Granting a Thief's Wishes

I ran as fast as I could away from Ryan. I pushed people aside, stumbling forward a little bit and got cursed by many, many pedestrians but I didn't care. I heard Ryan yelling after me. That just made me ran faster. After a couple of minutes, I looked behind my shoulder to see if there was any sign of him. Then I made a mad dash to flag down a cab.

It smelled like cigarette and vomit, to be honest. But I sank into the leather seat with a sigh, wiping my sweat away. I managed to get away from his grasp as soon as the other cabbie threw us out. He had a hard grip, I realized, rubbing my wrist.

Alarmed, I looked down at my hands.

No.

I got home, feeling like crap.

Nicole wasn’t home I went to my room and took a long bath. The time I spent in the bathroom, I didn't even have the energy to think. I was so exhausted, I almost want myself to be brain dead. After getting out of the bathtub, I changed into a pair of an old Snoopy shirt and a pair of black leggings. I twisted my hair up into a messy bun while I was walking to the kitchen. The fridge was empty except for a couple of Mars bars and a tub of Haagen-Dazs.

The door of the almost empty fridge was still open when I slid down on the floor, burying my face in my palms.

It was a stupid decision to go to my mom's house in the dead of night. I was still in the Snoopy shirt and black leggings, wearing my trustworthy, old friend: Crocs.

When my mom opened the door, she was in her nightgown. She took one look at my tear-stained face and then motioned me to step inside. All I could think of then was "Laila would so kill me for this."

My mom was kind enough to not ask anything just yet. All she did was give me a comforting hug before insisting that I should drink a cup of tea before heading off to bed. I thought tea and sleep would make me feel better but it didn't.

God, I screwed up big.

"God, you screwed up big!" Laila bellowed, looking more animated than I'd ever seen her in my entire life. Blotches of red were forming on her cheeks, her eyes were so angry it actually scared me. I – Susannah Bell – was afraid of her baby sister that used to wet her bed every single night when she was 11.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Laila yelled. "I knew this would happen…I've warned you this would happen! But noo! You people are all the same. Sure, you're all 'grown-up' now and immediately you'll think you're wiser."

"It's not like that!" I protested violently. "It wasn't Nicholas fault, at all! Ryan just knew, alright? I didn't tell him. He knew because I was too careless!"

"You lost your bracelet! God knows what'll happen to it if it got to another fairy," Laila hissed. "What if he sold it? What if the secret's out? What if, what if! There are so many possibilities. We don't even know half of the power that's transferred to that damn bracelet can do!"

Kylie calmly took off her necklace that Laila gave her for her birthday and threw it towards her. "Shut up, Laila."

Oh no, she looked even more murderous.

Kylie wrapped her arms around me soothingly, kissing my cheeks. "She's our sister and she's having a rough time right now. The least you could do is stop bitching around and give her support right now. What's done is done. We have to think about how to retrieve it back. Now, any idea where he is?"

I shot her a grateful look. It was the first time in a while since I saw Kylie that collected and mature, for once. I took a deep breath before telling her all about how I met Ryan, and how he was living in a friend's house. Kylie suggested that I call Nicholas. So there I was, on the porch swing contacting Nicholas. But he didn't pick up.
So I called Megan instead.

"So, Missy. Where have you been?"

"I switched off my phone. Any idea where Nick is at?"

"Duh, of course I do. He's here. On the hospital bed."