The Collymore Family

Chapter 5

Loud chattering filled the streets as men and women strode through the path. Schoolchildren laughed and talked on park benches eating pastries and cranberry pie, while couples with children lay in the grass a few metres away, having picnics on their blankets. The sun was brighter than the day before and there was more wind, making the trees slowly sway each step Irene took. Despite not being at the Collymore's house, she still had the notes in her right pocket. The night before, she hadn't even gone near the locked door. Knowing that Noella was having dreams with this 'Angel' person had already scared Irene enough. She had avoided all contact with that door until Mr. and Mrs. Collymore had come home. But today, she was determined to figure out more.

If Irene was being honest, she didn't really know what she was getting herself into. Usually when she had days off from babysitting, she would be at home studying or binge watching TV shows. Occasionally, she would force herself to go outside and take a walk, though it would only last around 30 minutes before she'd get bored. Not today, though. She was doing something completely different to what she usually did.

She was going to Mrs. Collymore's sisters' bakery.

She didn't really know what she was going to do when she'd reached there. She wanted to get to know Mrs. Collymore's sister a little and see if she knew anything about the notes. But Irene didn't know how she would do that. Mrs. Collymore's sister didn't even know her personally. What if she thought that she was just some crazy stranger? What if she told Mrs.Collymore about why Irene had come? Or worse, what if she was a part of the lies, too?

These were all risks that could end their interaction horribly, but Irene was willing to take the chances. She needed to find out who was doing this or just what was going on, because at that moment, she had no clue. Irene just wanted to know what was happening and why she had been dragged into this mess.

As Irene approached the bakery, she noticed just how colourful it was. The exterior itself was small and looked cozy, but the colours stood out. Blue and pink pastels lined the walls of both the exterior and interior, though it didn't give off an obnoxious vibe. The colours seemed to contribute to the coziness of the bakery. Through the windows, Irene could see it was pretty much empty, besides a few waiters and people behind the counter. Irene realized that they were probably going to be closing soon. She hesitated on whether or not she should enter, but the employees inside had probably already seen her just standing in front of the window like an idiot. There was no turning back now, unless she wanted to look like a complete weirdo.

Irene walked up to the door and opened the door slowly, beginning to feel nervous as the employees' heads turned to her.

"We're closing in five minutes." A woman with a mop said. She seemed to have stopped mopping the second Irene opened the door.

"Uhm, I'm not here to order." Irene paused, noticing the expressions of the employees turning confused. "Is the owner of this bakery here?"

"Yes, she's in the back. Why?" A man, presumably a waiter, replied, picking up two plates from a table.

"I would like to speak to her." Irene said as calmly as she could, even though she was panicking on the inside.

The employees seemed a bit confused, but they didn't seem to question it. A woman behind the counter nodded silently and went into the backroom, coming out only a minute later.

"You can speak to her in the back." The woman told Irene. Irene nodded and smiled awkwardly before making her way behind the counter and going into the backroom. She had to admit, she was surprised that they were even letting her into the back and that they didn't just call the owner out instead. As Irene stepped into the backroom, she felt her eyes widen. The room was...unlike the bakery. It was much more spacious than she'd thought it would be. There were shelves with boxes lined up against the wall and a large window in one corner, bringing in a large amount of light into the room. There was a table with an office chair behind it, and Irene could see a woman sitting behind the chair. The room resembled an office room, or a principal's office. For a second, Irene thought she'd stepped into the wrong room.

"May I help you?" The woman behind the desk asked.

"Are you...the owner of this bakery?"

The woman nodded and gave Irene a small smile. To Irene, she looked pretty similar to Mrs. Collymore, though not exactly the same. Her long, dark hair reached just past her forearm. Her face wasn't wrinkly, and she looked quite young. She was wearing a long, sage green gown that went right up to her ankles, and a white cardigan. However, her facial features seemed much more different to her sisters. The woman looked like she was from a Southeast Asian descent. If she had looked at them both side by side without knowing them, Irene wouldn't have known they were siblings at all.

"I...I babysit for the Collymore family." Irene paused. "Your sister's family. I babysit Noella."

The woman's face turned into a curious one. "What's your name, dear?"

"Irene." Irene replied nervously, her fingers fiddling in front of her.

The woman stood up and began to walk towards Irene, stopping just a metre away.

"It's lovely to meet you. My name is Linh." She held out her hand, and Irene shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, Linh. Your bakery is beautiful." Irene complimented.

"Oh, thank you." Linh chuckled softly. "Would you like to stay for tea? I've heard a lot about you from my sister. She's said you're an amazing and caring babysitter, and I would like to get to know you better, considering you're babysitting my niece."

As Linh said those words, Irene couldn't help but feel a little...regretful. Seeing how the Collymore's thought of her as such a nice, wonderful and caring girl, she felt as though she was backstabbing them. It felt like she was betraying them to think such a way about them. This whole ordeal, this whole situation felt...wrong. For a moment, Irene wanted to back out of the entire plan. She wanted to just stop this whole investigation as a whole. But she couldn't. She had already gone so far, there was no turning back now.

Plus, she couldn't just leave without finding out who was sending in those notes. They were trying to tell her something, and Irene knew that. What if they wanted to tell her something important? There was no backing out of this, and Irene was just going to have to get through this. But if she was going to do this, she needed to stop getting so anxious about betraying this family, which by now, it was clear they were keeping something from her. They were the ones betraying her, yet Irene still couldn't help but feel guilty. Irene knew that she would have to stop thinking this way soon, as it would get her nowhere. But one thing was for sure, if she was going to continue, she couldn't just stay around and have a friendly conversation over tea with Linh. She would have to get through this while being straightforward.

"Linh, I need to talk to you about something."