Serendipity

Chapter 15. The Middle

*I would appreciate it if you read the author's note at the end of the chapter*

Chapter Fifteen ~ The Middle           

             I left the house early the next morning. The sun hadn’t come out yet, but I needed to get away. After the news Dad gave me, I couldn’t think. The whole night I had been up and restless. 

            Dad promised a lot of things. He told me we wouldn’t be like everyone else, and he told me we would survive by any means possible. But no matter what happened, he promised no one would ever get hurt. 

            I walked for what seemed like hours without having a destination in mind. I was torn. My dad had done a bad thing, but he was the only one I could really trust. No matter what, he would never leave me. He knew everything about me and would never judge me. So why should I judge him? 

            Murder was a crime, but so was stealing. Was I any different? 

            These conflicting feelings stirring inside of me were starting to get to me. If I couldn’t get my mind in check, then I could possible ruin our plan. That would not fly well with Dad since he was the person I would have to answer to in the end. 

            The light was just peaking over the horizon, exposing the empty streets and vacant shops. Somehow, I found myself at the beach. I wanted to be alone but being alone meant that I would be alone with my thoughts. 

            The beach wasn’t as packed as usual, which I liked. The sun slowly rose over the water and its glare was so bright that I was sure I’d be blinded by it. Regardless, I sunk into the sand and watched the horizon. 

            Two girls dressed in skimpy bikinis walked past me, giggling. The shorter one took one look at me and her smile disappeared. It was replaced by a frown, a scowl almost. 

            They continued to walk past me and resumed their conversation. 

            I didn’t bother to care about their reaction towards me. I assumed it had something to do with Levi. He probably went around spreading rumors about me, which was okay because in a week I would be gone, and I would be forced to forget about this life. 

            That was the only good thing about what we did. There was always a chance to start over again. 

            I began to wonder about where we would move next. Dad mentioned something about Europe. That would take us off the radar, for sure. We did move around a lot but we always stayed in the United States. 

            If we moved to Europe, Dad would get excited. Then, we would move to Asia…South America, then Africa, then Australia. He would never stop until he had it all. He would never stop until we were the same status of the people that we stole from. 

            Then, where would we be? 

            “We seriously need to get you a new wardrobe.” 

            I glanced up to see Melanie standing before me. Her hands were placed gracefully on her hips as she sent me a teasing grin. 

             I knew she was talking about the sweater vest I always insisted on wearing. Apparently, my fashion sense was not on the same level as hers. Two thin pink straps held her bikini top together and she paired it with pink running shorts.

               I was glad not to be on that same level. 

               “Oh, hey,” I mumbled, reverting my gaze back to the ocean.