Crushed (6 page)

Robert stood as well, his expression unreadable. He looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. He turned to walk out of the room without looking back once.

Sophie stood by herself, both happy and confused. She had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into, but she didn't regret it. There was something about this place that screamed excitement, and Sophie looked forward to the person she would become here.

After all, she'd just stepped into the unknown.

CHAPTER THREE

Learning about my past was difficult, but it had helped to usher in a new era, full of new experiences, new feelings, and new meetings.

"So this is what it's like to live with thieves?" Sophie commented, dropping her suitcase on the floor.

"It's exciting, right?" Rylan joked from behind her. "Don't let it fool you, this neighborhood has a dark, seething underbelly."

"I don't doubt that for a minute." She replied, grinning. So far, Rylan was the most welcoming of all of her new roommates. He was the only one who had helped her unload her luggage, and he'd been the first person to speak to her all day.

The move-in process had taken two-weeks. Without regretting her decision, Sophie had eagerly prepared to move into her new life. Cleo had helped her along the way, though Sophie still felt like she was an outsider. She hadn't seen Robert since the day she'd decided to work for Cleo, and the other two children, Teddy and Gwyn, had avoided her at all costs.

"How do you like your new room?" Rylan turned towards her as he sat the last box of her belongings on the floor. The room was already decorated with cardboard boxes, and Sophie found herself groaning at the task she had ahead of her.

"It's…going to take a lot of work before I can answer that." She sighed heavily.

"If you need anything just ask." Rylan answered cheerfully. "Just consider us family." He plopped down on her bed, which consisted of only a mattress. She had yet to unload her pillows and blankets.

"That's easier said than done." Sophie mused, joining him on the bed. "It seems like everyone else isn't as willing to welcome me."

Rylan waved his hand in the air dismissively. "Gwyn and Teddy will come around. Teddy's just nervous around you because of Robert. Give him a little time and you'll wish he wasn't hanging around you every waking moment."

"What about Gwyn?" Sophie asked, picturing the serious, curly-haired girl.

"To be honest…" Rylan began. "Gwyn thinks you're insane."

"Insane?" Sophie winced in response.

"Well, not exactly. Put more simply, she doesn't understand you. I honestly don't either. From our point of view it seems like you threw away your decent life on a whim. She doesn't get how someone can just leave behind their life and move into a place like this."

"I guess I am sort of insane." Sophie replied, her frown lifting into a smile. "Is it weird to say that I feel like I belong here? I don't regret dropping out of college…it was something I didn't enjoy, and I feel that being here will give me something I've been missing out on for a long time."

"I wonder if it's because of your parents?" Rylan guessed, and Sophie glanced at him curiously. "All of our parents worked here as well. Gwyn's mother worked under Cleo, and my father did as well. We're all second-generation thieves."

"Second generation?" Sophie asked, sounding surprised. "So you guys are really training to be like Robert?"

"Not exactly." Rylan grinned, waving away her concern. "Rob only teaches Teddy because it makes him feel important. We're not obligated to steal or anything like that."

"So Cleo takes care of you?" Sophie was insanely curious about how this household functioned. She felt like the sooner she figured it out, the easier it would be to blend in.

Rylan laughed at her question. "Cleo barely has anything to do with us. She pops in every now and again, but for the most part we're on our own. She takes care of all of our basic necessities. Since we're not allowed to enroll in a school, she pays for private tutors to teach us, but that's the limit. Robert's the closest thing we have to a parental figure."

Sophie noticed that Rylan's expression darkened.

She hadn't planned on asking more, but he decided to answer her unspoken question. "My father was arrested two years ago. They had enough evidence to link him to various other thefts, so he ended up getting a ten year sentence."

"Ten years?" Sophie's eyes widened.

"The other thefts weren't small." Rylan explained. "They were high profile cases that involved very famous pieces of art. He was lucky he got off with only ten years." While Rylan spoke matter-of-factly, there was something about his expression that seemed lonely.

"I guess I must be crazy." Sophie mused. "Being a thief isn't going to be easy."

"Working for Cleo means risking everything. Yeah, she can offer you a dream-like future, but the sacrifices you make while working towards that goal are difficult." Rylan reached out to place a hand on her arm. The gesture was brotherly, and it didn't feel the least bit awkward. "As long as it's Robert teaching you, you'll be fine. He's the best thief Cleo's ever known, and we all trust him. He'll show you the ropes."

Sophie hadn't even thought about the learning process. She figured teaching was the last thing Robert wanted to do, and she felt guilty that he'd been forced into it. However, she needed to learn in order to reach her goal, and she wasn't going to back away from the challenge.

She lifted her hand to touch her newly cropped hair. She still wasn't used to the short length, and every time she remembered what she'd done, she felt a pang of regret.

Rylan seemed to notice where her thoughts were headed, and he smiled at her sweetly. "It honestly doesn't look that bad. You're pretty enough to pull it off."

Sophie laughed, appreciating him for lying so convincingly. "Thanks." She replied, and motioned to the boxes scattered around her room. "And thanks for helping me unload all of these. It's nice to know I'm not completely alone."

"No problem. Like I said before, if you need anything just ask and I'll be happy to help. Oh, and I'll try talking to Gwyn about being more friendly. She's stubborn, but I'm sure she'll come to like you." Rylan pushed himself up from the bed and walked towards the door to leave.

