Thief of Thoughts

Chapter Twenty

I felt sick to the stomach.

Like there was something inside me that needed to get out. Like I was choking on air and trying to breathe but nothing I did fixed the agonizing nausea that hit me.

I remembered reading about women fainting in all of those old drama stories when something shocking happened. It'd always seemed dumb to me and overdramatic. But right now, god, I could pass out like one of them.

Underneath the threat lie a detailed plan. What I had to do if my secret were to remain secret.

They wanted me to go into Jade's room and steal her million-dollar earrings.

I wasn't sure if it was a joke...but I knew Jade had a ton of expensive things. She was a princess. I wouldn't doubt she'd have something such as what was described in the letter. Something so expensive that if sold, whoever was giving me these letters could be rich for a long time.

I folded the letter up quickly and tried to think. I needed to clear my head. I needed at least one coherent thought so I could work this out.

First order of business, did this threat even check out?

I understood, they could totally accuse me of being some supernatural future-seeing being, but I would assume that anyone and everyone who heard such nonsense would send them straight to an asylum. But the last line...

You might think that I can't hurt you. That no one will listen. But I know people, trust me. It's not about telling the public but telling the right people. If you don't agree...you'll wish you were dead.

Like I said.

I might pass out.

Could I even trust the threat? It was so vague, so not specific. So ridiculous...

But they had known about my powers. They knew and they believed. They knew and they didn't think it was insane...

They knew.

And I didn't want to take any risks. Not any. Not if it would put me or the ones I loved in danger.

Maybe it was some reckless, stupid death threat...

But death threats don't tend to include your deepest darkest secrets.

Which meant...

I should just do it.

It sounded so wrong in my head...but I knew I should. I knew it was what I had to do. And it wasn't that harmful...was it? Jade, although all she'd been was nice to me, was rich. She had so many expensive earrings. There were so many other people in the house...anyone could be blamed. And I was sure she could replace them. She had all the money in the world.

I sucked in a deep breath.

I had to do it. I had to do it now. Even if it killed me and tore into a little bit of my soul.

I'd been stealing for years hadn't I, I thought bitterly. Maybe my victims never knew...but I had been. How much worse was this?

Maybe that made me a bad person.

But right now, I had a job to do.

_____________________________________________

It was four in the morning and I felt like someone had ripped my heart out and stopped on it.

This was safe, wasn't it? I was just being safe...just in case.... That's why I was doing this. In case my life could be ruined.

I was wearing all black (which felt kind of cliche, but hey, it worked, didn't it?). Black leggings, a black t-shirt I'd found in the very back of my closet, and the sneakers I'd worn here. It was four in the morning and I felt like a criminal.

I didn't know if I could do this.

My whole body shook with adrenaline as I gripped my doorknob so hard I wasn't sure I'd be able to turn it. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to think about what I was going to do.

It would be pretty simple -- just go into Jade's room, grab the pair of diamond earrings lying out on her drawer. The person who sent me a note had sent a sketch...and had also mentioned that they would be out in the open (I didn't want to know how they knew that).

Then, I'd leave with them, return to my room, and hide them in my bag until I could get back to my mansion and leave them out for the person to pick up.

Easy.

Right?

Nobody would know the truth, and after all of this was over, I'd be free to keep living however I pleased.

I took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked down the hall.