push himself back up, he gasps but he can't. He's too weak right now from shock. "Luca, remain still."
"The money," he chokes desperately. "The money."
"Hey," I grip his face and tilt his terrified eyes to mine. "He's gone."
Luca shakes his head and gasps again. "The money," he grumbles. "We need the money."
He attempts to push himself up once again but I gently pull him down shaking my head. "You're injured and bleeding. Stay put for the moment, alright?"
I ignore his concerns about the money because right now he's bleeding through his white t-shirt, the sight of this much blood is making me slightly nauseous. My hand grips the hem of his top and I tug it upwards to have a look at the damage.
He hisses again in pain as I reach the top. I glance at the cut and thank the heavens it doesn't look like a serious wound, more of a scratch but an awful lot of blood from something that isn't life-threatening.
I glance up at the counter and pull down a tea towel that is slightly damn, better than nothing. I press the rag into Luca's wound, if the bleeding is excessive I need to try and stop it. It might not be bad but I don't want to take any chances.
"Please tell me someone has called an ambulance." I say as I whip my head over my shoulder to find a crowd of people glancing down at us. "Please."
The woman from outside nods. "Already on their way."
Luca grabs my arm and I turn my attention back to him. "What?"
"You're bleeding too," he says slowly, his voice full of concern.
I glance down at his hand, just below a small cut that is spreading through my white shirt. "Just a graze," I tell him. "I didn't even feel it."
His blue eyes give me a once over, then he presses his head into the wall behind him. I watch as his eyes flutter shut and he pushes out a small breath. Soon the police and the ambulance arrive, two of them in fact.
They take Luca away to attend to his injuries in the back of one of the ambulances, the police hang around asking people for witness statements. I gave mine first before a paramedic noticed that my arm was cut and insisted that I get it checked out.
I feel the woman begin to clean the scratch before Luca is let out of the other ambulance, a woman with similar coloured hair to him comes bounding down the street. She takes one look at his bloody t-shirt and raises her shaky hands to her mouth.
She pulls him into a light hug where he winces at the pressure on her chest. I study Luca's eyes as they fall and he begins to speak. I'm sure I see a tear roll down his cheek but I guess it's expected. When you have a knife pointed at your face and your business robbed, it's probably an extremely upsetting time.
The woman who I presume is his mother wipes away those tears and shakes her head at him, consoling him on how he's feeling. My eyes gravitate to his lips and I'm sure I make out the words, 'I'm sorry'.
I frown because what has he got to be sorry for? The theft wasn't his fault.
"You're all done, sir," the woman pats my shoulder gently.
My eyes glance at her and I forgot she was even attending to my arm. I curl my lips into a smile and nod. "Thank you."
I step out of the back of the ambulance and make my way towards them, the woman glances over Luca's shoulder at me and then my eyes meet with his. He sniffles as I approach and I give him a sympathetic smile.
"How are you feeling?" I say, gesturing to his wound.
He nods and cups his arms over his body. "Okay, it wasn't a serious cut. I'm okay."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Thank you," he whispers and now I notice his red eyes. "For helping me out. He didn't take as much money as I first thought but if you didn't come to stop him, he would have taken all of it. So thank you."
I step closer to him, my head shaking slowly. "You don't need to thank me for anything."
"Even so," the woman says. "It was very brave of you to do that, thank you for trying to protect my son and our cafe."
My hand angles towards her. "I'm Declan."
"Hazel," her eyes warm in my direction, she takes my hand gently. "I'm incredibly grateful for what you did. I just fear what else could have happened if you weren't there."
"Declan is the one that comes in every day, mum," he says, sounding deflated.
He mentioned me to his mother? A part of me feels flattered but it's probably because I use their Wi-Fi daily and don't know when to go home instead of burning myself into one of their chairs.
Hazel's blue eyes flick to mine. "Well, I'm glad you didn't miss coming in today."
"I have to admit I was a bit later than usual," I glance at Luca who is already watching me. "If I was there a bit earlier than I was, I might of–"
Luca shakes his head. "It doesn't matter, it would have happened either way. But I'm pleased you were only a bit later than your usual schedule."
If he's joking lightly about this then he must be okay, deep down. I pray he is. "I'll try and not be late again."
His eyes sparkle in my direction as he purses his lips. "Right then," Hazel presses a hand to her son's arm. "We best get you home, hmm?"
"Yeah," Luca rasps. "I'll see you around, Declan."
"Yeah, of course. And it was nice to meet you Hazel, although I wish it was under better circumstances."
Her eyes soften at the corners as I speak. "Me too. See you."
I wave them off and watch as they walk down the street, Hazel looping her arm around Luca's as he shakes his head and she says something to him. My lips twist into a frown because I could only imagine how shaken up he is inside, it's going to take a few weeks if not months to get over something like this.
But with the front he just put on now, I have no doubt he'll be okay quicker than he needs to be.
My head turns back to the cafe where the police are beginning to go elsewhere and investigate other buildings, I presume for CCTV. I glance down at the bandage around my arm and think back to the blood that covered Luca's t-shirt.
I'm relieved he's okay. I could have done more. I could have prevented him from getting hurt altogether. I might have been a bit reckless but I couldn't just stand there and watch Luca's fearful eyes cloud with uncertainty.
I understand why most people wouldn't approach a person with a knife but something inside me snapped. Stealing from a family business. I never thought someone would be as low to steal from a small business in Dashfield, a small town where everyone comes together.
Absolute low life.
I pray that the police somehow catch that smug prick and bring him to justice for the sake of Luca, his mother and their business.
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Author's Note
WOOO Daddy Declan to the rescue (yes, he will earn this title ahahah)🥵😈
But my poor baby Luca, ugh. How fucking scary that must be!🥺
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