Chapter 7 Amelia
Amelia
It was the middle of the day, and we looked suspicious, like we were casing the place, which we were.
“Alright, so the key is under the mat. I’m assuming the front door since there’s a privacy fence around the back,” Oliver said, looking down at me.
“I’ll get inside, find the car keys, and back the car out of the garage.
“ I want you to start walking that way,” he pointed.
“And I’ll pick you up. But keep your eyes open.
If anyone starts watching you weirdly, run.
Run back to the store we were just at, and I’ll meet you. Alright?”
I worried my bottom lip. “I don’t know. I don’t know if we should split up like that. And who is going to be watching me weirdly? Why do I need to run? Are they going to chase me? And if so, why?”
He rolled his eyes and ran his hands over his face. “Oh my god.” His hands fell away, and the look of annoyance was back. “You said you didn’t want to steal the car, right?”
I nodded.
“Well, this keeps you from having to do that.”
“Yeah, but it means we have to split up.”
He smirked. “Don’t want to be away from me?”
I scoffed. “No, I-I was fine on that part until you started talking about people chasing me. Who are these people? And why are they chasing me?”
He shook his head. “I’m not saying anyone will. I’m just talking like worst-case scenario here.”
“If I have to pick between stealing a car and having creepy people chase me, I think I’d rather steal the car.”
“Fine. Fuck. Let’s go. Keep an eye out.” He started leading the way to the house.
It was a quiet neighborhood. All nice houses with neatly maintained lawns.
If I had to guess, I would’ve said that everyone in the neighborhood was elderly.
Which meant that all of them were probably looking out their windows, watching us as we approached the door.
Oliver bent down and pulled out the key that was hidden under the mat.
He quickly unlocked the house and put it back, but he moved inside slowly, with me stuck to his back like glue.
After he took a few steps in, he called out, “Hello?”
Scared that we’d get caught, I grabbed hold of the back of his shirt. He frowned at me from over his shoulder, but he slowly moved further into the house.
“Hello?” he called out again, but there still wasn’t any answer. He tried to turn around to face me, but I was still fisting his shirt, and it caused him to jerk free. “Would you chill?”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper-yelled. “I said I’d rather steal the car. I didn’t say anything about illegal trespass.”
“Oh my God,” he muttered, raising his hands to his temples. “Just go find the damn keys,” he ordered, dropping his arms to his sides.
We split up, each of us moving through the house to look for the car keys.
I moved into the kitchen, thinking they may be hanging from a hook on the wall or maybe tossed haphazardly on the counter.
The trashcan in the corner of the room was empty.
So was the sink, but the counters were covered with all kinds of crap, making it impossible to find anything if you just happened to toss them down while putting away the groceries.
I scanned over the kitchen and moved across the dining room.
I pushed open a door and entered what looked like a bedroom.
It was nice and tidy, filled with light thanks to the open curtains.
The sun shone right through the white blinds, keeping anyone outside from looking in while still letting in enough light to clearly see.
I had just noticed a set of keys on the dresser when I heard the door slam.
“Kitty, kitty,” a woman called out.
Panic washed through me faster than I thought possible. I grabbed the keys and turned for the door. Just as I turned, I was face-to-face with Oliver. He swept into the room and grabbed my wrist, yanking me around the corner so we couldn’t be seen.
“Kitty, kitty. It’s Auntie Jules. Dinner time!” the lady yelled.
“What are we going to do?” I whispered.
He put his finger to his lips, telling me to quiet down. I could tell by the faraway look in his eyes that he was listening to every step the woman took, trying to judge how close she was getting to the room we were in.
I heard her pour the cat food into the bowl. I heard the water come on and then turn off.
“Kitties? Where are you, silly kitties?” Her voice was getting closer.
Oliver opened the closet door and pushed me backward as he stepped inside with me.
The closet was small. Even with us standing chest to chest, we barely fit inside with all of the clothes hanging.
It was dark inside, but my eyes quickly adjusted so that when I looked up at him, I could see his eyes looking back down at me.
I felt his warm breath on my lips. Without thinking, I wet them, noticing the way his eyes fell from mine, down to my mouth, and back.
I felt my heart start to race, and a tug of need that urged me to lean into him.
It made me think of the moment we’d shared earlier that neither of us had spoken of.
Still unsure of what that moment was, of what I was feeling as I was stuffed into that tiny space with him, I opened my mouth to tell him to back away, but when he saw my lips part, he shook his head, telling me to be silent.
My body overheated very quickly. Sweat prickled my skin.
I didn’t know how long we were stuffed inside that closet, but it felt like an eternity.
It had been a long time since I’d heard any noise at all.
Finally, he leaned in even closer, his nose trailing across my cheek and making my eyes flutter closed.
“I’m going to see if she’s gone. Stay quiet,” he whispered.
I nodded and opened my eyes, understanding that he wasn’t putting the moves on me. That fact washed over me, leaving me embarrassed.
He pulled away as he opened the door, letting all the cool air from the room rush into the tight space. I sucked in a deep breath and felt it immediately cool my overheated body. It felt like I was gasping for air as I stepped out of the closet.
He walked back into the room a second later. “She’s gone. Did you find the keys?”
