Conor Maynard cover - Maroon 5 ft Kendrick Lamar - Don't Wanna Know (Song for Chapter)
Thursday update because I'm on my computer so I thought I'd update whilst also trying to do some assignments, write and watch YouTube videos at the same time. (So basic procrastination)
Dedicated to: Jen Taaffe. For no other reason, apart from being simply awesome.
Lyrics of the day, Lucy Spraggan's 'Dear You'
A must listen:
"I wanna go back, back to when we were kids, when we didn't know pain could feel like this. When we didn't know hurt and we didn't know risk but we all grew up and I guess that's it,"
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Chapter 25: New Faces
I woke up to find the room with a glow dim and a sharp white light that was shining across the way, I quietly and carefully slid out of Tayte's grasp and slid off the bed, Tammara and Noah were flat out,
"Mum?"
"Sorry, did I wake you peach?" she said as I walked over,
"No, you didn't"
"Your face looks worse already" She said, "I'm going to seriously kill them if they touch you again," I smiled,
"This is a different side to you Mum"
"When it comes to my family, this is the side you'll see"
"Where's Dad? Have either of you even slept?"
"Don't worry about us, we'll sleep when we need to, Dad is..." she didn't finish her sentence however, as the wall slid open and Dad appeared,
"Dad is here"
"Look at you with all your secret rooms" Dad took my face in his hands,
"This shouldn't have happened" I pulled away,
"Shit happens" Tayte then came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me,
"Did I wake you?" I asked,
"I felt something missing" he said,
"We're going to meet with an accomplice tomorrow, he's called Jackson and he's going to be our go to guy whilst we're in London" Dad said,
"How many days are we planning on staying here?"
"We have a few things to sort out, so until that is dealt with, we will be staying put"
"What's wrong with a nice hotel?" I asked, they smiled,
"We're laying low and staying up top in a hotel isn't the best thing to do"
"I guess this place isn't too bad," Tayte and I headed into the bathroom as Dad's phone rang. Tayte went and did his business and I climbed into the bath and shut my eyes,
"Well you look comfy" I opened my eyes and grinned, I held out my hand and he pulled me out,
"Shit" I groaned, "those ribs are tender"
"I want to kill those bastards, but you were an idiot for doing what you did" he said,
"I'd do it again for any of you" he kissed me. We weren't tired anymore, so Dad who was off the phone, showed us how we could press a button and a glass wall came around the massive sofa and a ceiling came down to sit on top of it, creating a sitting room. The glass also happened to be soundproof, so we could make noise without waking anyone. We were also told that this same thing happened to create two bedrooms and the kitchen,
"You two better get some sleep by the morning" I said,
"We will"
Tayte and I settled ourselves down on the sofa and the stuck the TV on, flicking through Netflix trying to find something to watch. Noah joined us and we ended up watching Stranger Things, I couldn't tell you if Mum and Dad went to sleep, because the three of us conked out about 15 minutes into the first episode, turns out we were more tired than we thought.
When we next awoke, the glass wall was gone, Dad and Tammara were sat at the table and Mum was cooking,
"Morning" we said,
"Morning" was the chorused response,
"Your face looks sore" Noah said,
"It doesn't feel it," I replied,
"How are your ribs this morning baby?" I pulled off my t-shirt, "That good hey," as a torrid of bruises had formed over my rib area,
"Breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes" Mum said, turning away, I knew she was angry.
...
Breakfast was over, everyone was dressed and ready,
"We're meeting Jackson at the Hurlingham club in Fulham for some lunch and to have a chat and sort out what's going to be happening whilst we're in London" Dad said.
"How do we know we can trust this Jackson character?" I asked,
"We've dealt with him a few times before and we've never had any trouble,"
"There's a first time for everything" Noah said, I looked at him, "It's only the truth"
"Trust us..." Mum said,
"Really, you're using the T word"
"Keane enough" Dad said,
"Don't treat me like I'm 10 years old Dad," I told him,
"Let's change the topic" Tayte said,
"Are we going back up the same way we came down?" Noah asked,
"No" Dad said, watching me walk off to the bathroom, "We're going another way, which will put us above ground right near the tube station,"
"Isn't there a way to get us to South Kensington tube station without going above ground?" Noah asked,
"The tunnels are both dark and deadly, but also magical and safe" Mum said, "There are many ways to get out that'll lead you to different places across London"
"You just have to be careful you don't get lost in the tunnels" Dad said, as I came out of the bathroom,
"Okay?" Tayte asked, I nodded.
