The Makeover

33

"Let's raise children who won't have to recover from their childhoods."

Pam Leo

33|Thief in the making

My fingers played with the keypad that was securing the safe in my parents' room. I had already tried more than 20 different codes and still my luck was at a dead end. Sometimes, I wished that I had the speed of The Flash so that I could get through every possible code in time.

My mother would be home in less than fifty minutes and I couldn't leave the room without getting what I wanted. I had come way too far to fail.

I groaned loudly after yet another code brought up the words ACCESS DENIED - but not loud enough to alert anyone lurking around the house. I knew that Annie was home and if my mother ever questioned her about my innocence, she would definitely break under pressure. I couldn't take that risk.

I had already disconnected the camera in the room so that it wouldn't catch me red handed and I had definitely not forgotten about the alarm system that would go off as soon as the safe door opened. My plan had been foolproof until I realised that my mother had changed the access code on the safe.

"What could it possibly be?" I whispered to myself as I paused and took a minute to think through possible codes. I had already tried all of my family members' birth dates, my parents' anniversary and the day my parents met, but none of them were the key to my success.

My body ached to punch something but I couldn't do that even if I wasn't scared my knuckles would be busted up. My mother was the type of person who would notice a grain of salt in a sugarbowl. Even moving the bedside lamp by an inch was a big no-no.

I looked back at the keypad and took in a deep breath, trying to think of what meant most to my mother. It surely wasn't her kids, because I had tried those already.

Then everything clicked. I hadn't tried the day that my parents had started their company. My brain was aching to find the memory of when my dad had beamed about the company running smoothly for 5 long years.

You see, Katie, it all started in May. It had been exactly a month after Kayleigh's 13th birthday...

If it had been exactly a month, that would mean the date the company was started had to be the 18th of May 2012.

I quickly typed in the code and heard an unfamiliar sound - the sound of the safe opening. I did a silent victory dance in my head when I saw what was inside.

It was just leaning against a wall casually, as if it hadn't just been rescued.

"My baby," my hands ran over the smooth surface longingly. "I've missed you." I cooed to my laptop as I got up. I closed the safe door and made my way across the room. I hid the laptop under my sweater, turned the cameras back on and then slowly backed out of the room without getting into the view of the camera.

As soon as I was in the hall, I made a run for it and only stopped when I was safely in my room. I hopped onto my bed and tucked the laptop in between my turquoise pillows.

Once it seemed like it would be hidden even if anyone tried to enter the room, I went downstairs to watch some TV. If I wanted my parents to stay unsuspecting of my actions, I would have to act as I usually would. And that meant laying around and doing nothing for the most part of my time.

I sat on that sofa for a grand total of thirty minutes before I heard the door open. They were finally home.

"Katie, when will you ever get off that couch and actually do something with your life? I didn't raise you so that you could end up wasting my time." I knew that voice. It was cold and precise enough to hit a nerve. Oh, the joy.