|
Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 23, 2010 1:05:01 GMT -5
Keith Harkin stood in his black suit, staring up at the concert hall before him. “You ready for this?”, Damian, his partner, asked. Keith adjusted his earpiece. “Of course I am”, he said. “It’s just another gig” It wasn’t a big gig this time and Keith wasn’t even the lead for this one. That was Paul’s job this time around. Keith was just back up. He was there for the sole purpose of causing a distraction if needed and to be there in case Paul needed help. This particular was so small that actually, only 4 of them needed to go. Keith jogged up the steps of the hall and maneuvered his way to the banquet room. This is where the gig would take place. He sat down in the back next to Damian and checked to see that his mic was hidden. He didn’t know why he was so edgy for this particular gig. It was going to be so easy. He impatiently ate his meal, waiting until show time. When people were finally done eating, he watched carefully as Paul stood up to make his move. Paul ever so tactfully got into position behind the woman. She had the necklace they needed. The plan was simple. All the guests would be sitting there, cheerfully eating, when George would cut the lights from the fuse box in the basement. In the craziness and confusion that would follow, Paul would expertly unclasp the woman’s diamond necklace and hide it in his jacket. Through his secret mic, Paul would then tell the other lads that he had gotten the necklace. That’s when they would all slip away, all in opposite directions of course, and meet back at the cars. When Paul was safely out of the room, he would tell George to put the lights back on and that would be the end of that. It was so simple. So easy. “What’s wrong Keith?”, Damian asked, noticing Keith’s obvious tension. Keith shook his head. “Nothing.” He watched Paul get into position and heard his whispered cue to George in his mic. That’s when the lights went out. Showtime. The lights went out and people automatically got silent. Then they started all talking at once, trying to figure out what had happened. Two seconds later… “I got it, let’s go”, Paul’s voice came into Keith’s earpiece. Keith immediately stood up and exited through his assigned door. “I’m out”, he said to George through his mic. “Out”, came Damian’s voice. “I’m out”, Paul’s voice said. “It was cake. Put the lights back on George and let’s get out of here.” “Right”, George replied. Keith waited in the hallway for 2 seconds until the lights came back on and he could see again. The first thing he saw in the dimly lit hallway was a girl. A girl? This was a restricted hallway. What was a girl doing here? Keith noticed that she was about his age and very pretty. That’s when he heard the sirens. Keith muttered a curse word under his breath. How the heck did the police find out so soon? He looked back at the girl, and that’s when the door opened behind him. He had every intention of turning around and playing it cool, except the dude was a cop. “Put your hands in the air!”, the policeman yelled. “I know you’re one of them”, he drew his gun. “Keith! Where are you?”, Damian’s voice came to Keith’s ears through the earpiece. Keith thought fast. He didn’t have time to try and negotiate his way out of this. He had to get out of there. He had never liked killing people… he didn’t treat that aspect of his job lightly. But the guy had a gun on him. Keith pulled his gun and didn’t even hesitate. He shot the man expertly in the shoulder. He would be unconscious, but he wouldn’t die. Keith turned around to leave and came face to face with the girl. Oh crap. He had forgotten about her. She was staring at him in fear and shock. Keith groaned. “You didn’t see that”, he said as he tried to push past her to get away. He really had to get away now. People would have heard that shot. He was just at the door when he heard the gun cock. He froze and then turned around slowly. The pretty girl had taken the cops gun and was now pointing it at Keith. “What are you doing?”, Keith asked smoothly. “Keith!”, Damian’s voice yelled in his ear. “Don’t move”, the girl whispered. Keith half laughed. He could tell that this girl wasn’t going to hurt him. She was way too nervous and she had probably never even held a gun before. Keith pointed his gun at her. “You’re not going to shoot me”, he whispered. “I will”, she insisted. “Keith!”, Damian’s voice yelled. “Get out of there!” Keith was starting to get anxious now. He really had to go. But he couldn’t really turn around and leave with a gun pointed at him. Even if he doubted that it would be used. Keith was about to pull the trigger when he looked closer. He couldn’t do it. Yea, he had killed people before, not that he enjoyed it, but he had to. But this was different. This was a girl. A very pretty girl. There was something about her… Keith just couldn’t do it. “Keith!”, Damian yelled again. “Do you need back up or something? You better not be dead…” “Yea, I’m coming”, Keith lifted his arm to his mouth and spoke into the hidden mic. “I just got held up”, he looked at the girl. She looked so scared, so out of place holding that gun. Keith stepped forward quickly and grabbed her arm that was holding the gun and it dropped. “Let’s go”, he said as he pulled her out the door.
