Crushed (14 page)

Sophie noticed Gwyn laughing, and paused for moment. The sad look in the young girls eyes had all but vanished. Without knowing why, Sophie was warmed by the sight of Gwyn smiling. Not only that, she found that she loved the sight of Teddy giggling, and of Rylan's confused expressions.

For only a second she wondered if this was the beginning of what it felt like to belong to a big family. She was so surprised by the thought she immediately pushed it away.

Her better judgement knew it wouldn't be smart to become too attached to the kids. She didn't want to become just another person in their lives that would run away, and she knew she wouldn't be here forever.

However, spending the morning together wouldn't hurt. After all, it was best that they got along, right?

Using that as her excuse, she hid away her thoughts about families. Though, unknowingly, she'd already began to hope, in the bottom of her heart, that this momentary happiness would last.

*  *  *

"Are you sure about this?" Gwyn asked, her expression pained.

Before them were three gallons of paint, all vibrant shades of lime green, purple, and pink. Teddy was watching them eagerly, a roller in his hands. Rylan stood behind him with a cautioning hand on his shoulder. He shared a look with Gwyn, both obviously dreading the chaos that would most likely ensue.

"I don't think Teddy is ready." Rylan continued.

"It'll be fine." Sophie tried to sound confident, but she was worried by their expressions. She'd taken all the precautions to make sure that everything was covered in case of a spill, but she had a sneaking suspicion that an accident would happen anyway. "Why don't we each pick a wall?" She suggested, hoping to change the subject.

"This is a bad idea." Gwyn sighed as she pulled back her curly hair.

"This will be fun." Sophie continued. "We'll all get to be a little creative. I guess we can see this as leaving our mark on the house. The way I see it, by painting this room the way we want, a little piece of us will be here even after we leave."

"Did you ask Robert about this?" Gwyn's eyes were untrusting.

"Nope. Where's the fun in that?" After being insulted by Robert calling her predictable, Sophie had decided to paint her room on a whim. She hoped her newly painted room would bug him, just a little.

"It's what he deserves for abandoning us for the weekend." Rylan mused, finally releasing Teddy.

"Can we start?" Teddy moaned impatiently.

"Absolutely." Sophie bent down to pry off the lids off of the cans. She set out three different trays for the three colors, pouring the paint in carefully. Using her own roller as an example, she demonstrated to them how to apply the paint.

In no time at all, the four of them were absorbed in their own worlds. Upbeat music played in the background as each of them tapped into their creative instincts.

Teddy's wall was coated in all three colors, which had mixed together to form a mutant shade of orange. While they had been working for over two hours, Gwyn's wall was only half painted. She took her time with each stroke, attempting to make her wall flawless. Besides Teddy, Rylan's wall was the second most creative, as he'd decided to create distinct patterns with the paint.

Sophie watched them with a permanent smile on her lips. From a professional point of view, the room was going to turn out awful. Teddy's paint color clashed with the rest of the room, and none of their walls matched whatsoever. However, Sophie was satisfied with how it was turning out. This room was beginning to represent them for who they were.

By far, her wall was the neatest of the bunch. She'd finished before the others, though she felt there was still something missing from her work. Stepping away from the wall, she walked towards the paint trays and dipped her hand in the lime green paint. She pressed her colored palm against her purple wall and grinned. The contrast was perfect.

"You guys want to help?" She asked, snapping the others back to reality.

Teddy was the first to dart over. Instead of his hand, he ripped off his sock so that he could stomp his foot into the paint tray.

"Teddy!" Gwyn warned. Before she could stop him he'd begun hopping towards Sophie's wall, dripping pink paint onto the wooden floor. He lifted his leg in a kicking position, and planted his footprint on the wall.

He glanced at Sophie, checking to see if she'd become angry. Instead, Sophie laughed, not the least bit bothered.

Rylan motioned for Gwyn to join him as they dipped both of their hands into the paint. They placed their handprints side by side. Teddy, again not wanting to be left out, decided to surround their two handprints with five of his own.

"Teddy, hold on a minute." Sophie cautioned, making him freeze. "You have something on your nose." She knelt down to pinch his cheek with her lime green hand, leaving splotches of paint on his face.

"Hey!" Teddy dashed towards her with his hands outstretched.

Sophie laughed as she bolted out of the room, stumbling down the steps before Teddy could catch up. She hesitated at the bottom of the staircase, wondering where she could escape. Teddy was close behind her, and she could already hear him thumping down the stairs. Instead of risking getting caught in either the kitchen or the living room, Sophie headed for the front door.

She pulled it open with her clean hand, while sticking out her tongue at Teddy who had just rounded the corner. She grinned as she made her way outside, running across the porch and jumping down the stairs to the front lawn.

Sophie was just about to spin around to see Teddy heading out the front door, but she was frozen by the sight of something in the corner of her eye. She turned her head slowly, not wanting to confirm her fears.

Standing in the driveway, staring at her without moving, was the person she'd met last night.

*  *  *

"Luke." She whispered, stepping back in fear.

Luke was dressed like any other average teenage boy. His jeans were faded, his sweatshirt baggy, and his black hair a natural mess. What made him stand out were his onyx eyes, which were years older than he seemed.

