Love is the Sunshine

Chapter 12 Attacked By Foes

Sean stood beside Carla as she called out waving for a taxi.

"Shit!" Terence cursed in a low voice. Those people were quickly gaining on them. Terence retreated a

few steps and swiftly grabbed both Sean and Carla around the waist leading them into the opposite

direction. He then held tightly onto both their hands and began to run into the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Carla was stunned. All of her attention was on hailing a taxi, so she had no idea

what was happening around them.

But it didn't take her long to realize the danger that was heading towards them. She stopped trying to

get rid of Terence's hand and began to run as fast as she could. Even though her heart was in her

throat and adrenaline coursed through her veins, she didn't forget the cause of all of this. She

cried,"Terence you really are a jinx!"

However, Sean shouted back,"This is so exciting!"

Sean was too young to understand the true danger that they were in. Being influenced by fast action

movies he thought that it was fun and exciting. But he had no problem with keeping up with the two of

them because he had always been very good at sport.

Carla and Sean's reaction to what was going on was entirely different to what Terence had expected,

and it made him smile bitterly. They managed to squeeze into the crowd making it more difficult to be

reached and to buy themselves a bit more time from the men that were chasing them. When Terence

thought it was safe enough he stopped and said,"Carla, take Sean home and stay there. I'll lead them

away. Their target is me."

He caressed Sean's head and then handed him the fish.

As he dashed to another direction he looked back and called out,"Sean, take care of your sister." He

then disappeared from view.

Several brawny men who had been following them suddenly changed their direction and rushed after

Terence when they saw him leave the crowd. Terence was right. He was their only target.

"Ter..."

Terence had left so quickly that Carla didn't get the chance to finish her words. She stood and gazed as

he quickly disappeared from sight.

'Terence, please be careful.' That was what she wanted to say.

A public bus was just pulling over into a nearby bus stop. Carla and Sean followed the crowd and got

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Carla pushed her way through the crowded bus and went to a window to try and spot Terence. She

could see the men that were after him weaving in and out of the crowd at amazing speed

and then she saw Terence. The typical warm smile that she and her brother had become used to

seeing had now disappeared from his handsome face. It was replaced with a cold and resolute stare,

concentrating on what lay before him. His expression was just like the first time that she saw him.

There were traffic and people coming and going from all directions. Terence rolled over the bonnet of a

car that was blocking his way without any effort. He looked back at the men that were chasing him and

gave them a cold smile. He then ducked into a dark and narrow alleyway.

The bus slowed to a stop.

After Carla and Sean got off, they didn't go straight home. They were frightened that those same

people might have broken into their home.

"Carla, I'm really worried about Terence. Should we call the police and ask them to help him?"

Sean held her hand, concern written on his face.

Carla hugged him and patted his shoulder to comfort him. "Sean, it's not as simple as we think. We

didn't have time to call the police when it all happened. But now, we don't even know where they are.

How could we tell the police?"

But in fact, she worried about another thing.

Because she had no idea about Terence's real identity, she wasn't sure whether it was such a good

idea to call the police at all.

But if he really was innocent, why didn't he just call the police himself and explain it all to them? Surely

he was smart enough to have thought of that. Perhaps he just couldn't call police because he was a

criminal himself? That was exactly what Carla was worrying about.

Carla walked around the block where her home was several times to make sure there were no

suspicious characters lurking around. Satisfied that it was all clear she went inside with Sean.

Even though they were safely inside their home, they still didn't feel at ease.

They both sat quietly, each lost in their own thoughts as they anxiously waited, until Carla finally spoke

up,"Sean, don't wait any longer. Go to bed now." It was already 11 p.m. But Sean was still too restless

to sleep.

He shook his head reluctantly.

"Carla, I'm just so worried about him. Can I wait a little longer?"

Carla looked up and gave him a stern look. "Sean! Do you think you're old enough to bargain with me

now? You don't listen to me anymore! He is just a stranger. Is he more important to you than your own

sister?"

Sean didn't want to upset his sister any further so he swallowed the words that he was going to say.

With his head hung low in disappointment he turned and did as he was told.

