Butterswap

20

I jolted up to the loud sound of metal clanking and shook Keenan awake. He grunted before I kicked him softly in the stomach.

"Get up! Someone's coming." I hissed, frantically packing up all our items into the plastic bag. "Fuck, did we leave anything in the car?"

"No, we took everything with us." He said certainly as he patted the duffel bag behind him. "Oh, fuck. Oh, fuck. Our fingerprints."

There was panic in his eyes and distress in his voice.

"Okay, listen very carefully now. I need you to go up there and distract him. My best guess is that he's just an officer on patrol. He will run our license plate against the database and he's going to realize its a fake. He will definitely know it's a stolen car by then. Then he will search the car and obtain our fingerprints. I need you to go up there, say you got lost jogging or something like that. I'll go clean the car up."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm the legendary thief, Keenan Drew." He brandished out his gloves and a capsule. He put the gloves on and broke the glass capsule in his palm, rubbing his hands together.

"Bleach removes fingerprints." I recalled from my forensic science lessons I took as an elective.

"Clever girl." He laughed. He tilted his head toward the sound and I nodded. As I turned to go, he caught my sleeve. "Don't look directly into his eyes. Look elsewhere, don't give him the chance to remember how you look."

I nodded and gulped. He took the other exit out of the station.

I walked toward the door as bravely as I could. Keenan was right, the man donned a blue vest and a white cap. I could see him through the small gap in the door.

"Hello. Can you help me? I'm lost." I said to the man as I unlocked the door. I could see Keenan moving toward the car and then ducking down behind it just as the officer turned around to point at it.

"Is the car yours?"

"No, I came from the other side." I pointed vaguely at the exit where Keenan had ran out from. "I was just jogging until I realized that I was lost."

"I'd hardly call your attire suitable for jogging."

"I would." I couldn't help the brat inside of me out.

"Okay, ma'am. Where is your phone?"

"I lost it in Dubai."

"In Dubai?"

"Yep."

"Haven't you got a new one?"

"I was supposed to. Could you just point me in the direction back to the main street?" I snuck a glance at Keenan and he gave me a thumbs up before leaving the car and crouching behind the bushes.

"Walk straight for a bit, you'll come to a cross junction. Take a left there. You'll see a petrol station. Afterward, just follow the signs back to main street."

"Okay, thank you very much!" I walked toward where Keenan was crouching at and tapped his shoulder.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." He said approvingly as we watched the officer struggle to the get the car door open.

Suddenly, a bird squeaked from behind Keenan, scaring all of us. The officer's head swiveled in our direction and he narrowed his eyes at the both of us.

"Fuck." I heard Keenan mutter. "We have to run."

"I can't fucking run."

"We have to."

"I'm so fucked. You have your mask on, I don't. He knows what I look like-" Before I could finish my sentence, Keenan yanked on my arm with one hand, the other carrying our duffel bag.

"Run!" He whisper-yelled at me. I pumped my arms, willing my heart not to give in on me. I could hear the officer behind shouting at us to stop. We didn't, of course, and just kept running until we reached a frozen pond.

Adrenaline was still pumping in my blood as I leant against a nearby tree.

"Did we lose him?" I wheezed out.

"Yes. Look." He pointed to the frozen lake and snow covered trees. It looked like a scene from a movie.

"Winter wonderland. I'd always wanted to go to the winter carnival. Never had the chance to." I sighed.

"I know this is not a very good idea. But, we only live once, right?"

I laughed as I took his hand. We began by tapping on the ice, testing our weight before half sliding, half walking on it.

"Oooh!" I yelped as I slipped and fell. I sighed in relief when the ice didn't crack under the pressure. Keenan guffawed at my clumsiness but fell seconds later. We spent the day staring up at the clear.

"It feels wonderful to not worry about anything at all."

"Yeah."

"I don't want to go back."

"Hey, you can do this. Trust me. I'll go with you all the way."

"What if they don't want to spend time with me?"

"They will. But please, tell them about how sick you are. They deserve to know."

"Okay. Shit, my medication."

"I'll get them for you." Keenan stood up, getting my medication from my duffel bag and handed them to me, along with a bottle of water.

"I'm hungry, are you?"

"Starving."

We settled our lunch in the nearest mall and made our way back to Keenan's apartment.

"Thanks for adopting me for one more day." I said as he unlocked the door.

"It's fine. I mean, I understand. You're tired, I am too. So let's just rest for one more night. I'll take you back tomorrow." He smiled kindly. "I'll need to go out to run a quick errand first, though. I'll get takeaway for our dinner, that good with you?"

"Sure. Thanks." I waved and he put the duffel bag down before leaving the apartment.