the criminal // S.M.

22 // thieves

One Week Later
Shawns POV

The past week has been nothing but driving and crappy motels. I haven't spoken to bullseye or anyone else from the warehouse, but the mission still remains; get Mia out of the country and to a safe location.

We were starting to run low on money, so we decided staying the night in the Jeep was best for tonight. Mia was starting a fire while I sat on the hood, sorting through our stuff.

"Can you toss me the lighter?" She asked, pointing to her bag. "Straight across pocket in the front."

"Yeah, sure thing." I sat down the money I was counting and unzipped her back pack. I saw the lighter, surrounded by empty cigarette boxes and loose change. The sight made my stomach sink. I knew she smoked, and she knew I didn't like it, but that was a problem for another day. I grabbed the lighter and tossed it to her.

She lit the teepee formation she had just made and the logs caught flame.

"Sweet. Can you toss me some crackers?"

"Yeah about that. We have one package left," I told her.

"No biggy, there's a gas station not to far from here we can just get more."

"We only have a hundred dollars left I don't thi-"

"You're cute shawn. Did you really think I meant we would pay?" She giggled. "We can easily get enough stuff to last us at least two more weeks."

"Stealing? I don't know..."

"Cmon it's not as bad as you think. We'll go tomorrow morning on our way out of town, but for now let's share the last little bit of food we've got."

We both sat around the fire and warmed our bodies. We sat in silence, not awkward but not comfortable either. It was as though we both had something to say but not the words or courage to speak. And when she fell asleep on my shoulder, I felt relieved, like I could let out the air I didn't know I was holding. I gently laid her down and made sure she was as comfortable as could be on the ground before I got situated myself.

-

"And you really understand the plan?" She questioned while she put up her hood. "Cause you need to sell it, or this whole thing won't work."

"Yes, I understand for the millionth time." I chuckled.

"Alright then, show time."

I got out of the car and sighed deeply before bolting into the store, just as we had discussed. The teenager at the counter looked as though the sudden entrance startled him, which was perfect.

"Help! Help me!" I shouted, crumpling to the ground the most dramatic manor.

"What's wrong?" The worker yelled, running to sit by my side.

I heard the door bell ding, meaning Mia had just walked in.

"I think I'm - I'm growing a progeria!" I mentally punched myself in the face at my incorrect word usage.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" The dude yelled, panic in his voice.

From within the store I heard Mia's distinct laugh, and I did the first thing that came to mind.

I screamed bloody murder. The guy was so fixated on me, he didn't notice a teenage girl sneaking behind him and behind the counter, shoving three packs of cigarettes in her bra and giving me a thumbs up.

"Bro you need to go wash your hands! I think I might be contagious. Please! Go! I would hate for you to be in this much pain!" I grabbed at his collar and tried to breathe in his face to make him even more paranoid.

"What about you?! I can't just leave you!"

"Go! Don't worry about me, it's too late for me!" I shouted, pretending to sob.

The kid got up and frantically ran to the bathrooms, and the distinct laugh continued again.

"That was so good!" She said coming out of the aisles, slinging the backpack over her shoulder. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

"I told you! I was in the school play in middle school! I'm practically a world renowned actor!" I chuckled.

We both made our way out of the store, into the car and drove away, into the night and towards god knows where.