Robin des Bois ✓

fifteen. Mine. Yours.

The silence that settled in the car on our ride back didn't sit well with me. I had a hard time keeping my tears of anger and disappointment in check, and the heavy nothingness hanging in the air didn't help matters in the slightest –if anything, it only exacerbated the already poignant feeling of defeat that nested in my chest.

It reminded me of the first time I'd met Gabe. When he'd scared and intimidated me with barely veiled threats and his cold smile. It wasn't exactly a pleasant memory, but I didn't know which Gabe scared me more. The one who'd intimidated me back then or the silent one sitting next to me now, who scared adult men merely with his presence.

I shot him a wary glance from the corner of my eye. His face was impassible, completely shutting off any and all emotion. His eyes were trained on the road and if he felt my gaze on him, he didn't let it show in any way. His mouth was set in a grim line and for the first time tonight I wondered if maybe he felt the hopelessness of the situation as well. It hadn't occurred to me that his usual cheeky banter could be hiding the same disappointment I felt.

"Can I ask you something?" My voice was barely audible. I was almost sure he didn't hear my question, but then his face relaxed into his usual amused grin.

"Of course you can ask. Doesn't mean that I'll answer."

"Did you ever kill anyone?" I regretted asking it almost as soon as the question was out of my mouth. Gabriel's smile widened, and he shot me a playful look.

"You shouldn't ask questions you don't really want answered."

"So you did?" His reluctance to give me a straight answer hinted at a 'yes', but everything about his light, relaxed attitude pointed at the contrary.

"Why do you want to know? Would it change the way you feel about me if the answer was 'yes'?"

I hesitated before responding, biting my lower lip as I raked my brain for an answer. "I-I don't know."

Gabe didn't say anything for a moment, and his grin changed. It almost looked wistful. No amusement shone in his dark eyes as he stared at the road, and his grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

"Well, the answer is no." I jumped in my seat when his words interrupted the tense silence. He didn't give me any time to mull over his answer. "My turn to ask you something."

I braced myself for something intrusive, but the question he asked surprised me nonetheless –probably because it was less outrageous than I'd expected. "How did you first start? You know, robbing people?"

I hesitated before answering. He must've noticed my reticence, because he added: "You don't have to answer. I was just curious, that's all."

"It's okay, it's not like I have to hide it from you... You already know most of my darkest secrets." I tried to sound light but my voice shook. "It's just that I've never said it like this before. I've never had to tell the whole thing to anyone." It was true. I've only ever told bits and pieces to Tina and Tyler –they were always in on pretty much every detail of my not so eventful life, except perhaps for the last few months, so it's always been about filling in the blanks with them. I'd never had to tell the whole story to anyone and I didn't quite know how to do it.

I took a deep breath and fixed my gaze on the window, watching as buildings flew by, blurring together into a mass of grey concrete and bricks.

And I told him everything. About the party on that fateful night, about the glass statue filled with money, about the irrational rage I'd felt blossoming in my gut, about the fear and panic I'd felt afterwards, once I'd cooled down... It came easier than I expected, probably because it turned out that when he wanted to, Gabriel was an excellent listener. He didn't interrupt me once, only listened to me with an expression of focused interest.