CHAPTER FIVE
974 Words
Tyla sent in a message that she had an emergency and wouldn’t be returning to work before she turned on the volume of the speaker. They were singing and nodding their heads to the beats of their favorite song, masking any pain they felt in the moment.
Ava was in charge of selecting the music while Tyla concentrated on the road. She remembered she needed to get some groceries.
‘’I want to stop by at M’s she said. And we can go bag shopping too.’’
Ava smiled. ‘’Yes! Something to brighten my day further.’’
M’s was part grocery shop with a fashion store on the second floor. It was always busy with customers and it was always difficult to get a parking space. She spotted one and immediately turned her wheels to the direction. Suddenly, a young boy jumped out of hiding and faced her moving car, shock plastered across his face.
She screamed in fright and the car came to a screeching halt before ramming into the little child.
“Oh my God! What the hell?!” Ava screamed.
She quickly got out of the driving seat with trembling hands. She rushed to check the child. He was on the floor, sobbing gently. He had scraped his knee. She crouched down and inspected the wound. Thankfully, it would only require some cotton wool and medicated spirit.
‘’I’m so sorry,’’ she said, as Ava joined them. ‘’You shouldn’t run into a moving car.’’
He nodded, rubbing his tearless eyes.
‘’Where are your parents?’’ she asked, looking around. He remained silent, staring with interest at both ladies.
Tyla pulled him into a hug. It appeared as though the boy was in shock. His body was cold to her touch. “How long have you been out?”
“Say, little boy, what are you doing out here at this time? The amusement park here closes by 6pm. How could you still be out so late at night?” Ava said as she gritted her teeth. She couldn’t imagine what trouble they would have been in if they had hit the child.
Tyla was still hugging him tightly. “ Gosh, you will get a cold. You must have stayed out here for so long...” She rubbed his cold fingers in her palm, warming them.
He made no responses. He seemed sleepy.
“Tyla, we should report this to the police, maybe his parents might find him there.” Ava suggested, tired of standing by the boy who had decided to remain mute.
“It’s good to report to the authorities, but look, his lips are pale. He might pass out before we finish all the formalities.” She wasn’t afraid of the consequences, after all, her relatives were police officers. She would make a report that she was with a missing child who was unresponsive, but she had to make sure he slept in a warm bed that night. She could just
take him home and his parents would be with him the next day.
Ava seemed reluctant but shrugged, “OK then. But you are the one cleaning this up in case it gets messy.”
She inspected his clothes. From the brands of clothes he was wearing, she could tell he was from a rich family. She hoped his parents would be able to find him that day.
She lifted him from the floor over her shoulders, and she felt his small arms wrap around her neck. They walked together into the car with Ava shaking her head in disapproval. She tried sitting him on the passengers’ seat but he refused to let go of his grip around her. She laughed.
‘’Ava. Please, help me hold him.’’
She reached out from behind and tried to pull him off Tyla’s back but his grip remained firm over her shoulders.
“I want... Mama’s... hug.” He said, speaking for the first time. He seemed to be stuttering. She wondered if it was part of the shock or some developmental anomaly.
‘’Mama is coming,’’ she said, gesturing to Ava to take the wheels while she huddled to the back of the car.
Ava drove the car into the parking space and they alighted. They immediately alerted the security that they were with a missing child and dropped their home addresses and mobile number before venturing in.
On getting home, Tyla stacked her refrigerator with her vegetables and put some meat in her air fryer. She was particularly excited to cook today, not just because her friend was with her but because of the little boy. She rushed in to take a quick shower while he napped. The water was warm, just at the temperature she wanted. She washed her hair and dried it, remembering the encounter she had had with Mark a few hours ago. It had been such a day.
Piece of s**t, she swore.
Left to her, Mark would be behind bars. She would have filed a charge for assault and r**e. But she felt that Ava would not want such a scandal so early in her career. She would offend a lot of people, or spark unnecessary hatred. The media was not friendly to women. So Mark would get away with his atrocity.
As she passed by the living room to the kitchen, she caught the news report of a missing child. She stopped as the reporter continued his report. It was the picture of the boy she had found displaying on the screen, and the reporter had identified him as Dylan Lloyd, son of billionaire Kevin Lloyd. Tyla felt her heart beat double. She had taken the child of her boss home, unknowingly.
Just then, her phone vibrated and flashed on as a call came in. It was from her boss - Kevin Lloyd.
- Writer
