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[ B L A I R E ' S P O V ]
That conversation with Jax was so lovely.
I hadn't expected him to comply so willingly. If anything, I thought he would have put up a good fight this morning. I had secretly been craving for it ever since last night when I hung up on Eden. This whole separation thing with my brother had taken a toll on me and I needed release all that pent up stress on someone. I had hoped Jax would be the victim today.
Guess not, then. He seemed more than eager to talk to me today, which is weird, coming from him. Granted, he seemed to be doing more teasing than actual talking, but it's different. The smirk on his face is a much better sight than the angry scowl that he wears all the time.
I grab my skateboard from the shoe rack and place it on the road, then pressed my foot on it and start pushing with the other to gain acceleration. I told Ben not to pick me up today—I'd rather have some alone time with me and Cleo, my precious skateboard. I would be lying if that was the whole truth. I didn't want him to meet Jax too.
I know Ben like the back of my hand; he may not be my boyfriend but he sure as hell gets jealous over the slightest things. He would most probably see Jax as a threat to our friendship—relationship—or whatever the hell this thing between us is.
I would tell him that there was no way Jax and I would be happening, but I'm not in the mood to talk today. The thing with Eden burnt a hole in my heart and I need to fix it. Or forget about it. Whichever one comes first—I'll be totally down for it.
It takes me roughly about eight minutes to get to Ben and Belle's house. They live in a nice four-bedroom house with their parents—something that I would never have again. It's times like this when I feel nostalgic of the life I once had with Eden and my parents. I used to think that my life was perfect and I had everything I ever wanted.
Until one day, that perfect life was stolen away from me.
I try not to think about it as I round the corner and spot their house looming in the corner. I'm fortunate enough to come around this time because I notice the empty garage, which means that their parents aren't home. Great. I had plans involving Ben that would probably have them spitting at me and kicking me out of the house.
I slam my foot down on the edge of the skateboard, causing it to flip in mid-air and like a pro, I catch it and wedge the thing between my body and my arm. The garage door is half open so I crouch down, sliding myself through. The door leading into the house is open, exactly what I told Ben to do.
I knock on the door thrice anyways, making my presence known. Then, I make my way through the kitchen and find myself in the living room where Belle is currently on the sofa 'watching' television and munching on pretzels.
"Hey, Blaire. Is that you?" Her sweet voice sounds, her head not tilted to my direction, but still glued to the television.
"No, I'm not. I'm a thief."
"Screw you," she says.
"It's the truth!" I say. Kind of. Except I'm not here to rob her house.
"I know it's you, you stupid fuck." I can totally imagine her rolling her eyes at this. "Come here."
I sneak up behind her and throw my arms around her neck. She turns her head slightly, her eyes focused on somewhere other than my face. "I want to feel your face," she murmurs.
"Okay," I nod. I walk over to the sofa and make myself very comfortable next to her.
She looks at me, slightly cross-eyed, and she lifts her hands to smoothen them on my face. The first time she did this, I had to admit that I was slightly terrified at the prospect of someone feeling my face, but as time passed and we grew closer, it has become more of a habit now.
I let her feel my face, her hands becoming a familiar warmth. Her fingers dance over my skin, tracing the hollows of my eyes, the ridge of my nose, my cheeks, my lips, then the outline of my face. She smiles, her hand retreating, and she snorts.
"What?" I ask.
"You're wearing makeup today." Belle says it as-a-matter-of-factly. "You rarely wear makeup. Unless it's for my brother."
"Damn you and your hands." I laugh.
"You know, even if I wasn't blind, I would still figure it out. I'm not stupid," she shrugs. "Makes sense. He made his bed today and he only cleans his room only when he's expecting guests. In this case, you."
"Hey, you know it isn't a big deal, right?" I tell her. "You will always come before him, Belle. Always. He just happens to distract me from the world."
"I know and it's revolting." She sticks her tongue out and pretends to vomit. "You should end it soon. No offense, Blaire, but you're bad for him."
"Yeah, but that makes it much more fun." I can't help but smile. "You want me to stay with you? I can totally ditch him. Chicks before dicks, am I right?"
Belle snorts, then turns her head to the television. "I'm just watching The Vow."
"Again?"
"This is the shit that I live on. It's addictive." She points to the screen. "Channing Tatum? Hot as fuck."
"You've never even seen his face. How would you know if he's hot?"
She winks at me. "I have a very wild imagination."
"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that brain of yours." A laugh vibrates from my throat.
"I have a visual imagination. Makes sex much more fun. If he's an ugly fuck, at least I can pretend he's Channing Tatum."
