Robin des Bois ✓

fifteen. Mine. Yours.

"I didn't do it again for two years after that. I was way too scared. Every time someone rang our doorbell, I was certain that cops had finally come to put me in jail. And it wasn't as if I'd had any more opportunities. I steered clear of parties from that moment on, just to avoid temptation. I was paranoid about getting caught when I realized how much I'd jeopardized that night. But after that, I always felt as if something was missing. You know, it was as if someone gave me a taste of the best food I've ever eaten in my life..." Gabe's lips twitched upward at my analogy, "... And then told me that I could never taste it again. I mean, volunteering at all those organisations is obviously good, but I knew I could be doing more than just that."

I paused and licked my lips before continuing.

"I took a year off after I graduated from high-school. I hadn't applied to any colleges and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life so I decided to take some time to think everything through. I got a job at a cleaning company to save up some money for tuition, books and whatnot. We were hired mostly by rich people, to clean their houses up before and after events, parties, and so on and so forth. I think you see where this is going..."

Gabe nodded. "That's when you picked up where you left off."

"Yeah. At first, I tried to get the idea out of my head. But it was as if some higher power wanted me to do it. The idea was already rooted deeply in my brain. I couldn't stop thinking about it. One day, I found a gold Rolex watch between the cushions of a sofa. I slipped it into my bra. Everyone was required to wear a tee with the logo of the cleaning company and they all came in one size –an XL –so no one noticed the lump on my right boob." Gabe snorted and it was only then that I realized that I've been staring at him for some time now, watching his reactions instead of the buildings flying by outside. I'd been so focused on my story and on him that I didn't even notice that the car hadn't moved in a while and that we were parked next to my apartment block.

"I did that for a few months. Stealing things that no one would even notice were missing, stuffing them in my bra or in a garbage bag and smuggling them out of the house... I was really anxious at first, but when months flew by and nobody ever seemed to notice anything, I got confident. I stole more, bigger stuff, sometimes going as far as going through jewellery boxes and picking up wads of bills from underwear drawers... You'd be surprised at how unoriginal their hiding places were."

"And then, a girl who worked with me –Monica –got caught stealing some jewellery from one client. Another person from the cleaning crew saw her emptying the jewellery box into a trash bag. The police came, they handcuffed her and all that time, all I saw was myself. Being handcuffed, being taken away. I know it was selfish of me, but I couldn't help it. That really could've been me. And I couldn't afford to do that to my father at that time, not so soon after losing mom." I bit my lip, afraid of the question that I was almost certain would follow, but it never came. Gabe simply nodded. I waited for another moment, but when he didn't prod or push me for more details I relaxed back into my seat. "That's when I stopped. I thought I was done with all of it for good, but then at that party Alexei invited me to... I couldn't help myself. Once you know firsthand what good that money can do... How can you not take the opportunity? Everything I ever took from those people –it was nothing to them, not even a drop in the ocean. But to others, to the ones who truly need it, it could mean half a year worth of groceries. Textbooks for school. New shoes to replace the ones that are falling apart."

When I looked at him again, Gabe was wearing his big brother smile; full of warmth and even the faintest hint of tenderness.

I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks –I would probably never get used to seeing him wearing this particular expression. It still knocked the breath out of me, even though I've seen it a couple of times now.