Ok…. First of all… I know you guys are confused. I would be too. But I promise that everything will be explained in the next post. And second, please give me your absolute honest opinions. Please. Thanks for putting up with all this craziness! Lol. Oh and sorry if the name is bad. Its all I could come up with.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 25, 2010 21:38:49 GMT -5
“Where are you taking me?”, the girl gasped as Keith rushed her down a flight of steps. “Stop talking”, Keith told her. He opened a door and stepped out into the parking lot. “Damian, start the car. You’re driving.” Damian would be happy about that. Of course you couldn’t even go on gigs unless you could drive, but being Damian was still new to this, there hadn’t been a lot of opportunities. Keith could see the car now. Damian was in the driver’s seat and just starting it up as Keith opened the back door. He half pushed the girl in the back in his haste, but they had to get out of there. They didn’t have time. Damian was staring at the girl as Keith got in the front seat. “What’s that Keith?”, he asked angrily as he started to drive. “It’s a girl”, Keith replied calmly. “Keep your eyes on the road” “Why the heck did you bring a girl?”, Damian asked. “Seriously, couldn’t you have shot her or something? Ryan’s gonna kill us…” “I couldn’t just kill her!”, Keith objected. “Now what the heck just happened back there? Why did the cops show up?” Damian shook his head. “I don’t know. But really Keith, what are we gonna do about her?”, he nodded his head toward the back seat. Keith sighed. “We’re going to take her back to the Moy” Damian groaned and Keith could understand why. Ryan would NOT be happy about this. “Excuse me”, came a tiny voice from the back. “But who are you two?” Keith didn’t turn around. “We’re professional criminals”, he said simply. “Damo, hurry up. I want to get back” While they were driving back to the Moy, Keith thought about his job. It was complicated. He was a part of a group called CT. That meant Criminals of Tyrone. Their headquarters was in a village called the Moy. Their own little village where everyone and their families lived and no one could find them. It was like a gypsy camp. Except that they weren’t gypsies. The whole village was for CT. No outsiders. Ryan was their leader. He was the one in charge and the best bad guy that Keith had ever known. Ryan was also one of Keith’s best mates. CT was like the ultimate group of professional bad guys. People called them if they needed a crime done. Like the necklace. That wasn’t for them. That was for some old guy in Thailand. People would pay A LOT of money so that they didn’t have to go to jail. They wouldn’t be able to pull it off anyway. People were stupid these days. People called CT because then it wasn’t their necks on the line. Well, that and because CT was good. They were really good. Keith looked over at Damian. He loved being Damian’s partner. Paul and George were partners too. After Ryan, the four of them were the best in CT. Keith looked back at the girl and ran a hand through his hair. He would have a lot of explaining to do to Ryan. 10 minutes later, they drove into the Moy and parked at the main building. Keith got out of the car and got the girl out of the backseat, keeping a firm grip on her arm. “Keith!”, Paul jogged up to him, still in his suit. “What happened? Where were you? And what’s this?”, he pointed to the girl. “Why did you bring her here?” “She was in the way”, Keith explained as he brushed past Paul to go inside. “Why didn’t you just shoot her?”, Paul asked. Keith paused. “You know… I don’t know…” He opened the door. Paul followed him inside. “So you thought, that on top of everything else… like the cops coming and you almost not making it out, that you would bring her back? Ryan’s not going to be happy” “I know”, Keith replied calmly. “Where is he” “He’s right here”, Ryan’s voice came to the side. Their leader was coming down a flight of steps. He didn’t look happy. Sure, he was one of Keith’s best mates, but he was still their leader. “What is she doing here?”, Ryan asked in a deadly voice as he looked at the girl. The poor girl’s hair was all tangled and her pretty dress was dirty. “She was in the way Ryan”, Keith explained. Ryan looked at him. “Why didn’t you kill her?” Keith hesitated. “I don’t know”, he confessed. “You don’t know??”, Ryan’s voice got louder. “Do you know what you did? Not only will they be looking for us now, but they’ll be looking for her!!”, Ryan was yelling by the time he was done. “I’m sorry Ryan”, Keith apologized. “I wasn’t thinking” “Go put her in a cell and then come back and give me the report. I heard you guys had the police there too?” “Umm… yea”, Keith replied. “I’ll be right back.” He led the girl down the hall to the cells. “In”, he said to her, pointing to one. “Wait”, the girl protested. “Who are you? What is this place? How long am I going to be here?” “Sorry, but I can’t be giving you all my secrets, can I?”, Keith replied as he shut the door. “But I do have one question for you” “You won’t tell me anything”, the girl said. “Why should I tell you?” “What’s your name?”, Keith asked anyway. He watched as the girl considered answering him. “It’s Claire”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 27, 2010 0:38:18 GMT -5