"Okay, Belle. Whatever you say." I say. I love Belle. As much as I hate the fact that she cannot see the world like everyone else does, she doesn't let it get to her. She makes the best out of everything. Even blindness.
"He's waiting for you, you know." She nods to the staircase. "Can I ask you a favor? Can the both of you not fuck like rabbits while I'm downstairs?"
"So... we can fuck like dogs instead?" I tease.
"You know what I mean," she rolls her eyes. "Do it in his car. Not in the house."
"Ooh, kinky. Never had car sex before. I bet Ben will like that."
"I may talk a lot about sex, but please refrain from talking about sex with my brother to me." Belle laughs. "Go."
"If you insist." I kiss her on the cheek.
"Bye, bitch." She tells me.
"Bye, hoe." I reply teasingly.
I head up the stairs taking two at a time, and when I'm upstairs, I head straight to Ben's room. The door is left ajar—a sign that he's ready for me and we're going to have a good time. I find him on the edge of his bed, a smug grin on his face.
Ben—like his sister—is unbelievably gorgeous. He doesn't make my heart skip a beat or cause butterflies to appear in my stomach, but he makes me feel good, which I can say is an achievement considering not a lot of people can make me feel this way. His dark hair is always unkept and messy, but his eyes shine like emeralds, a feature that I greatly adore. High cheekbones, beautiful and talented lips and body.
"Blaire." He nods when he drinks me in, his eyes scanning me. "You kept me waiting."
He stands up and walks towards me with the intention of kissing me, but I press a hand on his chest and shake my head. "Your sister is downstairs. Not here."
"My sister doesn't mind."
"But I do." I grab a fistful of his shirt and snatch his car keys from the top of his bedside table. "Tell me—where's your car?"
☸☸☸☸☸☸
Half an hour later, I collapse on top of him in the driver's seat, my energy completely spent. Ben has his arms around my waist, steadying me as I try to collect my breath. I press my face against his shoulder and he kisses me ever so lightly on the top of my head, as if he hadn't just fucked roughly just minutes before.
Ben and I have been doing this for a couple of weeks now. Before I moved in Baxton's house, I had been house-hopping for months, barely getting through each night. It's a miracle I managed to have a roof over my head for this long. Sometimes, I'm not that lucky. Sometimes, I end up curled on the sidewalk, penniless and miserable.
When I was at my lowest, Belle managed to convince her parents that I needed a place to stay until I can find some place better. It wasn't easy—back then, I was just a merely acquaintance so it took a lot of convincing. Fortunate enough, they took me in for two weeks and in that time span, I managed to become good friends with Belle.
And also attract the attention of Ben, her older brother. This thing between us was bound to happen eventually. He had been suffering from a break up with his ex-girlfriend and I needed someone I can lose myself in, someone who could take away the vast amounts of pain and suffering I've been through. It's nothing serious and we promise this arrangement would be a casual thing.
Even after I moved out of Ben and Belle's house and into Baxton's mansion, I never stopped seeing him. He was my drug—I needed to get high off him so I can forget forget forget.
"Hey," he murmurs, brushing away the strands of my hair covering my face. "You okay?"
"I am now," I exhale.
"It's about Eden, isn't it?" Ben says, his voice filled with concern. He's great at consoling people, especially me. "What happened this time?"
I debate on whether I should withhold the information from him, but I should probably tell him considering I just used him for sex. So I kiss the edge of his lips and everything starts spilling out. I don't let myself cry in front of him. I hold back my tears when I tell him about the sword which I spent weeks saving up money just to buy it for him, only to have his adopted mother snap her magical money fingers and get him one.
"It's not just that," I continue on. "I have a right to demand for more time with him but they keep shooting me down. It's not fair. He's my brother. I should be able to see him whenever I fucking please."
Ben nods, understanding. "You're right."
"What do I do?" I whine.
"Do you have a social worker?" He asks me.
"Yeah. But she's shit. And I don't see her anymore. Ain't worth it." I shrug, reaching over to the passenger seat to grab my bra and tank top.
"You should start seeing her again. She can help negotiate visitations." Ben tells me with urgency.
"No, Ben. That's just it—I don't just want visitations. I'm greedy. I want Eden. All to myself," I say, attempting to clasp back my bra. He helps me into my tank top and I wiggle into my shorts. "I'm done being separated from him. My mom and dad wouldn't want it like that. They would want us to stick together."
"But what can you offer him?" Ben asks and my eyes snap at him, warning him to choose his next words carefully. "No, listen to me, Blaire. What can you offer him now that they can't? His adopted parents-they're good right? They can provide for him?"
"Yeah, but-" I start to protest but he cuts me off.
"Then do you think Eden is much better off with them than with you?"
I feel as if he just slapped me in the face. And it hurt, real fucking bad.
