Crowned

One

I set Livi back down on the nasty, carpet floor and slowly make my way to the front door of our small house. By small, I mean, two bedrooms and a basement, boys get the basement, mom and dad get one of the rooms and Livi and I get the other bedroom. Sage sleeps on the couch or in the tree house in the backyard. Our kitchen is combined with our dinning room and we have a plaster wall separating the kitchen from the family room. Which I might add is the size of three king size beds pushed together. Oh, and we only have one bathroom.

"Livi, be good and listen to Levi, okay?" I ask and she nods slowly. Levi is only five years younger than me, which isn't all that good, because you know when boys get to that certain age, they will do the opposite of what you say. Levi is in that phase."Okay good." I open the door and get blasted by the cool, spring breeze and the smell of the sea. Thank the Lord we live close to the ocean, I would hate to live in the Midlands were I would be surrounded by plants and farms.

"I promise I will bring you back something Livi," Charlie smiles down at my little sister, ruffiling her blonde hair.

"Ooooh! A dolly!" She jumps up and down, excitedly. Livi has been obsessed with dolls ever since Sage came back from Iris and brought her a porcelain doll that looks exactly like her.

"Maybe," Charlie blows a kiss to Livi, she catches it, and he slowly closes the door behind him.

He stands next to me on the already-falling-apart-porch that my dad rebuilt last summer. It sucks that my family has no money to keep this place up and running. You would think that my family's salt business and Sage's skill for bending metal into art that we would at least survive, but no. To keep my family on their feet I have to steal from people. I don't mind it, its just that if I get caught, that would be the end of it. And maybe the end of me.

"Hey," Charlie nudges me with his shoulder. "Whats up? You look far away."

"Nothing, nothing," I sigh and lean my forearms against the wobble railing. "I just, I don't know Charlie, overthinking, I guess?"

He gasps and puts his hand to his chest like I hurt him or something. I give him a weird look.

"Since when does the great and powerful Addilyn Ethridge overthink?" He smiles and leans his back against the railing next to me.

"I don't know, I was just wondering what would happen if I got caught," I smile slightly, but it instantly falls. "I could go to jail, Charlie or they can kill me for it."

"Since when did that stop you," He sweeps a dark lock of hair behind my ear and keeps his hand on my cheek, making me look at him. "You know you will never get caught Addilyn, so why start to worry now?"

I shrug and lean into his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. He puts his chin on my head and keeps talking. "You know, if we don't leave in two minutes, the Collector will skin us alive," He chuckles and lets go of me, but reaches for my hand. I let him take it.

"Okay then Charlie, looks like we have a long walk ahead of us," I smile as I watch him, hoping he would argue, but he just smiles.

"Well, I don't know about that, I did ride on something on the way here," He grins, tugging me to the ditch across from the house.

"And who's that? Your girlfriend?" I snort as he lets go of my hand to search through the dying brush.

"Hey, you know that you are my girlfriend," He points and he drags up something out of the weeds.

"Am I now? Then what do you do when I am not with you? Go over to Vi's house and sleep with her and her pet donkey?" I smile, folding my arms across my chest as I watch him struggle with pulling the thing up the small hill.