“There you are”, Ryan said as Keith came back into the room. “You put her in a cell?” “Yea”, Keith replied. “Good”, Ryan said, still not smiling. “Follow me.” He led them up to his office. When they got there, Ryan sat behind his desk and George, Paul, Keith, and Damian took the chairs in front of it. Ryan leaned back in his seat and glared at them. This wasn’t good. “So?”, Ryan asked. “Who wants to start?” Everyone in the room turned to look at Keith. “What??”, he asked. “Just because I brought the girl back, everyone automatically thinks this is my fault?” “We’ll get to the girl in a second”, Ryan said. “Start at the beginning. Paul, did you get the necklace?” Paul reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the necklace. “Yea. It was simple. Everything was fine up until we were out of the room. Then the police came” Ryan held out his hand. “Give it to me” Paul silently handed it over. Ryan looked at the necklace for a second, then put it in a drawer. “George, did you see anything suspicious?”, Ryan asked. George shook his head. “No. Everything went perfectly for me. I worked the lights, snuck out a side door, and got to the car” Ryan nodded and turned to Paul. “You?” “It was all good for me”, Paul said, glancing at Keith. “I got the necklace, got out, and got to the car to wait for Keith and Damo’s okay to head back” Keith ran a hand through his hair. Why was it the only one that had trouble? “Damian?”, Ryan asked. Damian shrugged. “I waited with Keith, got to the car, waited for Keith, and drove us back” Ryan sighed and finally turned to Keith. Keith knew that Ryan had purposefully saved him for last. “Keith? What happened?”, Ryan asked. Keith sat up in his chair and explained everything. From how everything was okay, to seeing the girl, to the cop, to the girl again, and then the ride home. By the time he was done, Ryan was looking at him as if he was crazy. “Why didn’t you just shoot her?”, Ryan asked. Keith hesitated. “I- I can’t explain” I think you better try”, Ryan said in a low voice. How? How could Keith explain something even he didn’t know the answer to? How to explain that there was just something about this girl… Claire. That’s what her name was. He didn’t know why, but he just couldn’t shoot her. Maybe it was her beauty. Maybe it was how small and scared she looked. Keith didn’t know… but there was just something about her. He couldn’t explain all that to Ryan. He wouldn’t understand. “Keith”, Ryan’s voice brought him back to the present. “I don’t know why Ryan”, Keith confessed. “It’s just a feeling. Maybe she could be useful to us” Ryan looked at him. “You know… now that she’s here, she can never leave. Right?” Keith nodded. He knew. Now she knew all their secrets. Well, at least the important ones. Like where the Moy was located. Ryan stood up. “Well, it’s only fair. You brought her here, you’re in charge of her” “Me?”, Keith stood up as well. “Ry, come on. I can’t look after her. I’m a busy man.” Ryan shrugged, but then put his hand on Keith’s shoulder. “I know you didn’t ask for this”, he said in a friendlier tone. “But what can I do mate? Everybody’s busy. And you’re the one that brought her here”, Ryan grinned. Keith sighed. “Fine” “So that’s it?”, Paul asked. “Keith’s not in trouble?” “Nah”, Ryan smiled. “Just as long as we get to pick on him about this for as long as we want” “Cool!”, Damian laughed. Keith rolled his eyes. “Okay, now out”, Ryan sat at his desk again. “I have to get this necklace to the old Thailand dude. Oh and don’t worry about the police. It’s not like that’s the first time we’ve been chased by them” “Not by a long shot”, George commented as everyone left. Everyone went in separate directions and Keith went off to find food for Claire. He made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and got her some milk, then walked back to the cells. “Here”, he pushed the food through the bars. Claire looked at the food for a second, than took it. “Thanks”, she said. “Sure”, Keith replied