Married Into The Mafia *Undergoing Re-editing*

A Caged Bird

--Carly--

I grumbled to myself as I stomped through the empty hallways. They were dimmed by the afternoon sun. Goddamn it, Cooper! He just decides to ditch on me during lunch when I offered to help with his assignment. And, then, he doesn't even respond to my texts! Asshole!

I looked at the time on my phone and sighed before dumping my bag in front of his locker. I knew he had football training on right now, but I preferred not to have to get too close to the other members on the team – I have some bad blood with a few of them. Well, I had already apologised but they didn't seem too interested in making amends. So, his lockers will have to do.

I stayed there for about ten minutes, arms crossed, my foot tapping away impatiently as I leaned on his locker, before pulling out my phone. There were a few photos of possible gift ideas I had saved on my camera roll. I had to pick a present for my mother's birthday. She still wasn't aware of the job I was working on some afternoons, so I had to make it seem affordable to the pocket money she gave me. 

The question remained if she even wanted to celebrate it this year. Since she found out about my dad's wedding, she's been losing herself even more than usual. It didn't help that the wedding date was planned for the week after her birthday either - tore up my invitation and swore to never celebrate her birthday again. 

However, I knew what kind of person she was. She said one thing, expecting others to understand that she meant the opposite. My mother required constant validation and appreciation so not doing anything for her birthday meant that this would be held over my head for the rest of my life. But, she'll still stay stubborn throughout the entire celebration, regardless. 

With a sigh, I switched my phone off again and tucked it into my bag. I had to get home soon. Today was the only night of the week when my mother came home an hour early. And, sneaking in has gotten a lot more difficult since she caught me slipping out of my bedroom window last time. That thing is barred shut now, meaning I had to come in through the back door. And, our back door was creaky. 

I groaned out in frustration when I looked at the time. Training should be over by now! What the hell is taking him so long?! I grumbled as I straightened my slouch, deciding to just give him a piece of my mind tomorrow morning, instead. But, as I pushed off his locker, its door followed me, opening ajar. I raised my eyebrow. Did he forget to lock it? I grabbed it, but before I closed it, I decided to take a little look. I've never seen the inside of his locker before, after all...

I opened it fully and searched around for anything interesting. Maybe I'll set up a prank in here like the good old days. Then get him on camera. For payback that is...

My features twitched in a momentary pause so that I could reconsider. This time, I came to a different conclusion. 

No...that's not right. I don't want to do that kind of stuff anymore anyways...

With a shake of my head to dismiss my thoughts, I rummaged through his locker in waning interest. There wasn't really anything special in there except his books and a picture of...Eloise? I smirked as I took a better look at the little picture slotted between one of his books. 

I had been one of the first to pick up on his crush. I don't think any of the others even know that he likes her back. Eloise on the other hand thinks no one's aware of her little crush on Cooper, but everyone knows. Those two should just date already. 

I placed the photo back and reached in a little deeper, past his books to have a feel around for anything. There was nothing really there until my hand bumped into a small book. Out of sheer curiosity, I pulled it out to have a look. It was a plain, green, photobook. I didn't know Cooper was into photography. I chuckled as I opened it, eager to see what kind of stuff he takes pictures of.