As she watched him exit the room, Sophie felt her heart sink. She'd temporarily forgotten how lonely it was going to be living here. She'd grown used to loneliness over the years, but she felt like she really wanted to fit in. After all, she was going to be a permanent resident until she reached her goal.

A part of her knew that this whole situation was crazy. Any normal person wouldn't have come this far, but as Sophie stared around her scattered possessions, she knew that there was no turning back. She still didn't know what it would take to be a thief, and the reality of how dangerous her tasks would be hadn't fully hit her. Right now she was still basking in the dream Cleo had created, but that small bubble of contentment was coming closer and closer to bursting.

Yet, behind her naïve trust in Cleo's promise, she felt determined to see her task out to the very end. All she needed to do now was bide her time, because with or without the support of the people here, she was going to fulfill her dream. It was all she felt like she had left to cling to.

*  *  *

"Hey." Teddy greeted her, while poking his head in the doorway.

"Hey." She answered back, setting down the box she'd been moving in her room. For the better part of the day Sophie had been arranging her things, oblivious to the world outside her bedroom. The sound of Teddy's voice had jolted her back into reality, and she glanced at him in surprise.

"Rob fixed us dinner." Teddy mumbled, not daring to meet her eyes. His lips were stuck out in a pout, and his brow was furrowed, the very picture of indecision. Teddy looked like he was bursting with curiosity, but his loyalty to Robert was telling him not to get close to Sophie.

Glancing at her watch, Sophie realized it was after six o'clock. Time had flown by while she was fixing up her room, and she was still far from done. Her room still seemed like the same chaotic mess from earlier.

"Oh, okay." Sophie wondered if this was Teddy's way of inviting her to eat. She took a hesitant step towards the door, debating whether she should go downstairs or not.

"Are you hungry?" He continued, still not looking at her.

"Kind of." Sophie said, putting a hand on her stomach. She hadn't realized it until now, but she was starving. "What's for dinner?"

"Spaghetti." Teddy said glancing at her curiously.

"Am I invited?" She probed, feeling like an idiot for being so awkward. She wasn't used to being around kids, and she felt like Teddy wasn't the average child.

"Duh." Teddy rolled his eyes, but his lips curled into a smile. He finally pushed her door all the way open, and stepped inside. "Hurry up!" He motioned for Sophie to follow him as he backed out of the room.

"Okay." Sophie hid her grin.

As they walked down the hallway towards the stairs leading to the first floor, Teddy didn't take his eyes off of her. His curly black hair continuously fell into his eyes, causing him to constantly brush it backwards. His sharp green eyes were wide with interest, and he seemed excited at the chance to talk to her.

"What happened to your hair?" Teddy asked her quickly.

"I cut it all off." She replied, frowning.

"Why'd you do that? It makes you look like a boy." Teddy couldn't fathom why she would do something so strange, and truthfully, Sophie wasn't sure how to explain her behavior either.

"I wanted to." She answered, trying not to get offended. He was only a child, and he didn't mean it to be rude. "Haven't you ever wanted to do something for no reason at all."

Teddy shrugged away the question. "Well, Rob said he likes it, so I guess I like it too."

"Who likes it?" Sophie froze on the first step, and watched Teddy clump down the rest.

"Rob." Teddy repeated, looking frustrated. "He said we should consider you a boy."

"What?" Sophie was at a loss for words. She'd been momentarily flattered by the fact that Robert had said he liked her hair, but this next part threw her off guard.

She followed after Teddy, wanting to catch up to him before they arrived in the kitchen. However, by the time she'd reached the bottom of the staircase, he'd already burst through the kitchen door. "She's coming." He announced loudly.

Taking a deep breath, Sophie braced herself for what she would find in the other room. She expected that neither Robert or Gwyn would be especially happy to see her, and she wondered if she should've declined dinner. She was still a stranger, and it was presumptuous of her to try and join in on their family time.

The moment she entered the kitchen, her eyes locked with Robert's. He was leaning back in a chair, staring at her with a smug expression on his face. His eyes searched her, trying to focus on something to find fault with. Once again, Sophie felt like he was challenging her, but she had no idea why. She was momentarily captivated by his expression, but the sound of Teddy's voice woke her up again.

"Come sit down!" He ordered, motioning to the chair sitting beside of him.

Sophie reluctantly complied, choosing to sit down as quietly as she could. Her plate was already made for her, and the others had politely waited until she'd sat down before they'd started eating. The clinking of silverware whittled away at the silence, though the atmosphere remained tense.

While everyone else was busy eating, Robert remained in his leaned back position, refusing to touch his food. Mid-bite, Sophie noticed his smile, and she slowly set her fork down so that she could turn her full attention on him.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, trying not to let her voice shake.

"I'm disappointed that you chose to stay." He began, his eyes unmoving. "I assume you are aware of that."

Sophie had known the minute she'd walked into the room that he was going to try and argue with her. She just hadn't expected it would be this soon.

"Yeah, I sort of guessed you felt that way." She answered.

"I'm not going to make your life easy here. What you're doing is a mistake, and you haven't even begun to consider the dangers. By working for Cleo you've put me in a difficult situation." He tapped his hands on the table, and for a moment the rapping of his fingers was the only noise in the room. "In this line of work, a mistake made by you could cost me more than my job."

"There's your incentive to be the best teacher you can be." Sophie replied seriously. She met his eyes determinedly, accepting his challenge without backing down. She wasn't going to let him bully her out of her dream. "If you don't want me to screw up, teach me how to be as good as you are."