We left the base and followed them down a tunnel, through a door and up some metal steps, I blinked as daylight hit my eyes,
"We all stick together today. If anyone gets separated you stay put and we'll come and get you," Mum said,
"Okay" we all replied as we made our way to the tube, flicking our oyster cards and piling down amongst the bustle of Londoners and tourists. We all managed to get on the right tube and together.
It was absolutely jam packed,
"How many stops are we on this tube for?" Noah asked,
"2, we're changing at Earl's court"
"Thank God for that"
Earl's court was heaving and we accidentally got separated, Noah got distracted and went the wrong way, luckily I noticed this and grabbed him, but it was too later,
"Sorry" he said,
"Why are you apologising for? It doesn't matter, we won't be that far behind, the next tube is in 2 minutes" the tube was again packed, but we managed to get a seat on an end, Noah sat on my lap,
"I thought I'd give them something to look at" He said, I smiled.
Everyone was waiting for us outside Putney Bridge station,
"Sorry I got distracted and I know you said to stay put, but we weren't that far behind you" I said, Noah mouthed 'thank you',
"We're all here together and that is all that matters" Mum said, we walked for about 5 minutes and then came to a stop at a gate where security were stood,
"Sir and Lady Quintin Dollaway" Dad said handing over a pass," Our sons Frederick, Rupert and Barnaby" more passes were handed over, "And our guest Sofia De Clare"
"Welcome back, do proceed,"
"Thank you", we all nodded and smiled and followed Mum and Dad,
"Care to explain" I said, "Because it seems you have more and more secrets every single day"
"We have many aliases, nobody knows us as Rhina and Joey Linkoln and nobody knows your real names. We have to do that for your safety"
"Well that didn't exactly work out with Galviao did it" I said, I saw Mum flinch, I narrowed my eyes at her, but she didn't say anything,
"What about the document that was on the memory stick, the one that said about your mission, it had your names and Tammara's Dad" Noah said, Mum looked relived that the subject had been changed,
"We did that so you would know it was us"
"Wait, Tammara is that your real name?" Noah asked,
"As far as I know it is,"
"Whose name is who?" Noah then said, "Do we have ID with these names?"
"Keane is Frederick, Tayte is Rupert and you are Barnaby and yes, we have ID and documents with these names,"
"This is so cool" I was still watching Mum, she wouldn't look at me,
"What is this place anyway, it looks like some sort of palace" Tayte said, as I averted my gaze from Mum and looked at the building before us,
"It's an exclusive sports and social club that sits in 42 acres. There a two pools, indoor and out a gym, you can play tennis, croquet, cricket, squash and bowls to name a few. There is also a large dining hall and you can eat breakfast lunch and dinner here, it's open 9am to 9pm daily"
"So it's a club for the upper class" I said,
"Well..."
"I take that as a yes,"
Inside was more extravagant than the outside, we headed through past reception and down corridors with pictures sat proudly on walls,
"Did you want a tour before we settle for lunch?" Mum asked,
"Yes, though I feel as if I have to be on my best behavior around here" Noah said, I ruffled his hair,
"Don't change for any one kiddo" I winked.
We were shown lavish rooms, with high ceilings and decorative cornices and the splendor of the magnificent, floor to ceiling windows.
"This place is impressive" Tayte said,
"It's alright" I teased,
"We're meeting Jackson in the palm court orangery for lunch, and then we're going to continue the meeting upstairs in the reading room," Dad said, Noah's phone buzzed, he pulled it out and smiled, I knew who it was,
"Help yourself to whatever you would like, there's a variety of hot and cold food, there are different sized plates which are priced contrarily,"
"I wasn't hungry before, but I sure am now," Noah said grinning, grabbing the biggest plate,
"Noah, take the medium sized one at least, eyes bigger than" I said, he stuck his tongue out at me cheekily, but changed plates,
"I'm not too hungry, so I'll happily share" I said,
"If you're sharing use the large plate, because I want you both to eat a decent amount," Mum said, Tammara laughed,
"How old are you again?" Tammara said smiling,
"When it comes to food, I've been told Keane needs to be treated like a toddler," Dad said,
"Thanks Dad, back me up why don't you," he smiled.