cheerfully as he took a chair from the corner and sat down in front of her cell. “Are they going to kill me?”, Claire asked, looking up at him. “Not today”, Keith replied. “They put me in charge of you” Claire looked at him. “How long are you gonna keep me here?” “Don’t know”, Keith lied. He didn’t want to have to tell her the truth just yet. He didn’t want to upset her. “I’m Keith by the way” “I kinda figured”, Claire said. “You’re not going to tell me anything, are you?” Keith smiled. “Nope” She thought for a minute. “Why DID you capture me?”, she asked. “Can’t tell you”, Keith replied, avoiding the whole subject. “But I gotta go now. I’ll bring some extra clothes for you in the morning. You know, so you can get out of that dress.” And with that, Keith turned around and walked out the door.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 28, 2010 0:34:26 GMT -5
The next morning, Keith went to find his sister. “Hey Becca!”, he called from outside her door. Rebecca Harkin opened her door and looked at her brother. “What?” “Can I borrow some of your clothes?”, Keith asked. “What?? Why?”, Rebecca asked. Keith grinned. He had been anticipating this reaction. “They’re not for me”, he explained. “You remember that girl I brought home yesterday?” “Ohhh!”, Rebecca finally understood. “But isn’t she your age? Will my clothes fit her?” “They should”, Keith said as Rebecca handed him a pile of clothes. “Thanks”, he kissed his sister on the cheek. “When do I get to meet her?”, Rebecca called as Keith headed out the door. “I don’t know!”, Keith yelled back, over his shoulder. When he got to the cells, he opened the door and heard voices coming from the direction of Claire’s cell. “Come on…. Just your name, Pretty Girl”, a male voice was saying. “We just want to talk to you” Keith quickened his pace and turned the corner only to find Liam and Joel standing in front of Claire’s cell. Liam and Joel were the biggest jerks in all of the Moy. Everyone hated them. “Liam!”, Keith called as he walked up to them. “What are you doing?” Liam backed away from the cell and held up his hands. “Chilax Keith. I heard you brought us a lady home yesterday. We’re just checking her out”, he said smoothly. “She’s none of your business, Liam”, Keith warned. “Don’t you have a gig to work?” “Not for another hour”, Liam taunted. Keith stepped closer to him. “Well then I suggest you go get ready for it” Liam looked at him for a second, then backed off. “See you later, Princess”, he said to Claire as he walked away. Keith continued to glare at him until he had disappeared down the hall. Then he turned to Claire. “Sorry about that”, he apologized. “Liam’s name is the definition of jerk” “It’s okay”, Claire said. “Are you sure I can’t go home? My family must be so worried” Keith ignored her question and handed her the clothes. “Here. I hope they fit” “Are they your girlfriend’s?’, Claire asked. Keith grinned. “My sister’s. She’s 18, but they should fit” Claire looked at the clothes. “Thanks” Keith looked at her. She looked sad. Sad, tired, and confused. And it was all his fault. But it was better than her being dead. Although Keith still wished he could make it up to her. “You must be really bored”, he finally said. “I am”, she confessed. Keith grabbed a chair from the corner again. “I guess I can keep you company for a bit” They stared at each other for a second. Keith cleared his throat. “So… what were you doing in that hallway?”, he asked. “What?” Keith didn’t know where he was going with this. All he knew is that he didn’t like seeing her so sad. “At the banquet”, he explained. “That hallway you were in was restricted” “Oh”, Claire replied. “I don’t know. I guess I got lost” Keith smiled to himself. He didn’t believe that for a second. But he didn’t want to cause trouble, so he let it go. “What were YOU doing in the hallway”, Claire asked. “Me?”, Keith was surprised. He hadn’t expected her to come back with something like that. “Yea, you”, Claire started subconsciously braiding a small section of her hair. It was long, beautiful, and brown. Keith knew he had to be careful. He couldn’t reveal too much. “I was working”, he said simply. Claire rolled her eyes and Keith was surprised at how blue they were. “Obviously”, she replied. “On what though? Why did the lights go off? Why did the police show up?” “The police weren’t supposed to show up”, Keith said. “And the lights went out because we had to get something without anyone finding out” Claire smiled. “I guess that part didn’t work out so well. The whole no one finding out part….” Keith smiled back. “No, it didn’t. But everything worked out in the end. And we’re used to having