“I’m exhausted,” Melissa announced as we walked through the corridors of the local shopping centre.
We’d been shopping without surcease for over three hours and the lingering effects of the hangover were making us lag and totter behind the crowds.
It hadn’t occurred to me during the drive that I forgot to tell Melissa that I didn’t have any money but she’d taken one step in through the double doors and turned back to tell me that Mr Blackbourne had left a hefty sum of money for me to use over the weekend. I wasn’t sure of the amount as Melissa had it safely deposited in her purse but I knew that Victor had been the one to supply it which made me feel even more terrible. I didn’t want him to continue spending so much on me but until I graduated school and started earning a regular pay check I had no other choice but to rely on all of the boys for financial support.
The Mrs Anderson hadn’t let me get away without spending any of it; I’d wanted to get through the day with only using the smallest bit of it for lunch but that hadn’t been allowed, so instead I found myself carrying bags of small bits and pieces that had caught my eye.
The most exciting thing about shopping with a steady supply of cash and not having the guys looming behind me was that I could do some Christmas shopping for them. I thought over what I’d picked out for each of them and hoped that they would like it all.
Distracted by my worries, I didn’t realise that I had lost Melissa in the surge of people pushing past to reach the food court. Panicking slightly as I hadn’t thought to copy her phone number, I edged to the side of the walkway and lifted to my tippy-toes to try and see over the heads of the people walking past.
There were too many of them and I was too short to make out any clear details of the dark haired women amongst the crowd.
What was I going to do now? I didn’t think it would be a good idea to wander around by myself and I couldn’t be fully sure of where the car had been parked.
I had just started to slump in place when I heard a loud shout erupt from somewhere down the walkway, “Stop, thief!”
People shifted and I was able to spot a man in a concealing black hoody running fast towards me clutching a tan coloured handbag as the presumed owner waved frantically behind him for someone to help.
I don’t know what made me do it but as the guy got closer I dropped the majority of my bags and started to swing the remaining one, aiming to hit him in the face.
There was a solid thump as the two hard covered books that I had picked out for Kota and Mr Blackbourne made direct contact with the thief’s nose.
The force of the swing hand me spinning completely around and when I faced forward again it was to find that the guy was laid up flat on his back moaning about his broken nose.
Blood poured between the fingers he had clutched over his injury and my stomach lurched at the damage I had wrought. I’d only meant to stop him, not cause serious damage.
I noticed the crowd staring back at me and heard the owner of the stolen property begin to walk towards me but Melissa suddenly appeared beside me.
“Nice hit,” she exclaimed, “but now we have to go.”
“What?” I asked her in a daze.
Her only answer was to pick up and thrust the rest of my shopping at me and push at the small of my back to force me toward the bottom floor exit.
She didn’t speak until we were safely ensconced in the car, “Phew, that was close.”
“What was?” I asked her, “Why did we have to run out of there?”
She shot me a look as she put the car in Drive, “Well, I was meant to keep you out of trouble and instead you’re off breaking guy’s noses.”
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, looking down at my lap in embarrassment. I hadn’t meant to cause any problems but they always seemed to find me. Maybe Gabriel’s nickname for me truly was appropriate. I was Trouble.
“Hey, hey, don’t be like that. You did what was natural by helping out another person but I think this might be something that we keep to ourselves. Wouldn’t want your Mr Suit to have aneurysm.” She laughed.
I smiled at her, “So what are we doing now?”
“Well, I thought we might stop in and grab some stuff for tomorrow night.”
“What’s tomorrow night?” I asked.
“Oh, we’re just going to have a little fun before those boys turn up and whisk you away,” her grin was absolutely devilish.