Thieves (Camren)

Prologue

(Trigger warning: gun violence and death)

The dark-haired girl was about to light up a cigarette when she saw her boyfriend, Tyrone, walk down the street. She could only make out his silhouette through the heavy rain that fell down from the sky and collided loudly with the ground and the closer he got the more it got obvious that he was in hurry. She let the cigarette and lighter disappear in the pockets of her leather jacket again and approached him halfway, putting on her hood on the way so that her hair wouldn't get too wet, now that she had to leave the little roof she stood under.

"Hey, baby," The man greeted her. His hands were hidden in the depth of his pockets and his face was barely visible, "We've got a problem," He announced straight up. Lauren crossed her arms, waiting for him to continue without bothering to interrupt him. "Steph called and I have to help him," He explained and Lauren couldn't hold back an eye roll.

"Of course," She mumbled. "And what's up with the deal now?" She wanted to know. They had been planning this deal for months now and Lauren knew the man they made the deal with wouldn't waste more of his time to get this over with. But neither Lauren nor Tyrone could afford to give up on this deal, therefore they depended too much on the commodity and Lauren hoped that her boyfriend knew how important it was that he chose Lauren over his brother this time.

Tyrone took a deep breath and had an apologizing look on his face, so Lauren already knew what he would say next. She shook her head and refused his idea but he spoke before she could say anything. "I'm sorry, baby. But you have to do this alone, it's too late for a backtrack," His voice was stern and Lauren knew that she couldn't do anything against his plan now. He took off the bag he wore over his shoulder and handed it to his girlfriend. "There's enough money and a gun, for the case that there'll be a problem," He told her.

Lauren knew he didn't fully trust the guy he made the deal with and usually, he wouldn't let her go by herself, but Lauren also knew that he would do everything for his brother. He always had priority, something that annoyed her more than once in the past and caused many fights between the couple, nevertheless, it never changed.

"Okay," Was the only thing the Latina said before she ripped the bag out of Tyrone's grip and put it over her shoulders, turning around only moments later, ready to leave when Tyrone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

"Why do I not get a kiss?" He asked.

"Fuck you, Ty!" She whispered and lifted up her middle finger before she walked away, hearing his dirty laugh through the rain. She didn't need turn back around because she knew he was already walking in the opposite direction, not caring about how Lauren felt in the situation he put her in. Their relationship had always been difficult since they met and a part of Lauren believed that this would never change, even though deserved something better. But another part told her that this was all she was worth and there wouldn't be someone else for her, at least not someone better than Tyrone. Living on the street for so long left its marks, in her looks as well as in her behavior, so at some point, she started to think that she wasn't worth more than what she already got and the more she thought about it in the more she believed it.

She went to the mutually agreed point but there was no one to be seen yet, so she looked out for another shelter where she could take out her cigarettes again. She just needed this now, to relieve some stress that was gathering inside her mind and taking over the control. This time nothing kept her away from lighting up the venomous substance and she took a first long drag, inhaling it like it was a saver of life and not something that could ruin it over the pass of time. Lauren had always despised the taste of cigarettes and not even after years of smoking had changed that. It just became an addiction to the Latina, just like so many other things since her youth.