beautiful thieves | ✓

eight

After the insane events of the evening, I shrug off my jacket and dress, give a half-assed attempt at wiping off my makeup and dive into bed, falling asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow. I find myself falling into a dark rabbit hole of dreams, until I'm suddenly awoken a few hours later by a mysterious noise from somewhere within the mansion.

I don't know what it could be at first. It sounded like a loud wail, as though someone is crying and is in desperate need of help, but surely it can't be.

I climb out of bed, pulling on a nearby hoodie to fight against the cold air of the house. I see that it's still pitch-black outside of the windows as I step out of the room. I open the door as quietly as possible as to not disturb the others in their nearby bedrooms and it's then that I hear the noise again.

I follow it until I'm stood right outside of Chelsea's room and my hand hovers over the doorknob as a million thoughts race through my head. Should I knock? Just walk in? Go back to bed?

I ultimately decide to knock. If she doesn't want me here, I'll leave her be.

A few moments after I've done it, Chelsea opens the door slightly ajar and peers at me through the dark. "Aurora? What are you doing here?"

"I- I heard a noise. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," she breathes. Her voice wavers as she speaks. "It's-- uh—it's..." an internal battle happens behind her eyes until she sighs, "just come in."

She ushers me into the room, shutting the door quickly behind me and switching on the bedroom light. I see a tiny movement over on her bed and Chelsea rushes over, lifting what looks like a bundle of blankets into her arms as she sits on the edge of her mattress.

Then the penny drops.

It's a baby.

She has a baby.

I walk over, taking a cautious seat beside her and taking a look at the infant. It must only be a few months old, a few tufts of light, golden hair atop its tiny head. It starts to cry again, before Chelsea lets it clasp her finger in tiny hands.

"You kept this quiet," I chuckle, watching as the baby stares at me with immense curiosity.

"She's not exactly something I want anyone knowing about. I was going to tell you about her at some point, but I didn't feel ready. Plus, you've barely been here for five minutes," she explains.

I glide a gentle finger over the baby's cheek, marvelling at the softness. "What's her name?"

"Posie," Chelsea smiles fondly. "Her father hated it, but I loved it too much not to give it to her."

"Where's the Dad now?" I ask.

She shrugs her shoulders. "No clue, and I don't care. We don't need him." She says it so full of confidence, but it sounds as though she's trying to convince herself.

"I was eighteen when I fell pregnant with her, about a year ago," she tells me. "It was- God, it was so stupid. He was twenty, we should've known better. But we were a bit tipsy and it kind of just happened. We didn't use protection and I didn't bother taking the morning after pill. I was sure nothing would happen. But it did. My parents kicked me out as soon as they found out.

"I was doing fine at first. I stayed at friends' houses and I actually tried to stay as healthy as possible. I couldn't bear the thought of having an abortion, so I decided to just deal with the pregnancy and give her away when she was born. After some point, my so-called friends decided that they couldn't help me anymore. I was on the streets for only two weeks, yet all my stuff got nicked and I was in danger of starving to death right up until Enoch saved me. We've been close friends since he moved from Sweden when he was eleven. He brought me here, they gave me food and shelter for the rest of my pregnancy and Danielle was even there when I gave birth, holding my hand and making sure everything went smoothly.

"As soon as Posie came into the world, I realized I couldn't give her away. And thanks to the Thieves, I was able to keep her and still have a roof over our heads."

Her dark brown eyes meet mine when she's finished telling her story. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this."

I shake my head. "Don't even. I'm glad you told me."

Posie lets out another cry, fussing around in the blanket as Chelsea readjusts her position.

"I've literally done everything," Chelsea says hopelessly. "I've fed her, changed her. Enoch reckons she has colic and I wouldn't be surprised. Either that or she's starting to teeth."

I sit quietly for a little while, trying to comprehend all the information I've been given. My sympathy towards Chelsea has grown tenfold since first seeing little Posie and so has my trust in the thieves. Not only have they saved me from a toxic mother who's perfectly fine with making me homeless, but they've saved Chelsea who was a pregnant teenager on the streets. Who else have they saved?

After a few moments with Posie continuing to cry, I tilt my head to the side. "Could I try?"

Chelsea hesitates, glancing down at Posie before looking back at me. "Are you sure?"

I shrug, holding out my arms. She only hesitates a second longer, before she gently places the baby into my arms. I start to rock gently, making soothing 'shushing' sounds to try and quieten her down. It doesn't work for about a minute, before Posie's eyes start to droop and the wailing comes to a stop. I smile triumphantly, nuzzling my nose against her's.

"You're so good with her," Chelsea says, almost wistfully. "Sometimes I feel like it would've been better for me to give her away. I mean, who wants a teenage gang member as a Mum?" She laughs as if she's joking, but the crack in her voice tells me she's being serious.

I sigh softly, continuing to rock the bundle in my arms and stroking my thumb across the back of Posie's hand. "I mean, I've only known about this for about five minutes, but I already know that you're doing a better job for her than my Mum ever did for me. And judging by the fact your parents kicked you out, yours wasn't any better?"

Chelsea scoffs, shaking her head. "Total bitch. Honestly I think she was just waiting for an excuse to get me out."

"Same here," I say, feeling a pang straight through my heart. "So, you're already doing better than either of them. And, if you think about it, could you have ever given her up?"

She barely even considers her answer. "I couldn't live without her."

"So you did what's best for both of you, which is probably the best thing you could have done," I reassure her, before letting out a quiet laugh. "Besides, who wouldn't want a teenage gang member as a Mum? That's pretty badass if you ask me."

She chuckles along with me, before gazing lovingly at Posie, who's dead to the world at this point. We're both quiet for a short while as I wonder how something so small could bring so much warmth to my heart, before Chelsea sighs and stands to her feet.

"Thank you for... that," she says, noncommittally waving her hand before gently taking Posie into her own arms. "Maybe I'll actually get some sleep tonight."

"I hope you do," I smile genuinely. "And if you need any help, you can always ask me."

She grins, almost to herself, as she lowers Posie into the gorgeous Moses basket beside her bed. "You know," she starts as she stands up straight. "I wasn't sure about adding someone new. I was the last to join and I was comfortable with the people we had. Then I saw you and, no offence, but I didn't think you would be cut out for it. But... I'm glad you came along."

I breathe out a small sigh of relief. I've barely been here at all yet these people are making me feel safe and loved and like I'm finally part of something so much bigger than me. There's a part of me saying that I'm getting too comfortable, that I'm trusting these people too quickly, but there's a bigger part telling me that I've finally found where I belong.

I nod my head and say my final goodnight before quietly slipping from the room, finding it hard to wipe the smile from my face even as I drift off to sleep once again.