Lost (Parrlyn)

Chapter 8

(I don't live in London so this may be incorrect. But I've visited once xD)

We walked through the bustling streets of London, as we watched the city slowly wake up from its' endless slumber.

The business men were running down the streets carrying very large briefcases, puffing out all of their chests as if they had a place in society. They probably had though.

We watched several children dressed in formal school uniform play a small game of tag as they made their way over to school, pushing and shoving one another, and they were squealing at the tops of their lungs, without a care in the world. I smiled just at the sight of them.

When I was younger, I used to be just as carefree, just as naive, just as childish and humorous. Back then, Henry wasn't a part of my life. I used to smile without any effort, I used to walk without any burdens on my shoulders, I used to live life spreading positivity wherever I went. When Henry came along, that changed in a heart beat. Can life really change so quickly?

And then their were the ordinary citizens running to and fro, carrying steaming cups of coffee, or they were talking at mega speed on their phones, or they were simply taking a nice morning stroll around the city. Either way, this was London. A busy, crowded, lively place.

I used to love crowded. Crowded places made me feel safe, and it comforted me knowing that I was surrounded by people just like me. And then as I aged and became more socially awkward, and I avoided places, and I kept all of my bubbliness inside, knowing that it was better to lock it away then shove it in front of everybody's faces.

'Cathy and Lizzie, stay right behind me, we're targeting that shop over there.' Anne mouthed over to both of us, pointing her finger over to the nearby Coffee shop. She then stormed over to it, pushing people out of her way hurriedly, leaving me and Lizzie scrambling to catch up with her. She stopped in front of the store with a devilish grin plastered over her face.

'Anne, what's the plan?' Lizzie whispered anxiously. She slipped her hand into mine, pressing her ice cold hands against my overheating ones.

'Cathy, you look after Lizzie and make sure she doesn't get in harm's way. I'm going in and doing what I need to do. And promise me, no matter what happens you won't come after me.' Anne threatened, wagging her finger towards me slightly.

'Me, you'll- Anne Boleyn what are you going to do?' I shrieked, clutching onto Lizzie's arm.

'You'll see.' She smirked. She reached into her pocket and drew out an oversized black mask. 'Quick now! Back up!'

I was feeling extremely alarmed at that point, so I didn't question Anne any more. I did as I was instructed to, and grabbed onto Lizzie's hand and pulled her away from the coffee shop, but we were close enough to see what was going on inside of it.

My head whirled with exhilaration as my grip on Lizzie's hand tightened. I squeezed her hand so hard, my knuckles were white and tensed. I was scared for her, scared for what I thought she was about to do, scared for both me and Lizzie. I hadn't been this scared since I was left out on the streets.

Anne had the mask clenched in her right fist as she wandered inside, pretending to be interested in ordering the Vanilla Latte. Me and Lizzie watched fearfully as she took a step up to the counter, preparing herself to have her order taken.

'Lizzie, what's Anne going to do?' I murmured over into Lizzie's ear. Lizzie shook her head slightly.

'Just watch, I can't say it. I feel terrible about doing it but we have to! We have no choice!' She howled, burying her head into my chest. I looked down at her in dismay for a split second, before I glanced into the coffee shop again, not wanting to miss out on the action.

I watched Anne step up to the counter, and place her order, giving the lady a charming smile. As the lady turned around, Anne shot on the black mask, and had leapt onto the counter top.

I let out a small gasp as I watched Anne reach confidently into her pocket.

'She doesn't.... she doesn't own a...' I stammered, horrified at the events that were going on in front of me.

'Oh she does,' Lizzie said tonelessly, 'She nicked it from a home.'

'She NICKED IT?' I hissed, 'Are you a family of thieves or something?'

Lizzie had no time to answer as we were interrupted by blood-curling screams. I turned my head sharply to see what the commotion was about and there Anne was on the counter tops, holding out a gun in her hand. She pointed it warningly at everybody, hiding behind her black mask. I didn't dare to breath. I had never been so terrified of watching something this traumatizing before. Anne no longer looked like herself, she had a dark aura around her. An aura that was out for blood....

I watched Anne snatch the entire cash box and storm out of the coffee shop, with everybody staring at her open mouthed. Some people in the shop were simply crying from the shock of it all. Was Anne really this scary?

Me and Lizzie charged after her as she took a slight detour route home, just in case she had anybody following her. When we had all arrived at the front door, Anne tore off her mask and smiled beamingly around.

'We got money!' She cheered, holding the cash box high above her head with pride. Lizzie leapt up to give Anne a huge bear hug, as she too joined in with the celebrations. I couldn't smile or even dredge up a small congratulations. I was mortified.

'Anne what was that?' I spat out, my face alight with fear and anger. 'You put that back right now!'

'Are. You. Delusional. Cathy. Parr.' Anne snapped, her face twisted into scorn. 'After all the trouble I went into to get this, of course not!'

'We need the money, to survive. To feed ourselves. To home ourselves. To clothe ourselves.' Lizzie whispered softly, 'This is our lifestyle.'

'What about a job?' I sighed desperately. 'I don't like stealing!'

'Softie! I knew you were one! A complete goody two shoes!' Anne mocked, pulling a disgusted facial expression. 'Fine, you can go back onto the streets again and make a profit out of that instead! We can't get jobs because we all have criminal records!'

'Then I'll get one!' I spluttered out, 'I'll get a job!'

'You'll never earn enough for all of us...' Lizzie put in sadly. 'Come on let's go inside.'

And then we walked into the house, but this house no longer felt like wonderland or heaven. It felt more like a home of liars, cheats and thieves.

And that's because they all were.