In the living room, Carla sat on the sofa staring blankly at the television.

Many different thoughts ran through her mind. 'Right, he is just a stranger to us. Just a few days ago I

was trying to get rid of him.

Then why am I so worried about him? It's weird.'

Carla tried to convince herself that he meant nothing to her and that it was a good thing that he was

finally gone. With that thought, she dragged herself to bed not bothering to get into her pajamas.

However, when she lay in bed, she couldn't fall asleep. No matter how hard she tried, she kept tossing

and turning, unable to clear her head. She couldn't remember how many times she checked her phone,

by this stage it was well past midnight.

Finally, giving up on trying to sleep, she sat up in bed with her fists in tight little balls under her chin.

She thought for a moment. She slid off the bed and put her shoes on and went to look outside the

window.

It was very dark outside with the exception of a few dim lights. A breeze whirled the leaves around and

the shadows made her feel fearful.

She heaved a deep sigh and decided that

she couldn't wait around any longer. Carla grabbed a coat and put it on. She rummaged through a

toolbox and pulled out a flashlight and then quickly went into the kitchen and pulled out a switchblade

from the drawer for her protection in case she needed it, slipping them both into her coat pocket.

She opened the door to Sean's bedroom to check on her little brother, careful not to make any noise.

He was sleeping peacefully, too tired to even remove his jacket.

She closed the door softly and went downstairs.

After midnight the streets were deserted except for a few car that would pass occasionally.

Carla took her scooter and went out onto the streets. Normally she wouldn't dare venture out at this

hour. But she was restless and worried about Terence.

Even though she couldn't work him out and had only known him for several days, she still considered

him to be a friend. Carla couldn't just leave him outside not knowing if he was hurt or not. She would

feel guilty if she did so.

Carla nervously searched along the streets and lanes hoping to spot him. She tried to be as quiet as

possible so she didn't attract attention to herself.

She had been searching for a while. Concern and disappointment began to fester in her mind. She felt

helpless to do anything more, so with a heavy heart, she turned to go back home. Just as she was

about to leave, she noticed someone curled up behind the parterre. With hope in her heart, she

cautiously approached.

"Terence is that you?" she mumbled, but there was no response.

"Terence?

Is that you?"

Carla asked louder. She couldn't tell if it was him or not and she was too frightened to get any closer in

case it wasn't. She turned the flashlight towards the unknown figure.

Behind the parterre, the man sat slightly up and put his hand out to block the dazzling light from the

torch. He squinted in the light at her.

"Carla, what are you doing here?" he said in a hoarse voice.

When she heard the familiar voice, her heart skipped a beat. Carla quickly parked her scooter and ran

to him. "Terence, it's really you! Are you hurt?" she asked urgently.

When she came closer she saw that Terence was sitting on the ground with one leg bent. It was too

dark and she couldn't tell if he was hurt or not.

Terence didn't respond so she asked him again,"Are you hurt? Can you move? Why didn't you come

home?"

As she spoke, she ran her hand over him to see if he was hurt. She touched one of his legs and he

recoiled in pain. Carla pulled her hand back startled.

"Are you injured? Is it serious? Whatever. We need to get you to a hospital straight away!"

Carla thought, 'If his injury isn't serious, then why haven't he come home yet? He must be badly

injured! That's the only explanation!'

Terence grasped her hand to stop her from calling an ambulance and shook his head. "I'll be fine. I got

rid of them. There aren't that many hospitals in this city and their men will be on a lookout around the

hospitals for me. I can't go to the hospital.

Don't worry. It was just one blow to my leg and it didn't break my bones."

Carla frowned. His left leg was obviously too weak for him to move. Was he really fine?

"How about this? I have a pretty close friend who operates a clinic near my home. He will know how to

help you. Let's go to him now!"

She stood up brushing the leaves from her knees and leaned over with her arms outstretched ready to

help Terence up off the ground. But Terence didn't make any attempt to move.

In the dark of the night, leaves rustled in the breeze and the delicate scent of a nearby hibiscus tree

floated in the air.

It seemed as though time had stood still for a moment.

Under the parterre, the handsome man stared at her intently, in a manner that she had never seen

before.