The Criminal's Girl

Chapter 5

Woop, woop!!! Chapter 5!!!!!!!!!!!! How exciting!!!! Were on our way and in this chapter we found out a little more about Harleigh’s home life!!! I hope your looking forward to it and please keep up the support!!!

I'm also dedication this chapter to my first commenter on this story - I loved your comments and support so this is for you, Bayleigh Mayes! Keep it up!!!

Thanks a bunch!!! Xxx

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My eyes fluttered open and I shoved my hair out of my line of sight. Rolling onto my back, I took in the interior of the room I was in and smiled as I remembered climbing through the window and sneaking across the landing into Zeni’s room (my nickname for Inez – spelt backwards, pretty neat, huh?). I pushed down the duvet blanketing me and sat up, stilling for a moment as a slight dizziness fell over me. I could hear the shower running and tapped on the ‘en-suite’.

“Hey Zeni!” I cooed from my position just outside the bathroom and a hand came out from behind the damp curtain, waving at me. “I’m going to have some breakie, I’ll make pancakes. You want some?”

“You know it!” I heard the response and in my borrowed pyjama shorts and bra, I scuttled down the stairs and into the kitchen, safely aware that Zeni’s parents had left the house for work an hour ago.

Remembering last night fondly, I sang “I just wanna see you strip right now, ‘cause it’s late babe_ ahhhh! Christ, what in the hell are you doing here?!” I cried as I walked straight into the eye-sight of Josh, Zeni’s 20-year-old brother, roughly around the same age of Xavier now that I come to think of it.

Leaping into the coat’s cupboard, I scrambled around for a hoodie to mask my half-nudity but only found her Dad’s long trench-coat. With little choice (it was either that of the puffer-jacket) I slipped it on and cautiously made my way back into the kitchen, catching Josh’s amused smile as retrieved a frying pan and oil.

“We need to come up with a signal that says “I’m occupying the room”, because that was ridiculous,” I admonished him.

“Or you could try not wondering around half-naked in other people’s houses, although, the view wasn’t half bad,” Josh smiled cheekily, winking at me.

I raised my eyebrows at the compliment and shook my head before fetching the pancake mix of the shelves and loading it into the frying pan.

My eyes shifted to Josh curiously, feeling his eyes on me, and turned my attention back to the frying pan. Flipping the pancakes with the spatula I served them up on two plates, unpacked the syrup and honey, and trotted back upstairs to Zeni’s room. I placed the food on her bedside table then nipped back down for juice and sugar, knowing she’d never forgive me if I forgot the sugar, and cupping it beneath my chin, I snatched up utensils and arrived back in her bedroom as she was towelling herself off.

“Ready, Zeni?” I called into the bathroom and she appeared a second later in tight jeans and a ‘Kook’s’ band t-shirt, smiling at me.

“Good stuff, Swain,” she said, tucking into her pancakes after dumping a mountain of sugar and syrup all over the batch.