Jonah explained to me that acting confident was the key to shoplifting. That people were less likely to pay attention to us if we acted like we were supposed to be doing what we were doing.
Then we split up and entered the store.
I had no idea what to get. I hadn’t ever done my own shopping, even when I’d had the money to pay for it. Matthew had done that for me. Then Jonah had shopped for both of us, and I’d just paid for it.
I ended up just grabbing anything that stood out. My stomach twisted, not wanting any of it.
Until I saw the cake.
It looked just like the ones Matthew made with me and Logan, and then with Benny’s family at my last birthday. My heart ached in my chest at the sight of it.
It was stupid, really. We didn’t have money for essentials; we certainly didn’t need cake. But it irrationally felt like some tether to a past I’d closed myself off from, and I had to have it.
I picked it up and headed briskly toward the exit with my head held high.
Confidence was key.
Act natural.
This was fine.
I spotted Jonah making his way toward the exit too.
“Hey!”
Firm fingers dug into my arm. I turned toward the security guard, currently glaring at me.
“Let go of me!” I tried to tug out of his grasp, and he held me tighter.
Fuck. I did not come all this way just to get fucking arrested for stealing cake.
I was about to drop everything and punch him in the throat when Jonah’s body slammed into the guard, knocking him back as he released me.
“Run!” Jonah yelled, and we ran.
I kept pace with him, not wanting to leave him behind if the guard caught up to us.
We made our way between buildings and through alleys until we were certain that no one was following us and we were both out of breath.
My pulse thundered in my ears, adrenaline coursing through my entire body in a way that was almost thrilling.
Then he was laughing. My stupid mistake could have gotten us both arrested, and he waslaughing. I couldn’t help but laugh with him.
“Is—is that a whole fucking cake?”
I clutched it tighter, protectively. “I wanted cake.”
“Maybe I should have clarified. People usually just go for the essentials when they can’t afford them.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” I realized in the middle of a laugh, that I waslaughing. I was lying to Jonah about who I was and why I was here, I’d abandoned Benny and our family afterputting them all in danger, and here I waslaughing. I stopped. I didn’t deserve to be happy, even for a moment.
“I thought I was fucked there for a moment. You saved me… again.” I couldn’t understand why Jonah, who’d been running for so long and had so much to lose by being caught, would risk himself for me.
“Yeah… well, we’re in this together, right?”
“Why, though?”
“What do you mean?”
