A New Mistake

Chapter Four

Once arriving home I checked my surroundings to ensure William would not sneak up on me again. After stepping inside I immediately rushed to the computer. It's been a long time since this has hit me in such a way that the urge to look myself up arose. My curiosity is peaked to see what they still have on me as part of public record. By searching my old name "Miranda Yank" followed by Coos Bay, Oregon, a few articles surfaced. The first one was the robbery of a local general store when I was fifteen. Although I was not arrested, I was the youngest person in Coos Bay to ever rob a store. The photos attached to the article were the mug shots of Luke, Kyce, and myself. Luke and Kyce were the two boys who lived across the street from me at the time. I should have never gotten myself tangled up in their messy lives, but here we are. Scrolling further down there were reports of the fires, vandalism, and the homicide. These are all things that I hoped could be buried, but I was wrong. By following the links the court trial notes and verdict were accessible, this is where my brother took the fall for me.

...

"Come on Andy, its time for us to go." Kyce said tying his shoes. I was not fond of my nickname, but supposedly it helped me fit in with the guys. He stood up and stared at me for a moment in silence. My bed continued to hold me hostage, as if it knew this was a bad idea. "I don't know Kyce, we have never done anything like this before." I said avoiding his eyes and fidgeting with my feet. "Are you kidding? Now is not the time to play chicken, we have to do this and you know that." He's latched onto my wrist now, forcing me off the bed. "This could end really badly for us, we have already gotten out of so much if we get cau-" "IF! If we get caught, which we wont. Now let's go!" He opened my window allowing the cold evening air in. He gestured towards the window despite me remaining in place. "Do you want to be pushed Andy?" I got up because I know that was not a question. He helped me crawl out and then jumped down himself. Luke was waiting for us across the street in his car. Before Kyce shoved me in I spotted Mike staring at us from my window. We exchanged a look saying a thousand words. My apologies will never be enough to make up for what I've done. Kyce cut our stare down short by pushing me in the backseat and closing the door behind me.

"You kids ready for some real action?" Luke said pressing on the gas leading us to our future lives in prison. Kyce placed his hand on my inner thigh in an attempt to reassure me that what we were doing is going to be beneficial for us in the long run. "You are going to be thankful for this opportunity Andy. I promise." The week prior, Luke made a deal with our boss stating we could do a dirty job for him. If we were to complete this job successfully, we'd be released from the gang. The man who was originally placed with this task had been shot and killed by the neighboring gangs who also want this gig. The rewards were high, $20,000 to be exact. The three of us had planned to split the money, use it to flee and start fresh. I don't know what this Brian guy did to be wanted dead by so many, but one can only hope we get to him first. "We can use this money to get you into college babe." Kyce stated somewhat nicely. He continued to stroke my thigh, but not gently. It's unfortunate that my body has gotten used to his aggressive touch, I don't even react anymore. "I don't need this for college, I can and will get in on my own." I said ripping my leg from his grasp and turning towards the door. "Ha! I need some boots to step in all the shit that's coming out of your mouth right now. With your record, you won't get any type of financial aid, if they let you in at all. Expect to pay for every single dime that school costs. How do you suggest you do that?" He said clenching my inner thing, with his lips grazing my ear. We struggled in our seats for a bit as I continuously tried to turn away from him, and he'd constantly pull me back. "My probation officer told me if I can stay out of trouble for the next year they will lessen my charges since I am still a minor." I said with an ounce of confidence. "You won't be a minor much longer Andy, you need to start thinking realistically. Who is going to help you? Me, or Mike?" I remained silent. At the time, I really thought the answer was Kyce. "That's what I thought." He said, lighting a cigarette and wrapping his arm around me.