Patterns of Betrayal

(4) Vials

~~

Adara had once said that to perform a crime on strangers is an act of survival and can thereby be justifiable. But to perform a crime on her family was weak and irresponsible.

I ponder over how many beatings I will get from the crime I was committing against my family right now.

My hands are clutching onto the seat in front of me as the car stops, desperately trying to avoid making any rash movement on the floor of the vehicle. The ride had gone on for an approximate sixteen minutes.

Nikolas shuts the engine off and wastes no time getting out of the car.

I dare to poke my head up between the seats and look at the time on the dashboard.

I have already been away for too long. The alarm clock will soon sound around the house but Mother will find no Alene at the end of her dining table.

It seems only moments have gone before Nikolas returns to the car. My head dives back behind the back seat and my breath catches in my throat. Something rattles as he takes his place behind the wheel. The sound of glass gently tapping together fills the car as an object is placed on the seat in front of me.

My eyes are frozen wide as I wait for Nikolas to notice me on the floor behind him. Let him see me. Let him see me so that I'll finally be able to make a sound, to breathe out or shake the cramp off my legs from sitting curled up for so long.

But he doesn't see me. Or if he does, he doesn't mention the matter. Instead, he starts the engine, shifts the gear and pushes away from the curb.

My heart is hitched the entire ride home, never fully exhaling until Nikolas leaves the car to open the garage door. I manage to quickly scramble into a slightly more comfortable position, so to give my cramped legs a swift break, before he returns to park the car under the roof.

From my new position, I am able to catch a quick glance of the glass vials balancing on the passenger seat before they are quickly carried out and into the house.

The car locks.

The second the garage door slams close after Nikolas, I am on my feet, wincing as my stiff legs protest at the abrupt movements. I shake off the cramps. A quick look at the faint sunrise reaching over the treetops convinces me that it isn't too late for me to sneak into the house undetected.

I freeze. My head whirls to the passenger seat. My hands scramble around the seat, searching. Smooth leather makes contact with my hand between the seat and the gear shift, and I sigh in relief as I grab my money pouch.

I follow through the same door Nikolas entered only a minute before, and sigh in relief when I meet the dim lights and quiet living room. I am able to hastily throw my sneakers back into the hallway and splash some water in my face from the sink before a light switch is flicked behind me. My hands freeze on my face, droplets of water dripping from the short stubs of hair framing my face, before leaving wet trails down my cheeks and chin.

«You're up early,» Mother comments as she heads over to the coffee machine. She grabs a bottle of water on the counter and pours it into the reservoir. Her eyes swipe over my face as she turns to fetch the coffee in the cabinet over the sink. «Couldn't sleep, child?»