Please, Don't Break Your Promise

Part I Chapter 2

We had met when we were six, almost eight years ago. He was the closest thing to family I had and we looked so alike that no one could deny it, physically or emotionally.

I took a deep breath and reached into my sweatshirt pocket, slowly pulling out what the boy had given me. I wanted to keep it to myself but at the same time, I need to contribute something.

The music box looked almost insignificant compared to everything else but I knew it was special. It just felt so expensive. 

“Is that….a music box?” asked Tara. I nodded, looking up with a satisfied smile on my face.

“Really. A music box,” Christian said almost disbelievingly. “You couldn’t get anything else? That won’t even be worth anything!” I gave him a look, like he was an idiot.

“Not just any music box, you guys. Look at it!” The small oval shape weighed significantly more than any normal music box, its solid form sturdy and delicate all at once. I twisted the little knob a couple of times and the lid automatically opened, rising slowly as if revealing a deep secret.

The lid fully opened to reveal a man, a woman, two little boys and a tiny baby. The baby was in the woman’s arms, with the man standing behind her, looking over her shoulder. The two little boys stood in front of the lady, clutching her skirts on either side of her. All five were on a pedestal and the pedestal twirled to the tune of the song that was now playing. The soothing melody almost made me melt.

“Ivory,” said Ryan, voicing my earlier thoughts. He was talking about what the music box was made out of. I nodded.

“Ivory,” I repeated. “We could sell this too. And by the contents of it, it could be worth more than all of this put together,” I said, gesturing at the rest of the stolen items on the table. 

“She’s right,” said Ryan.

“Or she could be wrong,” argued Tara. “It looks so worthless.” I glared at her and she stuck her tongue out at me. There was moment of silence and Christian sighed.

“Well I guess this is what we have. Andy and I will go tomorrow and try to get as much cash as we can for the stuff. The cash already here, Rayne, count it and see how much we have. We’ll need it to buy food and supplies to last us until next time.” I nodded in agreement and began to separate the cash from the items, placing the items into a small plastic bag.

I picked up the music box again. It had stopped playing, and just as it had automatically opened, it shut gain, tucking away the beautiful melody it had played. I studied it deeply, noting the intricate carvings on the surface and around the side, even the bottom, which I hadn’t noticed before. It looked so beautiful, the designs so complicated that you couldn’t tell where the design began and where it ended.

I could feel a gaze on me and looked up to see Ryan staring. He slowly shook his head at my hand and I gave him an annoyed look. I wasn’t going to keep it! Stupid brother! I reluctantly placed the music box into the bag with rest of the items. Gathering all the cash, I counted four hundred dollars. I told Christian and we divided it up into five groups, each of us getting eighty to spend on whatever we wanted.

Our next heist wasn’t until next month. Once a month was the rule. It was better to be safe than sorry, we had decided. The eighty would have to last us until then. Maybe we’d have more once the stuff was sold. I looked at the digital watch on the wall at the far right of the room. It read 2:26 AM. “Let’s hit the sack you guys. It’s almost three in the morning,” Andy said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Christian had the bag of items in his hand and he headed over to his makeshift bed beneath the clock, with them, placing them beside his head. We all had separate beds, beds we made from gathering up old tires, cardboards, stolen pillows and blankets. It was a luxury we were proud of, especially because it was a luxury we had made ourselves. Tara went to hers on the left side of the room and Andy, his opposite the window we had entered through.

Ryan and I made our way to our place beside the window. We always slept close together, a safety measure we had learned years ago. We slid beneath the heavy blankets we had bought, combining our money a while ago, me on the right, him on the left. I let out a weary sigh. I looked at Ryan. His black hair shimmered blue beneath the moonlight streaming in through the window and I knew he saw the same when he looked at me. We smiled at each and he put his arm around me.

“How much longer, Ryan?” I questioned him. He shook his head, putting a finger to his lips.

“Hang on a bit more, sis,” he whispered. “Let’s just keep saving. We have more than a thousand now. Just a little more and we can leave all of this behind and go live on our own. We’ll live peacefully with the only rules we follow being ours,” he promised me.

“But how much time is that?” I pushed. He shook his head, giving me a small smile.

“Just a little while longer. Everything’ll be alright. It’ll be okay, I promise” he whispered. My eyes drifted shut at his soothing words and not soon after, I was dreaming.

[A/N] VOMMENT >_< !!!!!