I had them in my hand that had been pressed against my chest, between us. I opened my hand and let them dangle from my index finger.
“Perfect. Let’s go.” He grabbed the keys from my hand and turned, rushing from the room with me following along behind him.
He opened the door to the attached garage and led me out to the Toyota parked there.
He hit the button, causing the lights to flash as the doors unlocked, and he let out a laugh as he opened the door to climb inside.
Within minutes of leaving the closet, we were driving down the road in another stolen car, but Oliver promised this one would last longer, and I hoped he was right.
I may have been used to being around crime, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be the one committing it.
I knew if we got caught, I would be just as guilty as he was, and that thought alone kept me on edge as he got onto the interstate, heading east.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ventured.
He was resting his arm on the top of the steering wheel, and instead of answering my question, he turned that hand over like a shrug.
“You don’t know where we’re going?”
“I don’t know if you’ve realized this or not, but it’s been one disaster after another since the moment we met. So, no, I have’t been able to get a plan in place just yet. What about you? Where do you plan on going? Why are you still with me? Where do you see this ending?”
I couldn’t give him a hard time for not knowing because I didn’t know either. I was limited on funds. I had nobody to rely on and no plan in sight.
“I don’t know,” I whispered.
He glanced over at me. “What was your plan before crashing your boyfriend’s car?”
I shrugged. “Steal his car to get out of town.”
“That was it?”
I nodded. “I figured I’d get away, find some place to settle down, use the little bit of money I have to plant roots, get a job, and start over.”
“How much money do you have?” he asked, not looking at me but keeping his attention on the road in front of us.
“A few grand. Why?”
His brows lifted. “Because I’m broke right now. I don’t know how far we’ll make it without having any money.”
“The money I have isn’t to fund whatever kind of trip this is. It’s to restart my life.”
“I get that, but without it, we’ll be back to walking by nightfall.”
I looked at the gas gauge and saw how close the car was to being on empty.
I sighed. “Fine, I’ll pay for gas.”
“I was about to get paid when you wrecked that for me.”
“I said I was sorry.”
“All I’m saying is that if you allow us to use your money now to get us through, I’ll pay you back once I have the next payday lined up.”
“And by payday, you mean when you find another car to steal and sell?”
He just looked at me. “It’s all I have right now.”
I scoffed and shook my head.
“That’s what they all say,” I muttered, turning to look out the passenger side window.
“What?”
“I heard my dad say it a million times. This is all we have, this is all we have to do, one last time, and I’m done. There’s always something that pulls you back, and I don’t want to be a part of it. That’s why I’m trying to start over. This life isn’t for me.”
“It isn’t for me either.”
I turned my head to look at him.
His eyes were moving back and forth between me and the road.
“I’m tired of it. I hear you. I was trying to get out.
I stole that car, and I was on my way to deliver it to the buyer.
I was going to take the money and go, find a life outside of all this shit, but then here you come.
In a second, it was all gone.” He snapped his fingers.
“You act like you’re so much better than the criminals you’re forced to be around, but if you can crash into my life, fuck up my plans, and use me to get out of your shitty situation without even offering to help me out of the mess you brought to my door, you’re no better.
” His jaw flexed, and his hand tightened on the wheel, causing his knuckles to turn white with pressure.
It felt like I was punched in the stomach by guilt, because he was right. He was trying to get out, just like I was. I messed that up for him, so it was my duty to help.
I took a deep breath. “You’re right. I-I’m sorry, Oliver.”
He frowned as he continued driving.
“We’ll use the money I have to get by for now.
Once we find a car, I’ll help you steal it.
Once it’s sold, you can give me my money back, with interest, for the added risk of being part of your carjacking scheme.
Then we’ll go our separate ways. You can move on to your happy ending, and I’ll go find mine. Deal?” I held out my hand to shake.
He wet his lips. “How much interest are we talking about here?”
I dropped my hand and scoffed. “Half.”
“What? Fuck no!” His expression was a mixture of disgust and disbelief.
“It sounds fair to me. I mean, if I’m helping you steal this car and we get caught, I’ll be going away for just as long as you are.”
“That’s the thing. I work alone, and I don’t get caught. Working with someone else makes everything riskier. Plus, you wouldn’t have to help me if you didn’t fuck everything up for me.”
“Fine. Twenty-five percent—that’s my final offer.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Fine. Twenty-five percent,” he agreed.
I smiled and lifted my hand once again. This time, he shook it, and I felt the way his touch burned a path from my hand, all the way up my arm, down my chest, only to settle between my thighs. I squeezed them together to dull the ache that formed and released his hand as quickly as I could.
It felt like I’d made a deal with the devil.
I had no idea what I had gotten myself into, but I knew there wasn’t any going back, and deep down, I didn’t even know if I wanted to.
I’d never wanted to break a rule before, but suddenly, being bad didn’t seem so bad.
I mean, not when I was with him. I told myself I was stupid.
I didn’t need to add car thief onto my list of sins, all because a cute guy looked my way with a sexy smirk.
I knew his type. He’d throw me under the bus in an instant just to get himself ahead.
I’d been there, done that, and I had the scars on my heart to prove it.