A Stolen Heart

T .W .O

Catie stumbled through the dusty hallway, giving a gasp of surprise as a furry grey creature ran through her feet. She ignored it and continued on, scanning the place as she went.

It was a mess, to say the least. The place literally had spider webs in every corner, Catie shuddered. The wallpaper that was once flowery and bright was now dim and torn apart. A story of its past. The floor board creaked under her feet as she walked through the hall, breaking the eerie silence. She reached the end of the hallway and what seemed to be the entrance to the room. Catie gently pushed the door open, wincing. Even with her caution, however, the door creaked loudly opened, alerting whoever was inside of her presence.

Catie glance up from the floor into eerie, stunned, silence. Five pairs of eyes looked up into the intruder's eyes. Catie was shocked; the room was full of children. The thief couldn't have been over fourteen years of age, and he now looked upon her with apprehension and fear. He was wearing a green worn ragged GAP sweater that looked as if it had been picked from the dumps, His pants were ripped, muddied and frayed at the end and he wore no shoes. The boy's fingers twitched and unconsciously held the purse tighter.

She must have looked like a mess too, Catie mused. Still wearing her café apron, she sighed and ruffled her already mused hair.

The room was spacious yet only a couch and a square table rested in the middle. The couch was an ugly shade of puke green with stains all over it. Blankets and pillows were strewn over the floors, an obvious resting place for the night. A single bathroom was placed in the corner. It was obviously never cleaned and getting very smelly. One window was on the other side of the room, open and leading out to a small balcony. There, a red bouncy ball rolled across the floor as the wind blew.

The second oldest of the boys was looking towards her with his legs lazily draped off of the edge of a dirt covered couch. He was wearing a simple white T-Shirt, covered with grease and oil stains. His jeans were in tatters and he did not wear shoes. His bright red hair matched the color of the apple he was holding and his personality was far from sweet; he glared at Catie without fear. Rather, he seemed to look at her with disdain and annoyance. Something that came with experience, his green eyes were cautious.

"What do you want?" He questioned, eyes narrowing.

"Uh, uhm." Catie looked around the room, unsure as to what she should say.

Two other boys, a pair of twins, sat in the corner, huddled in their own private area telling each other secrets and stories. Both had wispy hair that made them look around eight or nine years of age, yet the color of their hair were completely different. While one of the twins had blond hair, the other one was a brunette. Sensing the interruption they had turned to look towards Catie, taking her entrance as a cue to silently get up to comfort the little girl beside them.

The girl was the youngest and only female in the group. She was wearing a worn down over-sized sweatshirt and jeans covered with dirt and grime, obviously due to the boys influence. The only "girly" thing that she had was the bright pink bow that sat on her head. She had begun to tear up and the twins were by her side in moments, holding her hands and resting their heads on the respective shoulder.

Catie looked around the room again, judging the five children that were in the room. There was the eldest, who had stolen the purse. Then the second eldest, the red-head, he seemed bitter for a child only around twelve years old. Catie found herself attached to the two twins. Although they seemed different on the outside, they were much more similar then she would've originally thought. It was as if the two moved together on the same wavelength. Lastly, there was the little girl. Catie found a deep connection to the little girl. Even though they were raised in very different situations, Catie felt like she shared something with the little girl and because of it she felt like it was her job to protect the girl and her so called "family."

The fourteen year old thief looked frightened, scared for his future and the future for the ones around him. He knew what Catie had come for. His sad look dug into Catie's heart and she sighed, already giving into pity. The boy unwillingly trudged towards her, he was caught and there was no escape from the situation. His head was bent down as he held out the purse.

"Here."

He was shaking and Catie sensed his discomfort. But what could she do? She gently pulled the purse from the boys grasps and brushed the boy's cheek. Before she could think her decisions through, Catie was reaching into her own pocket and pulling out two twenty dollar bills. She smiled at him as he tilted his head up and stared at her in wonder. She scolded him lightly, "Don't steal, or at least don't get caught. Okay?"

The child stared up towards her in awe and nodded his head.

With the purse in hand, Catie had no other reason to be there. But she was torn about leaving. The kids looked like they need a stable caretaker, a future. Catie looked at all the silent faces and turned to leave the apartment, cursing her luck and promising herself that she would return.

She made her way back to the café, much slower than before. As she found her way through the crowd, she thought about all the kids in the apartment. Where did they come from? Where were their parents? The purse jingled against her side, as if it was sensing the return to its rightful owner. She turned the corner and walked towards the café, scanning the crowds for the woman who had originally lost her purse.

-------------------~

A squeal in the back was the only warning Catie had before a large woman ran into her, giving her a tight squeeze. Turning a slight shade of purple, Catie squeaked. Thanking her profusely, the woman let go and introduced herself as Lady Evaline. Her husband stood beside her, smiling and seemingly smaller in statue. Lady Evaline took back her purse and smiled, extremely grateful and giddy. After some thought, she opened her purse and took out her wallet, handing Catie eighty dollars in rewards and a business card, "If you ever need anything, feel free to just give me a call."

Catie stared at the card, "Oh uhm.. Okay."

"Now where on earth did my purse end up? Such a pretty young lady like you shouldn't be off chasing thieves." Evaline laugh haughtily to herself. "I should put those thieves in jail!"

"Oh, no Lady Evaline, it's okay.." Catie stumbled across her words until she found a believable story that protected the children, "I was able to corner the thief into a corner, he dropped the purse and ran off."

"Well you must have caught a glimpse of what he looked liked." Evaline probed.

"No, he was wearing a mask, and a hoodie. I couldn't tell you what he looked like."

"How tall was he?" Evaline already had her husband's notepad out and was jotting down notes.

"Uhm, very tall. Like this tall." Catie placed her right hand above her head. "Six feet?"

"Mhm. Was he built? Skinny? Fat?"

"Skinny, slightly built."

"What was he wearing again?"

"A mask, jacket, and jeans."

"Didn't you say it was a hoodie before?" Evaline was skeptic.

Catie smiled sarcastically, "Well it was something black with long sleeves and a hood."

"Oh, okay." Evaline bought the story and smiled back, grabbing her jacket by the side of the door. "Thank you so much for helping. Again, call me if you ever need anything"

As Lady Evaline left the café, her useless date trailing behind her, Catie held her reward with a blank look. Did she deserve this reward when there were kids that were desperate enough to steal to survive? She thought back to the little girl in the corner and the twins cuddled around her. She did not have a look of fear at the time, Catie realized. Instead, those auburn eyes had intelligence. She had looked worried, worried about the fate of her boys, her brothers.

But they shouldn't have stolen; Catie reassured herself that that the reward money was hers. That she gave the kids enough money for them to live by. But her conscience took over, telling her that forty dollars was not enough money to support five kids. Maybe enough to keep them feed for a week. Maybe two if they were careful. She imagined the fear and panic of the eldest, and knew he would steal again. She was nervous and it bothered her. Confusion took over her mind; Catie just could not understand the complexity of emotions that ran through her. She did not do what her mind told her to do. Instead, she moved based on instinct. Soon she found herself in the Dump, heading towards the abandoned apartment while she fingered the reward cash in-between her fingers.

"What am I doing.."