Thieving Florida

chapter 15

The next morning, I was the first one to wake up. It was awkward because Marisa and Aj were wrapped up in each other, and I was afraid of waking them up.

I took the chance though and slipped out, the floor creaking loudly with each step. By the time I made it to the kitchen, I thought I had woken up the entire building.

Peaking out the window, I saw that the sun had just came up. I hate getting up early in the summer, it's the season to sleep in until three in the afternoon.

No one else got up for several more hours, and eventually my hunger took over me. I scoured the pantry for something that would settle my hunger. When my eyes laid on the Fruit Loops, I grabbed the box and helped myself.

It wasn't until I had put the box away that someone had gotten up. It was Eden, and she didn't look happy.

"What the hell happened last night?" she asked. I shrugged, not meeting her eyes.

"Nothing," I said.

"Bull," she spat. "You did something, you did something you shouldn't have done."

She got her answer from my silence. She threw her hands up above her head.

"Alec claims that he needs to watch my habits, but you're over here doing illegal shit and creating bad habits. But nope, I'm his little sister that has to stay some-what good," she ranted.

"Eden, you're fourteen," I reasoned with her.

She scoffed, "And what do you think he was doing at my age? Helping old ladies cross the street?"

"I don't know what he was doing, but that doesn't mean that you should do anything like that," I told her.

"Hypocrites," she spat. "All of you. 'Don't drink Eden, you're too young', 'don't do drugs Eden, it's a bad habit', 'don't smoke, it's bad for you', 'don't get involved in gangs, you'll get hurt'."

Her last statement shocked me. "What?"

Her eyes widened. "Nothing."

"What do you mean get involved in gangs?" I asked.

"None of your business," she said in a childish manner.

We were shooting daggers at each other when Marisa and Aj walked in.

"What is so important that you guys have to be arguing at eleven in the morning for," Marisa said, rubbing her eyes and covering a yawn.

"Nothing," Eden and I said in unison.

"Oh yeah, that convinces me. Maybe it was the fairies that woke me up," Marisa said sarcastically.

"I guess so," I said. Marisa rolled her eyes and grabbed food out of the fridge.

We all looked like messes, considering that the other three had just woken up and I hadn't made an effort to brush my hair or change.

The rest of the day slipped by us. Aj had gone off somewhere to work, Marisa had went back in her room and do whatever Marisa does when she's not with Aj, and Eden stayed in the kitchen reading a book. Which rose the question, how did she know how to read? Or more like how well, I don't know if she was ever taught or not.

I went back to the couch, watching TV. Instead of the usual TLC, I went to the news channel.

The news anchor woman was just finishing up her story, and it flashed the screen to some guy I didn't recognize, but was wearing a fancy suit.

"Thank you, Karen. In recent news, sixteen year old Jessica Morgan Chase is still missing. The amber alert came up just two days ago. Her parents had just gotten home from a very long science convention and went to sleep, waking up to their daughter nowhere to be found. She is suspected to be with the infamous duo Alexander and Eden Hendricks, according to a close friend. She is thought to still be in the state of Florida. If you've seen this girl, call this number," he said. He proceeded to say the telephone number, and a picture of me from the first day of summer popped up on the screen, along with very old and out of date pictures of 'the infamous duo'.