Behind Closed Doors ✔️

5

By the time I got home that night, I was exhausted from spending the whole day with Fernanda and trying my damndest to avoid her brothers. "Theodore? Is that you?" I hear my mother's voice, and I drop my backpack onto the kitchen table before making my way upstairs and into my parent's room.

"Yeah?" I asked, poking my head through the door.

"It's late." She says, but I know she's not really bothered that I was out after midnight.

"I know. I'm sorry." I grin at her. She rolls her eyes and ushers me away. "Goodnight." I blow her a kiss and close their bedroom door before walking into the room that me and Thomas share. I see him laid across the top bunk, and I pull off my shit before stalking back out and walking into the bathroom before brushing my teeth and using the toilet.

"How was Fernanda?" Tom asked, wiggling his eyebrows. He grins at me, and I roll my eyes before slipping under the covers of the bottom bunk. "Hello? You're just gonna ignore me, Theo?"

"Fuck you, Thomas." I laugh, rubbing my hands all over my face. "She's fine, thank you for asking. She's also not interested in your arse." I tell him, and I hear him huff before he leans over the edge of the bunk bed, looking down at me.

"She still hasn't replied to any of my messages." He pouts, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I told you, Tom." I yawn, and he raises his eyebrow. "Nanda doesn't want you. She's made that explicitly clear."

"Not to me." He frowns, laying back down. I laugh and turn to my side, closing my eyes. "Maybe one day she'll-"

"No, she won't. Trust me." I say, and I hear Tom huff in annoyance. "There's no point trying." I grin, and I feel a pillow smack against my face. "Dickhead." I grumble, pulling the duvet over my face and trying to sleep.

"Goodnight, Theodore." Is the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

-

College had finished a few hours ago, and I was slumped in the chair behind the counter at work, and I watched as the few people roaming the shop before the owner, Anika, walked in, unwrapping her woolly scarf from around her neck.

"There's things missing from stock that haven't been paid for." She sighs, pressing her psalm into the counter, raising her eyebrow at me. "This happens almost every week, Theodore." She huffs, and I send her an apologetic smile.

"I'll pay it back, I promise." I tell her, but she shakes her head.

"You need to start fighting back, Theodore." She tells me, flicking through the black clipboard in her hands. "You know I keep a registered gun under the counter." She tells me, and I glance down, catching a glimpse of a dark handle of a gun, and I quickly look away.

"I'm not trying to put my life in danger, Anika." I sighed, running my fingers through my dark blonde curls. "These guys carry knives, and shit. They have no problem running up on me and shanking me." I shrugged my shoulders, and she sighs, shaking her head.

"A gun is a lot more dangerous than a knife." She states, and I poke my tongue into my inner cheek. "And, trust me, the guys in this community are all bark and absolutely no bite. They talk a lot about hurting people, but they wouldn't actually do it." Anika says, and I know she hasn't really been exposed to the wrongdoings of the people in our council estate. She hasn't witnessed a stabbing like I have and hasn't seen someone bleed to death right in front of her.

"I wish it was that simple." I mumbled, just as the bell on top of the door rings and a random person walks in, sending us both a small smile and walking over to the back of the little corner shop.

"It is that simple, Theo." Anika sighs, running her fingers through her dark hair. "Use the gun. Anything else gets stolen, and I might consider having to fire you." She presses her lips together. I blink.

"Seriously?" My eyebrows furrowed, and she grins, wiggling her eyebrows. "Alright, Anika." I sigh, rubbing my eyebrow with my thumb. "I'll make sure the shop doesn't get robbed anymore." I nodded my head, and Anika sent me a look, telling me that I better, or she'll have my head on a stick.