the cops after us. It’s easy.” Okay, so maybe he was bragging A LITTLE bit… but he was proud of what CT did! Running away from the police and getting away with it wasn’t a very common talent. Claire raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like you’ve had a lot of practice. So what is this place? Your criminal hangout, or something?” “Kinda”, Keith answered. He wanted to tell her about CT. He really did. But he couldn’t give away all their secrets away. But then again, it’s not like she would actually have anyone to tell… she was stuck here. That’s when he came up with his plan. “Well, I gotta go”, he said, suddenly standing up. “Already?”, Claire asked. Keith knew she wanted someone to talk to. It must be boring sitting in a cell, with nothing to do. “Yea”, Keith answered. “Do you like to read?” “Yea” “I’ll bring you a book in a bit”, Keith promised. “But for now, I gotta go. I’ll be back later” “Okay”, Claire sighed. Keith walked out the door and into the sunlight. He’d have to ask Becca for a book then, but for now, he had to find Ryan.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Jan 30, 2010 23:01:01 GMT -5
Keith ran up the stairs to Ryan’s office. The door was closed, but Keith didn’t think that would be a problem. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. “What?”, Ryan called from inside. “It’s Keith” There was a pause. “Come in” Keith opened the door and walked into the brightly lit office. Ryan was sitting at his desk, shuffling papers. Keith leaned against the door jam and waited for him to look up. “Yea?”, Ryan finally looked up from his papers. “You work too hard”, Keith stated. Ryan laughed. ”I have to. CT wouldn’t be together if I didn’t” “You need to go out on some gigs of your own”, Keith was still standing by the door. He hoped Ryan would take the bait. “I do”, Ryan replied. “But none of them have been big enough to require my attention. And I have enough to do here. There are plenty of people to take care of the small gigs.” Keith thought for a moment. “But you need to get out! You’re always in the office. Get out and have some fun!” “I will”, Ryan replied. “When a gig comes up that’s big enough. The rookies can handle the small gigs” “Hey, the necklace was a small gig and I still did it”, Keith reminded him. Ryan smiled. “And look how that turned out” Okay, that last part wasn’t part of the plan. But it DID lead Keith into the subject. “Hey, it worked out! The police are nothing, and we got the necklace”, he pointed out. “And an unnecessary captive”, Ryan laughed. He seemed to be over his earlier anger. “How’s that going anyway?”, he looked back down at his papers. Keith shrugged, pretending indifference. “She’s bored”, he said. “Actually Ry, I was hoping to ask you about that” Ryan looked up. “About what?” “About Claire. She’s kind of really bored and I was wondering if I could show her around the Moy” “Show her around the Moy”, Ryan repeated. “Yea”, Keith replied. “She’s gonna be living here anyway. And you can’t keep her in a cell the rest of her life” Ryan thought about this for a second. “True… Okay. I’ll make a deal with you” “A deal?”, Keith asked, already wary. Ryan smiled. “I was supposed to go to the school today and talk about CT and what makes a good criminal and all that, but I have too much paper work.” Keith had no clue as to where Ryan was going with this. The school was the school for the kids of the Moy. They learned all they needed to know about being in CT. They learned math and science and stuff too, but they also learned about how to be criminals. “So…”, Keith trailed off. “What’s your point?” “If you and Damo give this speech thing for me, you can let her out. But only during the day” “What??”, Keith exclaimed. “Come on Keith!”, Ryan dropped his professional voice. “Please? I’m really busy here” Keith looked at him. He knew Ryan really wanted him to give this speech, but Keith hated public speaking. And Ryan knew that. He wasn’t bad at it, but he wasn’t the best. “Ryan”, Keith whined. “You know I hate stuff like that. Can’t you get Paul to do it? He loves to talk” Ryan laughed. “True. But he’s already busy. Please just do it Keith. It needs to be someone with high rank. Then you can show Claire around the Moy.” Keith thought about this. He hated making speeches. But on the other hand, Claire was bored and he wanted to show her around. “Oh fine”, he sighed. “When’s this speech thing anyway?” “In 30 minutes”, Ryan replied. Keith groaned. “Fine. I’ll go get Damo” Ryan stood up. “Thanks Keith. I really appreciate it” Keith waved him off. “Yea, whatever.” He turned around and went to find Damian.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 1, 2010 0:32:48 GMT -5