Sophie stared at him for a long moment, not knowing how to react. She clearly remembered Robert telling her that no one in their right mind would come to this house. Clenching her fists, she wondered if that was just another lie.

"Sophie." Teddy asked, reminding her of his presence. When she turned to look at him, she tried to hide the fear in her expression.

"Teddy, will you go get Rylan?" Without hesitating Teddy turned back into the house, shutting the front door behind him.

"You don't have to be scared." Luke began, stepping towards her slowly. Sophie answered him by taking a step back. "I'm not here because of Max."

"Robert's not here." Sophie blurted, before realizing it would be bad for him to know that she was on her own. If he wanted to hurt them, he wouldn't hesitate after knowing that Robert was absent. "He'll be back soon." She continued, glancing at her feet.

"I know he's gone for the weekend." Luke smiled, for a moment appearing less threatening. "You're an awful liar."

"Look, I don't know what you want, but it can wait until he comes back." Sophie glanced towards the front door, calculating how much time it would take her to dash inside and lock herself in.

"I came because I knew he wouldn't be here." He seemed hurt that she was continually pushing him away. "You...do you think I want to hurt you?" Luke seemed shocked by his own statement.

"You were the one who put a gun to my head." Sophie reminded him, wondering why she felt like she'd had this conversation before.

"I wouldn't have hurt you." He said confidently, stepping forward again.

"What is with you and Robert?" Sophie asked heatedly, her temper flaring. "If you put a gun to my head, it's obvious I wouldn't trust you."

"Well, you obviously haven't been in this business for long."

"Screw both of you." Sophie began to make her way towards the house. She didn't care if he would try to follow anymore.

"Robert hasn't told you anything about this business, has he? You must be curious."

Sophie paused at the front door. Her better judgement told her to ignore him, but he'd caught her curiosity.

"I'll tell you everything you want to know. You can trust me." Sensing her mind wavering, Luke began to walk towards her. "I promise."

Sophie didn't buy any of his promises, but she was interested in hearing what he had to say. He was right that Robert hadn't told her anything, and she was dying to learn more.

"You can't let him in the house." Rylan warned, pulling open the front door for Sophie. His voice was dark. "He needs to leave. If Rob finds out, we'll all be in trouble."

"I don't have to come inside." Luke offered, his voice sincere. "I just want to talk."

"No." Rylan stared directly at Sophie. "Don't let him stay."

She turned back to look at Luke, feeling something twist in her heart. She began to remember what Robert had told her about Luke last night. Maybe, despite everything, he was just as misunderstood as she'd been told.

"Only for a little while." Sophie concluded, turning to flash Rylan an apologetic look. "You guys can finish up painting. I'll only be a moment."

Rylan frowned, his expression reflecting his feelings of betrayal.

"This better be worth pissing them off." Sophie said as she turned back to Luke. "We just started getting along."

"I didn't mean to cause trouble." Luke took a seat on the bottom step, purposely keeping his distance from her. "I honestly just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?" Sophie sat down on the top step of the porch, her body facing away from him.

"You're different." He paused, retracing his words. "By different I mean new. You aren't used to this place yet."

"That's a good thing?"

"If you want to leave it is. You shouldn't be working for Cleo. It's dangerous what we do." He kept his voice low, which sent chill bumps racing over Sophie's arms.

"Dangerous? When thieves carry around guns they supposedly never use?"

"I didn't say I never use it. I meant that I wouldn't have used it on you." He explained.

"That's hardly reassuring."

"The truth is rarely reassuring." While they seemed to be arguing, Luke didn't seem the least bit irritated. "Do you know who I work for?"

He already knew that she was aware of Max, but he seemed to hinting at what Max had done.

"I've been told that he killed my parents." She admitted, her eyes locking on her feet.

"You don't sound that...affected." Luke was watching her carefully.

"At first...I was shocked." Sophie didn't know if she could continue, but it felt like she was releasing a burden the more she talked about it. "I know this realization is supposed to change me...I should be furious and upset." She glanced down at him, her eyes still wary. "But, I'm not. The story is terrible, don't get me wrong. My parent's deaths were tragic, it's just...I didn't know them. I feel like if it'd been any random stranger, my reaction would be the same." Sophie closed her eyes for a moment. "My grandparents were my parents for my entire life. I've already suffered through losing them...after that, everything else seems less painful in comparison."

"You still hate Max though." His voice was calm.

"Yeah, for what he did and what I'm sure he's done. I don't need to be told that he's a bad person, but as far as revenge, I'm not that blinded by fury. He'll get what's coming to him."

"You obviously don't know the system. Max and Cleo belong to a society of individuals that are untouchable by the law."

Sophie had figured as much, but it was daunting to have her fears confirmed. "They're that wealthy?"

"Unimaginably wealthy. To the point where money doesn't matter to them anymore." Luke's voice had turned bitter. "Which is why they enjoy playing games with us."

In Sophie's opinion, it wasn't hard to believe that Cleo was bored with her own wealth. She seemed like the kind of person who needed to be constantly amused. If money wasn't a concern, it wouldn't surprise her what kinds of games the older woman was interested in.