The morning hours were wasted with worry.
I went to work, wired from three cups of coffee, but still as unproductive as I had been in bed asleep. When lunch finally did roll around, I went straight home for a kip.
I waddled up to the third floor. The workers were working and the bludgers were bludging, so it came as no surprise when I saw the halls were completely deserted. At my door, I struggled to get in the key in the faulty lock. When it did eventually open, I practically fell into the room, and then locked it behind me. I slumped on the couch, dumping my bag at my feet, and sighed. I felt myself dozing off already, so reluctantly, I hauled myself to my feet.
But even through the fatigue, I saw it.
The little white note folded at the edge of the carpet.
My mind was still a little fogged, but I knew I hadn't left that there, and Lily was still at her mother's. It took all the energy I had to lean down and grab it.
Hey, dude, I still wanna team up so I borrowed your stuff. Don't worry – you'll get it back. But only when you've taught me everything you know. Good luck trying to find it.
– Benji
Benjamin. The boy in my closet.
Fear set in quickly, hard as concrete, as I realized what he meant. My mind snapped awake instantly and I fell to my hands and knees, tearing away the rug and the floorboards and the hatch of the safe. My heart pounded in my ears, blood cold as ice, insides as hollow as the look in Lily's eyes. The hatch swung open.
The money, the evidence... everything was gone.
© A.G. Travers 2015
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Charade
General FictionDo you think good people are capable of bad things? Vic and Benjamin think so... Victor Langley loves his daughter with all his heart, so when she's diagnosed with cancer, he knows he has to do everything to save her. He makes a deal with a rogue do...
