Coffee Shop

Amelia hugged her mother has her father was put in jail. He had been beating on her mother for far too long. She was able to have a few friends over on a night when she knew her father had been going out to a pub.  Amelia and her friends stayed locked in her room as they heard glass shatter. Amelia called the police and tiptoed to the top of the  stairs so the police could hear what was happening. Within minutes, it seemed, the police were putting her father in handcuffs. Her mother followed them to the police station to file a report after much convincing from Amelia. Her mother came home and started crying. Amelia had no idea if it was out of relief or sadness. It was probably a little bit of both.  After that night, Amelia and all of her friends were constantly questioned. The police wanted everybody's version of events. Finally, after what seemed to be years, the questioning was finished.  All of the girls from that night eventually stopped speaking to Amelia, except Caterina Myers. Caterina stayed by Amelias' side through the entire ordeal. Amelia pulled into herself into a shell. Nothing Caterina, Amelias' mother, and eventually Caterinas' boyfriend John, could do to keep her the social butterfly.  Amelia would sneak out to go find a quiet place to think. She could still hear the screams and bangs and fights that happened in the house. That was how she found her favorite café. Mike and Son's Café Express. It was a little hole in the wall. Once she found it she never went straight home. She got a part time job and read there during her free time. Music, homework, work, and peace and quiet, she was there.