Exposed (#wattys2016)

chapter twelve

"Come on, hurry up you loser," Caspian whispered huskily and impatiently under his breath.

I tried my luck at opening the register where I used to work, the new employee sleeping in the break room.

The drawer popped open and I took the cash out, trying to be as quiet as possible.

"300? or 4?" I whispered to Caspian who was studying the cigarettes behind us, moving his hand around as if he was going to pick one but found something better.

"I said, 300 or 400?" I nudged Caspian in the ribs with my elbow, causing him to jerk upwards and turn his attention towards me.

"The fuck, I told you 400," he repeated and slipped the cigarettes in his pocket.

Swiftly, I folded the cash and slipped it inside my own pocket, patting it to make sure it was secure.

The break room door creaked open in the background. Caspian went on alert like a dog, pushing my head down towards the floor. I caved in to his forceful touch, lowering to the ground faster than I ever though possible.

He followed down after me, putting his index finger up to his lips to remind me to stay quiet.

"Who's there?" A female voice spoke.

We didn't say anything, or move at all. I heard the footsteps descend back towards the break room, the door finally shutting again.

"Run," Caspian mumbled, hopping up onto his feet with an energetic spring, quietly maneuvering out of the store.

"What?" I said, confused about what he was doing. I peeked my head over the counter and watched him, realizing I should be following him.

Without his same amount of energy, I walked out of the store, standing on the side walk to look both ways. I started walking faster in the direction I thought he went, my heart thumping inside my chest like a drum. Everything was dark and muggy.

"Over here, Speedy Gonzalez."

Caspian was smoking a cigarette in an alley.

"How did you get here so fast?" I was out of breath and unable to do anything but sit down. The cement was wet and cold.

I admired how gracefully Caspian smoked his cigarette despite the amount of sprinting he just did.

"I ran," He chuckled and casually leaned against the wall, "we did it, now you got your money for the week."

Caspian grabbed my arm and pulled me back up from the cement. I groaned in slight exhaustion as he helped me. He was smiling wide, obviously proud of our crime.

"The week? More like the month," I choked out a laugh and felt the wad of cash in my pocket.

"Whatever, let's celebrate." Caspian was still holding my arm, pulling me in whichever direction he beginning to wander. We exited the alley and I just followed, his hand clasped around my wrist.

"Wait, shouldn't I take this cash home first?"

Caspian turned around and stared at me with big, wide eyes. He let go of my arm briefly, only to stare at me harder with wider eyes. "That's where we're going, dumbass."

I shrugged and kept following him, my heart still racing, only not as fast. I was unable to figure out where I was going even though he told me, thanks to the adrenaline in my veins, everything seemed blurry. We reached my house and Caspian leaned against the front fence.

"Put your money away. I'll be here," he nodded towards the door, sending me off with his hand.

"No, come in with me," I said back.