Chapter 10
? POV
I decided today was the day I would be a nice person and return the purse. She'd be so happy and willing to give me that money. She better be, because I already spent it.
I was swinging the purse again as I walked to my car, whistling loudly. I love whistling. It sounds so carefree and pretty if you're not tone-deaf. I started my car and pulled out, still whistling, although now the tune was the alphabet song.
I checked the girl's license frequently so I knew where I was going. I spotted a smallish house in a smallish neighborhood and checked the address again. Yep, this was the place.
I stopped the car and glanced at the time. Eight a.m. I hoped she was still home. I rang the doorbell and waited impatiently. Come on, I ain't got all day. Places to be, people to see.
"I'll get it!" I heard a girl's voice yell and I prepared myself. The door opened and the small dumb blonde appeared in the doorway. The only problem was I recognized her.
"Maddy?!"
Madison
"I'll get it!" I yelled at the empty house. See, now Bethany's weird tendencies were starting to rub off on me.
I opened the door and stepped outside. There was a stranger outside. The first thing I noticed was my purse hanging from his long fingers. The next thing I noticed was that I recognized him. And he recognized me.
"Maddy?!" he gasped.
I stared at him. "Matt?!" I gasped. "What are you doing here?"
He blushed slightly. "Returning your purse," he replied and handed it to me. I snatched it back. "Stealing from it more like," I said as I ruffled through it. Sure enough, my fifty dollars were gone, but luckily my license was still there. "Matt!" I moaned. "I thought you got help!"
"I did!" he cried. "But I kinda... ditched it." I sighed.
You see, Matt had this problem. He's a kleptomaniac, but since he didn't like that word he called himself master thief. He turned klepto when he was only fourteen years old because his parents ignored him too much. So he stole stuff to make himself feel better. He hasn't stopped since, and can't seem to help it. I met him in prison once for trying to steal a car. Why I was in prison is another story.
"Come on in, Matt," I said and beckoned for him to come inside. He did and gazed around. "Nice place," he commented.
"Well, it's not mine, it's Bethany's, so don't take anything," I warned him.
"I won't," he assured me.
"Do you want something to eat or drink?" I offered.
"Don't you have to go to work?" he asked.
"I'm off today," I said with a shrug.
"Then I'll have a water please," he said.
"You can sit down if you like," I told him and he took a seat on one of the living room couches. I went into the kitchen and filled up a glass with tap. I sat down next to him and he took a sip. "Did you watch any TV yesterday?" I asked nervously.
"A bit, yeah," Matt replied. "Why?"
"Oh, no reason," I said and took a sip from his water.
"Something's obviously on your mind," he disagreed. "Were you on television? Wow, that's so cool!"
I gave him a small smile. "Sort of," I said.
"What do you mean by sort of?" he asked.
"Just forget about it," I said with a shrug.
"Alright," he said reluctantly. "But if you need someone to talk to, I'm always available."
"Thanks, Matt," I said. "But you might not be available once you're in jail... again!" I nagged at him.
He sighed. "I just can't help it!" he cried. "A woman leaves her purse on a table, I go check out what's inside and I keep the important stuff! It's easy money!"
"Which is called stealing!" I reminded him. "Stop skipping your sessions! You need them in order to find a pretty girl someday who'll want to take you out and marry you." That went a bit far, but Matt needed a girl that's good, not a baddie that'd make it worse.
He eyed me curiously. "Are you offering?" he asked.
My face reddened. "No!" I cried. "I'm just saying a girl wouldn't want to marry a thief, now go to your sessions!"
He groaned but nodded. "Fine," he mumbled. "If it'll stop your nagging."
I smiled. "It will," I said and we stood up. I walked with him to the door. "It was nice to see you again, Matt," I said. "Even if you did steal from me."
He blushed. "Sorry about that," he mumbled. "And it was nice to see you again too. Get together sometime?"
"Sure," I agreed and I watched him march back to his car. He started whistling and I chuckled. He loves his whistling.
I waved as he pulled out and he held up one hand in farewell. When he was gone, I closed the front door and sat back down on the couch. I drained the rest of his glass of water.
It's a good thing that Matt didn't watch television last night. Like Kyle, he would recognize my description anywhere, anytime.
My blood chilled. Kyle. Ever since he sent me that ominous text message I'd been freaking out at night, thinking he would jump out and murder me on the spot. My punishment's gonna be a hundred times worse now than it was originally. First, I kicked him in the soft spot, then I screamed at him, and now I was mentioned on television, thankfully not by name, but still. Kyle's gonna kill me.
I wrung my hands nervously. I needed to talk to somebody, but who? Bethany's not home, and I think my parents were in Brazil right now. Ash had off today too, so she's not an option. Matt just left, and Kyle wouldn't really be a nice, good-advice-giving boyfriend right now. So who's left?
I grabbed my keys as I left the house. There was only one person left. I hoped she was home.