The Beat of the Mafia

The (not so great) escape

If Anya had to look at one more pair of shoes she was going to stab someone with a high heel. Multiple times.
It turns out that living in near poverty for most her life has not exactly prepared her for the American mall designer shopping experience, something that she was not keen on doing a repeat anytime soon.

All the bubbly shopping assistants kept on putting her in clothes that felt more suited to a three olds birthday party, not a sixteen year old girl.
And her brothers were not helping, Anya congratulated herself on her amazing acting skills because they seemed completely convinced that she was having the time of her life.
They also seemed to think that everything she tried on had to be bought, so far they had spent far too much money on; three skirts, a dress with puffed sleeves, some sparkly converse, no less than three fluffy jackets and too many bags too count.

But that didn't matter, shopping wasn't the sole purpose of this trip, Anya just had to find an opportune moment and then she would set her plan underway. The 1,000 dollars she had stolen from Gideon earlier was a comforting weight in her bra, reminding her that she was nearly out.

"What about this one?" Casper said, brandishing some offensive pink garment in her face.

"It looks exactly like every other overpriced, designer thing you have bought me," Anya said, glancing around the room to try and locate her various brothers.

"Oh.. okay then," Casper said, a sad puppy like look in his eyes as he went to put it back in the rail.

Anya felt a strange stabbing feeling of... regret? No, she shouldn't feel bad for this man, he had kidnapped her and moved her across the country, but nonetheless she found herself saying," No, no, I really like it, thank you."

She immediately regretted her words as a joyous expression took over his face and he not only purchased the dress thing in fuchsia, but also purple and baby blue. However, the shop they went to next was much worse.

"We do not need to be here," Anya said as she stared at the floor, her face lighting up red in embarrassment. Even though she had only just met these men, they were still her brothers, which made it very awkward to be shopping in Victorias Secret with them. However it did make her feel better that her brothers seemed to be feeling just as awkward as her, except from Casper who was gazing around in wonder.

"So many colours," He said, his eyes wide in awe, "Where do you even start."

"You don't," Anya said, turning to leave before she was stopped by a stoic faced Gideon.

"I had the twins research all the things you need on google, and this was on top of the list," He said stiffly while his thumbs flew across his cell phone.

"Fine," Anya said, while an idea sparked to life in her mind, "But can someone grab me like a litre bottle of water?"

"Sure," Aston said with furrowed eyebrows, gesturing for his twin to follow him.

As soon as the twins left a tall, blonde haired women strutted over to them with a toothy smile and asked in a soft southern accent, "What are we shopping for today then?"

Kill me now

                                      ~~~

How long does it take for a litre of water to make you pee?
This was the thought running through Anya's head as she went from shop to shop.
It wasn't that she had drank all that water, she had dumped it in the nearest potted plant when no one was looking, but it was crucial to her plan that her brothers think that she desperately needed to pee.
Well, Anya thought, it's now or never

"I need to pee," She announced loudly, earning some vaguely concerned looks from the people around them.

"It can wait," Gideon said, barely breaking his stride, "We are going home soon."

Not my home, Anya thought bitterly, but she pushed that thought aside as she said," I really need to pee, I drank all that water."

"You only drank that like ten minutes ago," Casper said in confusion, "Can't it wait?"

Shit, she was losing them! What could she do? Wait... no, no she couldn't do that. Could she? She had to.

"I'm on my period," Anya said, bringing all four of her brothers to a standstill.

"Umm what?" Aiorthey asked, a frightened look passing across his face.

"Yeah, I'm on my period, so I really need to go to the toilet," Anya said, desperately trying not to laugh.

"Uh..o-of course, definitely, right now," Aston spluttered as his ears turned slightly red.

Pathetic, Anya thought, these men look like they could be in a gang but they fall apart when they hear the word period.

"Great," Anya said with a smile on her face as she went to walk away.

"Casper," Gideon said sharply to gain his brothers attention, "Go with her."

Anya struggled to keep the smile on her face. It wasn't ideal that Casper was tagging along but nothing she couldn't deal with.

They walked to the bathroom with silence and Anya breathed a sigh of relief when Casper waited outside as she walked through the pink doors.

Now all she had to do was wait.

~~~

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for a girl with her height and hair colour to come in. Sometimes it did come in handy to be average.

"Heyy," Anya said with a toothy smile as she walked up to the unsuspecting girl, "Sooo my boyfriend is waiting outside and I actually really need to get away from him for like five minutes to pick up his birthday present! I really want it to be a surprise but I can't have him suspect anything, you down to help a girl out?"

The girl looked up and a look of understanding crossed her face, "Girl my boyfriend is the exact same, it's so difficult to keep anything a surprise, what do you need?"

Anya grinned genuinely before saying, "Oh my god you are the best. So, my plan is you could put my cap, sunglasses and hoodie on, then leave the bathroom with your head down. Hopefully my boyfriend will follow you to the food court or something and I'll have enough time to go pick up his gift!"

The girl smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes and said, "That is genius! Okay let's do it!"

Minutes later Anya looked at both of them in the mirror with a satisfied smile on her face. Sure you could tell the difference if you looked closely but it would almost definitely hold up long enough to distract Casper.

The girl, who had said her name was Sophia, turned to Anya and said, "Ready?"

"Ready," Anya said, nodding her head in confirmation, "Just remember, walk out the bathroom, head to you right and keep on walking. If my boyfriend is really calling your name just say 'come on Casper' or something. Try and get as far as you can! You are an angel for doing this!"

"Copy that," Sophia said before strutting out of the bathroom door.

Anya gave it a minute before she exited as well and took of to her left, picking up the pace until she was jogging. And then running.

She was full on sprinting when she burst into sunlight and let out a delighted laugh, she was free!

Thank you for all the support, love you all
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