"You know, if I wanted you to side with them, I wouldn't have to told you this in the first place," I scramble off his lap and open the car door so I can let myself out. "Goodbye."
"Blaire, wait-" Ben clamps a hand on my wrist. "I'm not siding with them, goddammit. I want what's best for him too."
"I am the only one who knows what's best for him," I tell him, my eyes blazing with fire. "Me. His sister. Not them, not you, not anyone in the world. Me. And I want him back. I'm going to get him—even if I have to go through hell and more to do so."
Ben lets go of my arm and runs his fingers through his thick dark hair out of frustration. "Then what the hell are you going to do? Do you even have a plan?"
I stare at him, my eyes blinking.
He continues to wait for an answer. "Well?"
"I do have something..." My voice trails off. "But... you're not going to like it."
"Tell me. Maybe I can help." His eyes grow soft. "Please, Blaire. Let me help you."
"I thought you were adamant on the idea of Eden staying with them, not me." I narrow my eyes at him.
Ben shakes his head. "I know... but it's not like I can change your mind about this. You're a stubborn one at that and I know that when you set your mind to something, you're going to do it. The only thing I can do is make sure whatever plan you have isn't suicidal."
"It's not." This time I'm the one to shake my head. "You said... you said you knew of a lawyer. Who has never lost a single case in his entire career."
He arches his eyebrows in confusion. "Mr. Forman. Yeah. What about him?"
"I want to hire him," I blurt out. "To get back custody of Eden. I'm of legal age now... and I want him to represent me when I take Eden's adoptive parents to court."
"What?" The look of utter disbelief that crosses his face is uncanny. "What—how—that's-"
"I know it's crazy," I breathe. "But I'm going to do it."
"You don't even have the money to hire him!" Ben says. "You think a lawyer like him isn't going to come with a hefty price? Where are you even going to get the money?"
I've thought about this. I had. The idea had been lingering at the back of my mind for a long time, but I always put it aside because I thought that things would get better. But yesterday was the last straw. If I didn't act now, I would never have Eden.
I'm going to risk it—risk everything—for him. All for him.
"I'm going to steal." I tell him. "I'm going to steal twenty grand with of shit and I'm going to get Eden out of that hellhole."
☸☸☸☸☸☸
One of the perks of living in the more aristocratic part of LA is that every mansion is at your disposal.
It's practically dreamland for a thief like me.
I've seen and done a lot of shit when I was on the streets. You think the reason I'm living right now is because I'm lucky? Please. I have come to the realization that nothing in life comes in a silver platter-not when your life has turned to shit. Everyone keeps waiting for a silver lining, but they need to cut the shit and look at the glass half empty. There is no silver lining.
Not for people like me.
If I wanted something, I had to take it. There was no other way. The only reason why I had enough cash to keep me going for the next few months was because I had to steal them. Cash is harder to obtain but jewels and prized possessions? That's a win. So I steal. I steal and I sell.
Does that make me a bad person?
Possibly so.
Do I care?
No. Not really.
I do what I have to in order to survive in this world.
If I don't, I won't be able to live.
If I don't, I won't be able to get Eden out.
I need money. Lots of it. Fast. There is no other option. There is no other way.
I keep telling myself this as I walk down the pathway leading to entrepreneur Jack Wright's house. It's dead around here, like me. I pull my hoodie up and hide in the shadows, my eyes trained on anything and everything that moves.
It's the first thing I learnt while I was on the streets. Every single thing is out there to get you. Do not take any chances. Trust nothing and trust no one.
Jack Wright's house is beautiful. It really is. For the past few weeks, I've been walking past his house, memorizing his schedule. It's not on purpose—back then I had no intention of robbing his house. Now, I do. Good thing passing by his house everyday finally came in handy.
He usually leaves for his 'meetings' at around eight after he has dinner at his home. Nobody knows that instead of meeting with clients, he's meeting with strippers instead. He's a prominent member of the gentlemen's club down the street and he never fails to go there every Friday night.
There's no perfect time to rob his house then now.
I slide behind the boulder of his gate and hear the gate unlock. It's around this time that his maid calls it a day and heads back home. When the grinding of gears fill my ears, I'm certain that she's gone. I pop my head out, making sure my hoodie covers half my face, and when the coast is clear, I make a move.
I lift my head up high enough to spot to security cameras staring back at me. The red blinking light suggests that they're still operating and recording my every move. I turn my head swiftly and whisper lowly in my earpiece. "What's the hold up, Ben?"
"Sorry," he grumbles. I can barely hear his voice, so I have to press earpiece further into my ear. I guess when you pay 12 dollars for a set like this on EBay, it's definitely not going to be the best of quality. "I still don't think you should do this."
