36 // Whatever It Takes

My heart was literally beating in my throat, and my ears were as loud as a siren.

“Yvonne!” My head whipped in the direction of the yard where my mother was rushing out to meet me.

She was yet to realise that my father was out here. It would be difficult to convince him to leave once he noticed how jumpy we both were, if he insisted on going inside, he would become suspicious.

Sy had nowhere to hide, especially in broad daylight in the buzzing township.

I threw myself at him and hugged him tightly, and I was shocked at how easily my tears fell these days. “Papa!” I wailed.

Warning bells went off in my head when he went stiff, and I was puzzled by how his heartbeat was faint and yet so erratic.

It took a minute for him to finally wrap his arms around me, and there was hesitance in his actions. “Angel, what’s going on?” He asked, and I took this opportunity to reel him in.

I pulled back and stared into his eyes in ears. “Papa, pease get me out of here! Please.”

“What? What’s g