Where was Damo? Keith stood on the sidewalk and thought. He decided to check Damian’s house first. He walked to his partner’s house and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Damian’s mom opened it. “Hello Mrs. McGinty”, Keith smiled. “Hey Keith”, Mrs. McGinty greeted. She took in the black suit Keith was wearing. “Are you two gigging today? Damian didn’t say anything… not that that’s unusual of course”, she laughed. Keith laughed along with her. He loved Damian’s mom. She was an amazing cook. Nothing like Keith’s mom of course, but he figured he was a bit biased on that subject. “It’s not a gig”, Keith laughed. “Ryan’s assigned Damo and me to go talk at the school. I guess that means we have to be in uniform.” He glanced down at the black suit that was CT’s primary attire for gigs and such. Mrs. McGinty laughed. “Oh Damian’s going to love that. He’s in the family room”, she said as she stepped aside to let Keith in. “Thanks”, Keith said. He stepped inside and made his way through the familiar house to the family room. Damian was sitting on the couch, dressed in old jeans and a t-shirt, playing his Xbox. “Again Damian?”, Keith asked as he sat beside him on the couch. “Aren’t you tired of that game yet?” Damian had been playing this game nonstop for a week. Damian glanced at Keith. “Never. Hey, we don’t have a gig today, do we?”, he asked, noticing the suit. “Not a gig”, Keith replied. “Ry wants us to go to the school and talk about CT” Damian looked back to his game. “Wasn’t he supposed to do that?”, he asked distractedly. His computer figure was trying to dodge bullets. “He’s busy”, Keith was watching the TV screen. “Look out!”, he exclaimed as Damian’s dude got shot down. Game over. Damian groaned. “You distracted me!” “Sorry”, Keith apologized. “But you have to get off anyway. Go get dressed. We have to be there in 20 minutes.” Damian had been sitting on the edge of the couch cushion, but at that he fell back against the seat. “Do we have to? No offense mate, but you’re really bad at making speeches.” Keith grinned. “I know. That’s why I have you” “What about Paul?”, Damian asked. Keith shook his head. “No good. I tried that, he’s busy” Damian stood up. “Fine. At least there’s one good reason to go to the school”, he said as he made his way to his room to get dressed. Keith grinned. Yes, that one reason was the only good thing about this assignment.
10 minutes later, Keith and Damian were walking down the street to the school. “So what are we supposed to be talking about?”, Damian asked. “CT”, Keith replied. “Just some inspiring thing about working hard, and being a good criminal, or something. Ryan gave me his notes” Damian straightened his tie. “Good. So I guess I’ll be doing most of the talking…” “No, I can talk”, Keith said. Damian looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You’re not going to mess up or anything?” “I’ll be fine”, Keith replied. “Everyone knows me as some high rank criminal, I might as well give them something to talk about” Damian laughed. “They’re kids” Keith shrugged. “So? They’ll still talk. We’re like role models for them.” It was true. Then children of the Moy always seemed almost in awe of the older adults that went out on gigs. They always stopped their play and watched whenever they saw someone in a black suit going off on one. “Are you sure you’re not just trying to impress someone?”, Damian nudged Keith in the arm. Keith immediately thought of Claire and how he would tell her about going to the school. And then later, when he would show her around the Moy. But that’s not who Damian was talking about. “I don’t need to impress anyone”, Keith said as they walked up the steps to the school. They walked down the hallway to the auditorium. “There you are”, Ms. Murphy, the young teacher, said as she met them at the door. “Hey Hun”, she went up to Keith to give him a kiss. Keith smiled and kissed his girlfriend back. “Hey Abby”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 4, 2010 15:14:07 GMT -5
