My dad refused to show me the discovery on his laptop until my mum had seen it too, and her expression matched my father's. She was focused on reading, figuring out what it was that my dad wanted to show her. Once her mind had processed it, her brows raised and eyes widened, all in awed silence.

She placed the laptop face beside her, her hands clasped in front of her as if she was about to lay the worst news I've ever heard in my life on me. Similar to when she sat me down to tell me our cat had been stolen. Although... I wish that's what she'd told me.

It was as if the ground had been pulled from underneath me as my heart dropped. A nauseating sensation rose from my gut all the way to the back of my constricted throat. I felt like I'd just stopped existing in reality and everything was a terrible dream. My view shifted in and out of focus as my parents struggled to calm me down.

All of this, because of the terrible truth behind why the Amstell's were hiding away in some British forest.

Rhyse's mom used to be one of three gang leaders back in New York, but that wasn't why she was in hiding. She and a few others, including Mr Amstell, had robbed a bank and although successful, two men were inadvertently killed. Apparently, someone had snitched on them which led to their arrest and imprisonment for upwards of 10 years each.

Rhyse's parents were convicted criminals, murderers, thieves, and who knew what else they'd done!

"Grand larceny in the first degree and firearms possession, not to mention organised crime and two murders! But their sentences were just above the US mandatory minimum," my dad exclaimed.

"It's America. They probably paid their way free. You know how they are over there," mum responded, quite blasé. This was not the first time she'd expressed contempt for the US legal system.

"Good lawyers, perhaps?" I timidly suggested. If they allegedly paid their way out of a sentence, then that would probably mean the robbery was successful, or they were already wealthy. But why would they choose a desolate forest to live in?

"We're good lawyers and I think even we'd struggle with clients like those," my dad gestured to himself and my mum, appearing very unconvinced.

Mum relaxed, leaning back into the sofa. She seemed quite indifferent to the situation, the same couldn't be said for my dad. His brows were scrunched together, face screwed with disbelief and unease.

"Eleanora, you're being far too nonchalant. This is serious, they're not even a mile away! Our kids are here," he slapped her lightly on the knee to get her to be as concerned as he was.

She perked up slightly, "well, they've lived here longer than we have and they've never caused any trouble until their rebellious son approached Sophia."

"It's not his fault his parents are convicted criminals. Although they haven't done anything while we're here, who knows what they do while we're gone for the other 46 weeks of the year?

"I'm not saying they're good people, I'm saying that they've left us alone for over a decade and it's only now things have happened."

From mum being fuming not even a couple of hours ago, to see her now behaving almost aloofly about the whole situation was a little out of character for her. She'd already made up her mind about the ordeal in the short time she spent alone when we came back it seemed. Dad, on the other hand, was far more concerned now.

"You're right, they're not good people. That woman pulled a gun on you today because she threatened our daughter!" Dad sighed and took one of my mum's hands into his own, and placed another on his thigh. "Mrs Amstell requested that we left her family alone. So, Sophia, it would be best if you didn't see Rhyse anymore."

It took a few seconds to register that my dad was actually talking to me now, and of course, I didn't agree with what he believed would be best. "That's not fair!" I glanced between the pair, and then at my mom, hoping for her to be on my side, though it wasn't likely. "Can't we just meet in secret, without his parents knowing?"

My parents exchanged uneasy looks, and finally, it was my mum who spoke first. Her brows had relaxed, but deep in her eyes, I could still see she wasn't sure. I thought she'd say no, as not to go against my dad's suggestion.

She let out a strained exhale, appearing to think for a few more moments before giving me an answer. "We have a couple of weeks left here. If you're going to meet with him, you make sure you're not going to get caught. Mrs Amstell brought out a gun to intimidate me and didn't back down when I told her I was a lawyer. I say you can meet with Rhyse and, touch wood, by the time we're back here next year everything should've cooled down."

"Thanks," I murmured. Continuously mentioning that Mrs Amstell had a gun that she was not afraid to use just made my stomach churn even more.

I was getting ready to excuse myself when I was stopped.

"You be careful, though. When I think back to you telling us he tricked you into thinking he was going to kill you, it makes me nothing but concerned."

"It was a joke. I'll be fine. I swear," I assured her.

"Okay, notify me if anything happens. If you come across his parents and one of them even so much looks at you funny, I'll tear their case wide open again. I don't want them messing with my family."

"Gotcha."

"Alright, go do what you're doing. Your father and I are going to talk some more."

I didn't doubt what she said. Despite it giving her a load of unnecessary work, a threat to our family could send my mother into a work frenzy, and I'd hate to be the defendant.

On my way up the stairs, I remembered about the spare phone I kept in my wardrobe, just in case something happened to my current one while I was away. I guess Rhyse would undoubtedly benefit from it more than my wardrobe ever would. There was so much he still didn't know about, which a phone could teach him.

Thinking about him, I couldn't help but remember his face and the way he reacted before and after the armed confrontation between our parents. At first, he seemed outraged by his mother's actions, and then when she disappeared, so did all of his anger. He seemed distant like he'd received bad news. He was there physically, but mentally his mind was elsewhere. I didn't know whether it was because he wasn't used to that kind of confrontation. Maybe he feared his parents or maybe he was daunted by how he'd be perceived.

Before I could ask about that, I had to ask him why the hell he kept everything my parents had told me a secret. Aside from the queasy feeling still raging away in my torso, I still couldn't wrap my head around exactly how I felt about the whole thing and how I felt about Rhyse. Would I even be able to look at him the same now?