Codename: Shadow

Chapter 3

Breathe in, breathe out. I ordered myself as I lay delicately in my bed. Jake had freaked out on me earlier, but that wasn’t what had me so worked up. I’d frozen when Elijah grabbed me. I must’ve seemed so pathetic to him, getting scared when touched.

He didn’t know. No one did.

I laid silently with the covers over my head, listening to the quiet house around me. No one worth noting was home, however, so I threw off the blankets and rolled myself into a standing position. I couldn’t bring myself to think of anything else but the boy who’d ruined my heist.

[Great. The guy reading over my shoulder seems all too amused by my reaction to the boy. Shut up. I need to know this guy’s name so I can stop calling him the-guy-reading-over-my-shoulder. It’s a little bit of a mouthful, now isn’t it?

I’m not going to bother asking him his name, I’m sure they’ve all been given strict orders not to tell me anything. So, I think I’ll just call him Pablo. Does that work for you? Well, I don’t care if it doesn’t or you decide this is racial profiling, I’m calling you Pablo.

So hello Pablo, how are you doing today? Darn… He didn’t even react.]

The light blue and white spotted walls seemed purposeful, painted like the sky, but the residual smell of bleach suggested otherwise. It was familiar, though. I knew the smell, and even welcomed it at points. No one would ever understand however, that I’m sure of.

I stepped out of my room and into the hallway. There was a faint sound of snoring coming from the room next to mine in the hallway and I poked my head in, assuring that Macey was okay. You could never know in my house. She slept calmly, her small figure buried into the sheets and snoring softly.

Her hazel eyes fluttered open and she smiled up at me. “Nara, you’re home,” she said innocently, rising to her feet and running across the room to me. I dropped into a crouch and embraced my little sister.

“Hey there, Squirt.” I greeted her. “How are you doing?”

Macey ran her fingers through her hair and gave a short giggle. “I’m doing good, Nara, I promise. Dad left for a business trip yesterday and Johnny stopped by to give me brownies.”

“Really,” I mused. My little sister was so small, so delicate, I would never let any harm come to her. I’m thankful for my neighbor Johnny who takes care of her when I’m gone, really, I am, but I wished I could be there for her. “How was Johnny?”

She rolled her eyes and plopped down onto her bed again. “Both of you always ask how the other one is doing. Why don’t you just ask him?”

“Because,” I giggled, hiding the despondence from my voice, “I’m busy with work, you know that, Mace.”

The girl may have been eight, but she understood everything. She had the same brains and skill as me, but I’d never let her out onto the field. Honestly, I hadn’t even told her exactly what my job is.

I didn’t like that my best friend always had to take care of my little sister for me. Dad was here, but… He’s not exactly reliable.

Macey rolled her eyes at me and crossed her arms. “Yes. Because you’re really too busy to walk next door and say hello to the boy you’ve been drooling over as long as I can remember. What’s going on, Nar?”

Smirking, I promised her, “One of these days, I will tell you, Mace, but today is not that day. I’ll be gone for two hours, after that, I’m all yours.”

A motorcycle revved outside and I knew it was time for me to leave. Mace ran over to the window and took a peek outside where I knew Jake was leaning against his cherried out Indian, nonchalantly, waiting for me. When she looked back at me, she smiled. “Wait.” She said with a giggle, “Does the thing with Johnny have something to do with the guy who’s been picking you up all the time? I mean, he picks you up and you disappear for days on end. Something that I should know about, Nara?”