“What took you two so long?”, Abby asked. Keith and Abby were facing each other with his arms around her waist and her hands on his biceps. “It was Damian’s fault”, Keith smiled. “He was playing that game again” “Hey, I didn’t know that we had to be here”, Damian defended himself. “Keith just showed up out of nowhere” Abby laughed. “Well you two hurry up and get in there. The kids are waiting.” Keith sighed. “Wish me luck” Abby was adorably short, so she stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “Good luck. You’ll be fine” “Ha!”, Damian laughed at that last comment, then caught himself. “Sorry”, he coughed. “I mean, of course you’ll be great Keith” Keith let go of Abby and playfully pushed Damian toward the door. “Get in there” Keith and Damian walked out onto the stage in the auditorium and the roomful of chattering kids got quiet. “Hello!”, Damian waved to the kids. Keith felt sick. He didn’t want to ruin this for either Damian or the kids though, so he put on a smile and pretended to be enjoying this. “Hey everyone!”, Keith said. “Hope you’re well. I’m Keith and this is Damian. And we’re rank 1 in CT” Damian stepped up. “We didn’t really know we were supposed to be doing this. Ryan Kelly, our boss, and the HEAD of CT, should be doing this. This is such a surprise to Keith and me. I didn’t even know I was supposed to be here until 20 minutes ago. I was sitting at home, doing something VERY important, when-“ “Okay Damian”, Keith cut off his partner’s rambling. That kid could just go on and on… “What Damian means to say”, Keith started over. “Is that although we’re not very prepared, we are VERY happy to be here” The children just looked at them. No smiles, no laughs. Just silent, blank stares. “Okay”, Keith sighed. “Umm… pretty much we’re here to talk to you about how great it is to be working for CT. What we do is, umm, we go on gigs. And we commit crimes for people.” This wasn’t so bad. Kinda. “Right”, Damian jumped in. “And it’s not always easy either. Just recently, the last time Keith and I went on a gig, the cops came. That’s part of your training though. It’s not so hard when you know what to do” Keith looked down at Ryan’s notes. ‘Being in CT is honorable’, it said. “Being in CT is also very honorable”, Keith told the kids. “It- uh- gets crimes done and umm…”, his mind was starting to go blank. How was CT honorable? In reality, it wasn’t really. But he’d argue that with Ryan later. “Even though it’s against the law, it brings in money…”, he was picking at straws. He had nothing. Keith looked over at Damian. He was just standing there, a small grin on his face. “It helps people”, Keith continued. “I mean, not the people we’re stealing from, but the ones that asked us to steal” “Keith”, Damian finally cut in. Keith let out a small sigh of relief. Damian turned to the kids. “CT is the ultimate group of bad guys. We will do any crime, anywhere, anytime. And we’re good. There has never been a gig that we couldn’t do. And you have to be good to go out. You don’t go out unless you’re 100% prepared. When you’re old enough, you will be able to break into banks, escape from cops, and beat someone up without getting hurt yourself. You’ll be able to do things that other people only WISH they could do. So study hard, do your best, and we’ll see you on the gigs” Keith could only stare. How the heck had Damian come up with all that? The kids were all applauding wildly, all eager to go out and do exactly as Damian said. The two waved and then walked off the stage. “How did you think of all that?,” Keith turned on him as soon as they were in the hallway. Damian shrugged. “I don’t know. I just did” Just then, Abby walked up to them. “Hey”, she gave Keith a kiss. “You two were great! They really loved you” “Thanks”, Damian beamed. Keith rolled his eyes. “I was horrible” Abby wrapped her arms around his waist. “No you weren’t. But I have to get back to my kids. You wanna go out later?”, she asked Keith. Keith thought about Claire, all alone in her cell. He had wanted to show her around today… But he also wanted to go out with Abby. “Of course”, he said to the pretty blonde before him. Claire could wait to see the Moy. He’d bring her some food and her book and show her around tomorrow. It’d give her something to look forward to anyway. “I’ll pick you up at 7”, he told Abby. Abby giggled. “Okay. See you then” Keith bent down to kiss her and then he and Damian left the school. “Do we have to go talk to Ryan”, Damian asked as they started down the street. “Yep”, Keith replied. Of course they would have to report to Ryan and tell him how it went. And then Keith would get official permission to let Claire out. “So where are you taking Abby?”, Damian’s voice broke into his thoughts. Keith shrugged. “No clue. I want it to be somewhere good though. Any ideas?” Damian laughed. “I’ve only had one girlfriend in my whole teenage career. And you’re asking ME for advice?” “Figured it couldn’t hurt”, Keith grinned. “Actually, I have an idea…”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 6, 2010 0:01:50 GMT -5