We then set about piling up food onto our plates, Noah didn't know half of what he was putting on his plate,
"Noah, buddy, do you know what that is?"
"No, but it looks nice," I rolled my eyes,
"Your plates not looking to full," Tammara teased. Tayte and I had two smoked salmon roulades, some roasted tomato, mozzarella and red onion pasta, a scoop of fruity couscous and a large piece of chicken in white wine sauce accompanied with mushrooms.
"Oh you're hilarious" I mocked, Mum and Dad paid for our meals and then we headed into the giant dining hall, we headed over to the corner and sat down at a large circular table, "Where's this Jackson character?"
"He's 5 minutes out" Mum said,
"So can we begin?" Noah asked,
"Yes, of course,"
"Oh and before any of you look at us alarmed, he knows us as Quintin and Georgia Dollaway, so your names are Frederick, Rupert and Barnaby and for your safety Tammara, your Sofia"
"Hold up, Tayte and I can still be together though right? We don't have to..."
"Jackson thinks Tayte and Tammara are family friends, so of course you don't have to stop being together,"
"Thank you" I said,
"Why are you thanking us for you silly boy," I grinned.
Well this was going to be fun.
I didn't know who or what I expected to walk through the doors and head towards our table, but it wasn't at all what did. Jackson, was a 30 year old man, he was dressed in grey dress pants, a black t-shirt, he had his jacket slung over one shoulder and in the other was his plate of food, and he smiled when he noticed Mum and Dad.
"Quintin, Georgia, you are both looking well," Jackson said, as they shook hands and he kissed both of Mum's cheeks,
"These are our boys, Frederick and Barnaby,"
"You can call me Freddie," I said shaking his hand, he smiled,
"Barney," Noah said and I smiled, as Jackson shook his hand,
"And Rupert and Sofia are close family friends,"
"Nice to meet you both," Jackson sat down next to Dad and I, and we continued to eat, with casual chatter. We'd finished an hour later,
"Jackson, your father and I are going to continue this chat upstairs in the reading room. You can go wherever you want in the grounds, we will let you know when we are done," Mum said,
"That's fine, we won't be going too far," I replied,
"It was nice meeting you all, I'm sure I'll be seeing you all again very soon," Jackson said, he had this way about him that I wasn't too sure about. Once they'd gone, we left the Palm court and orangery, and headed elsewhere, we ended up at the Polo bar and ordered some hot drinks and found our self a nice couple of sofa's to sit on in the conservatory.
"So what do you think of Jackson?" Noah asked,
"There's something about him I can't quite put my finger on," I answered,
"He seems nice, younger than I thought he would be," Tammara said,
"That's what I thought too, I expected someone older," Tayte said,
"Well, as long as Mum and Dad trust him, I guess we can too," Noah said.
If only we knew how wrong Noah's statement was.
...
"Long time no see," a voice said, we all looked up, "Don't you recognise me?"
"Alexis," Tayte said,
"Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner," He smirked,
"What the hell are you doing here?" Tayte snapped, he sat on the edge of the chair,
"My Uncle knows people," He said, "Where's Arii? I'd love to see her,"
"Fuck right off," I snarled, a couple who were sat in front of us, turned around and looked at us,
"I'd pipe down, you wouldn't want to make a scene now would you?"
"Be lucky we're in here, otherwise you'd be seeing stars right now," I said, he laughed,
"So where is Ariiayla?"
"She's at our cousin's house" Noah said,
"And where might your cousin live?"
"As if we'd tell you," Tayte said,
"One way or another, I will find out and I will be reunited with Arii, Cylan may have failed, but that doesn't mean I will. Have a good rest of the day," and he walked off, Tayte went to go after, but I stopped him,
"Leave him Tayte, he's not worth it," he settled back down and I took his hand,
"I thought that part of our life was put behind us,"
"Who was he?" Tammara asked,
"Someone Arii met in some services, then we saw him again and it turned out he was one of Cylan's boys. He was with the group of them when they shot me in Cirencester. We hadn't seen him since and with Cylan dead, I thought we never would," I said.
Let's just hope no more old faces come back and haunt us.
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So a short chapter. I didn't realise.
I would say I'll update tomorrow as well. But, that probably won't happen.
Unedited. (I will go through ASAP)
So next update: Next week either Thursday or Friday.
Love Gx
Copyright © Georgia T R Wing