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I? And you promised you'd help me." I snap back.
If Ben backs out now, I'm doomed. He's my fuck buddy, but he's also real good with tech. I need him to disable the security cameras in order to get in. He had been hesitant to help me pull off a robbery, but I convinced him that I won't be doing this again once I have enough shit that I can pawn for money.
"I know, but I have a bad feeling about this," he whispers. "Blaire, you know that I care about you. What if something goes wrong-"
"Nothing will go wrong," I sigh out of frustration. "Just, please. Off the damn cameras. I'll be in and out of there before you know it."
He doesn't reply me, at least not immediately. But I hear him sigh in defeat and my heart leaps out of triumph. "Fine. I'm on it. But after today, no more, you got me? Belle is going to kill me if she finds out I'm assisting you in an attempted robbery."
"She won't find out." I shake my head. "And I promise. This will be the first and last time."
I pace outside of the house, making it look like I'm just some random person passing by the house, just in case Wright decides to check security footage. I slide into the shadows again, waiting, waiting until the red light turns off. Seconds tick by and I'm growing more impatient.
"Come on, Ben." I mutter.
"Don't rush me."
"If I don't rush you, you won't feel pressured, and you don't do it properly."
The sound that escapes the earpiece is a sound of annoyance and frustration. "The things I do for you, Sullivan."
"You know you love me." I tell him, grinning.
Ben grows silent again. I don't know if he's affected by what I said, or he's just focusing on the task at hand. It doesn't really matter because about forty seconds later, I look up again and the red light is gone.
"Thanks, Ben." I whisper to the earpiece. I head straight for the gate. I start scaling the thing, balancing my feet on the metal rungs, hoping to god I won't fall. "You jammed the security system?"
"Yeah. I send a radio noise to prevent the signal from getting through to the control panel. So nothing will happen if you open any door," he tells me. "I also left false trails so the police won't be able to trace that shit back to me."
"Good," I nod. When I'm at the top of the gate, I throw my bag down and a minute later, hop off and land on my two feet on the driveway. "How much time do I have?"
"About five minutes before the system reboots itself. I would give you longer but-"
"No. It's more than enough." I tell him. "Thank you."
I sprint towards one of the windows. I click on the latch and take a deep breath, hoping to god that Ben was right and security system is down. I slide the window open and to my surprise, nothing. I didn't trip any alarms. Good.
I weasel my way through the window, making sure not to make any sound. My eyes quickly scan the huge living room for active cameras, but there are none. I glide through the living room and head upstairs. I enter the master bedroom and trudge to the dressing table. Mrs. Wright spends an exuberant amount of money on her jewels and so I can't miss an opportunity to take some from her. I'm fortunate enough because some of her jewelry are sprawled all over the table. I'm sure she won't miss any of them.
"You found what you're looking for?" Ben's voice distracts me for a moment.
"Oh yeah," I nod. "Wright's wife just paid for my lawyer."
"You sure she's not in the house?" Concern fills his voice.
"She's on a business trip to Seattle. She won't be back until Sunday. I know, I checked." I tell him.
Unzipping my bag, I pluck some of the jewelry from the table and shove them into my bag. I'm careful not to take too much—just the things that look like they won't be missed. A diamond ring. A pearl necklace. An onyx bracelet.
"Blaire, you have two minutes. Get out of there. Now." Ben warns me.
"Got it." I sling the bag over my shoulder dash down the stairs as fast as my legs can carry me. Instead of exiting through the front gate, I switch directions and head to the kitchen. It leads to the back door and I open it effortlessly.
When I'm out of there, I don't stop running. I jump over the hedges and scale the back wall, beads of sweat clinging unto my forehead as I do so. I finally make it to the other side just as Ben says, "time."
I take deep lungfuls of air to catch my breath. That was a close one. I crouch down behind the wall and take a moment to assess what I had stolen. I peer inside the bag. Not a lot of stuff. I would have gotten more but time wasn't ample enough and I knew that if I had taken more, Wright's wife would suspect something.
I'm may be thief but I'm not stupid. I'm not going to let her launch an investigation to find me.
I hope I'll be able to get enough money from this to hire Forman to get Eden back. Judging by the jewelry I'd taken, it seems to be enough. I zip back my bag and sling it over my left shoulder, then get on my two feet.
I'm about to pull my hoodie back up when someone from behind me yells, "Hey! What the hell are you doing here?"
☸☸☸☸☸☸
A/N: So Blaire's a thief. (; I'm sorry there's no JAIRE action in this chapter. I promise the next few chapters will be much more fun. I needed to write this chapter to set up Blaire's character a little more. I hope that's okay.
Next update: Wednesday!
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