Shoplifter: E.O.W Series, Book 1

Chapter 4: When the past Attacks

    "I need a smoke" I blurt out and grab the paper. I start out at a brisk walk but by the time I'm away from the crowd, I'm running.
I make it outside to the concrete platform where they once would have loaded boxes onto trucks. These days it's a place to smoke and take in the sunset, one of my favorite things. As the metal door swings closed I run to the railing around the platform, I lean on it and gulp in the night air. My breath is coming in short gasps I pull out my cigarettes and light one as fast as possible. This is what I do every time I get really stressed. Even though I know that I shouldn't, I look at the ad.

Kaius Taylor.
Height: 6ft 2 inches.
Weight: 140 pounds. (At age 18)
Hair: brown.
Eyes: green
No visible piercings, one small snake tattoo on left wrist. Last seen one year ago wearing a Joan Jet and the Blackhearts T-shirt in Lancaster county P.A. please bring our son home we miss him.

That's when I lost it. I was able to take the cigarette out of my mouth before I collapsed to my knees. My rear hit the concrete hard as I grabbed the railing to keep from landing on my back. My ragged breath turned into hyperventilating as tears streamed down my cheeks. I buried a fist in my bright hair and watched the red ash fall on my boots as I cried. In an attempt to calm myself I take a deep breath and roughly wipe my eyes with my sleeve. The dark rain clouds covered the sunset, leaving nothing to distract me. I rub my eye with the heel of my right hand, burning the top of my ear with my cigarette as I do so. The burning white object falls from my fingers, out of anger I destroy it with my boot and hold a hand over the now warm metal of my ear bar. Having stopped crying, I light another cigarette. As the first cloud of smoke escapes my lips I hear a male voice.

   "You are going to get cancer." I jump to my feet and whip around to see the new initiate, Noah.

   "So" I sniffed, turning back to the railing. He joined Me silently. "You have no room to talk, you reek like smoke."  Noah pulled a metal vaporizer box from his green jacket. "So weird" I mumble scrunching up my nose, he rolls his eyes.

   "And you look like you're having an anxiety attack."

   "I'm fine." I lie, taking a deep breath. He walks up to me blowing some smoke, he took the paper from my hand and looked at it before I could snatch it back. His taking the paper brought my anxiety back and my breathing picked up. The cool pre-rain air was no longer calming. I hand roughly patted my shoulder.

    "You're not fine. Pull yourself together." He said, halfway laughing. Noah tried to lift the awkward tension by changing the subject. "So you're a runaway?" I grunt in response, I'm not telling this near stranger anything about my past. I divert the focus back to him.

    "Blind said you were as well."

    "Yeah my Mom was a smother so I took off." I nodded. He looks back to the paper, then to me, then back to the paper again. "This barely looks anything like you."  He was right, that picture was taken two weeks before I left. My shaggy brown  hair was An inch or so past my chin, a little longer than in is today. I had hair on both sides of my head, it was untrimmed and fell in my eyes slightly. I didn't have my small gauges or the the two rings through the top of my left ear. My right ear didn't have my ear bar or the ring through the very top. Like my olive skin my green eyes were duller and paler. I look from the photo to my arms. I don't remember having such shrimpy arms, now that I see my old self all of me looked like skin on bones. Like  a lost animal, forlorned and starving. I looked like a sad, skinny greasy teen.  Not the man I am today. One year can really change someone. " so let's see your tattoo " asked Noah. I pull back my sleeve to shows the ouroboros wrapped around my left wrirst.