A few minutes later, Keith and Damian were standing outside of Ryan’s office. He had the door open, so he heard the last of Keith’s previous sentence. “Keith has an idea for what?”, he asked. Damian went over to the front of the desk and sat in a chair. “Keith’s trying to be a creative boyfriend”, he announced, sounding amused. “I’m taking Abby out tonight”, Keith explained to Ryan as he sat down. Ryan nodded in understanding. “Take her to dinner”, he suggested. Keith made a face. “How is that creative?” “It’s better than a movie”, Ryan replied. “But how did the speech go?” “Great” “Horrible”, Keith and Damian spoke at the same time. Ryan raised his eyebrows. “I see… As long as they got the message and you didn’t scare them, I think you did fine” “They got the message”, Damian said. “Good”, Ryan smiled. “Okay Keith, you kept your end of the deal, now I’ll keep mine” Keith grinned. “Thanks. She’ll be excited.” Finally he would be able to give Claire the big tour. She must be getting so bored… just sitting there with nothing to do. “Wait, what deal?”, Damian asked. Oops. Keith had forgotten that Damian didn’t know about that. “Keith wants to show Claire around the Moy”, Ryan explained. Damian turned to Keith. “And you didn’t tell me?” Keith shrugged. “I didn’t know I should have” Damian shook his head. “Keith, Keith, Keith. We’re like brothers. And you didn’t tell me that you’re taking Claire out” “I’m not taking her out”, Keith said. “I’m just showing her around” Damian nodded. “Yea, okay.” Clearly the young lad wasn’t believing him at all. But he should. Keith was telling the truth. He was only showing her around. Besides, he had Abby. He loved Abby. He got butterflies just thinking about her. Keith stood up. “Come on Damo, Ryan has work to do”
Later that day, Keith brought Claire some food and a book. “Hey”, he greeted as he walked up to her cell. Claire had been lying back on the bed, but when she heard Keith, she sat up. She had changed out of her dress and into Rebecca’s clothes. They weren’t exactly the best fit, but Becca’s light pink, long sleeved shirt and jeans looked good on Claire. “Hey”, she greeted, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. Keith smiled and help up what he brought. “I brought Christmas presents” Claire laughed. “Christmas isn’t for another 8 months” “So does that mean you don’t want it?”, he playfully pulled back. “No!”, Claire exclaimed, then laughed. “Christmas can come early” Keith chuckled to himself and handed her the book and the food. “I have a surprise for you” Claire perked up even more at that. “A surprise? What is it?” “I got you out of here”, he told her. “Well, not really out of here, but out of the cell for a bit. Ryan said I can give you a tour of the Moy” Keith watched in delight as Claire’s face lit up. “Really?”, she exclaimed. “I get to get out of here? Today?” “Not today”, Keith shook his head. “I’m taking my girlfriend out soon” Claire’s face fell, but Keith didn’t know why exactly. Was it because of Abby? Or because she had wanted to get out today? Probably the latter. “Oh. Okay”, she said. “When AM I getting out then?” “Tomorrow” Claire gave him a smile. “Where are you taking your girlfriend?” Keith smiled as he thought about what he had planned for that night. “We’re going on a midnight picnic. I’m taking her to a field in the hills that I know of. It’s supposed to be clear tonight… I think she’ll like it” Claire smiled again. “That sounds fun” Keith pulled up the chair. “It should be. But I have a few hours yet. So tell me more about yourself” Claire shrugged. “Like what?” Keith laughed. “Anything. Likes, dislikes, why were you at that banquet?” “Okay”, Claire agreed. “I like singing, I dislike red beets, and I was at the banquet because it was in honor of my father’s mate and I got dragged along” “So you didn’t really want to be there?”, Keith asked. “Nope”, Claire shook her head. “What about you? Same three questions” Keith thought for a moment. “Okay, I like surfing”, big understatement. “I dislike being serious for too long, and I was at the banquet because I was working. But you knew that last part” “Aye, I guess I did”, Claire replied. “Does that mean I get a replacement question?” Keith laughed. “I suppose…” And that’s all it took. The next hour was spent with asking and answering questions. Keith was surprised at how charming this girl was. She was sweet, funny, down to earth… Keith was impressed. But not too impressed. He had Abby.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 8, 2010 0:39:31 GMT -5
Time flew by for Keith as he talked to Claire. It seemed as if they had a little game going on. They each took a turn asking a question and the responding answer HAD to be the truth. The whole telling the truth rule came about when Keith tried to get away with lying one time. “Is it easy for you to kill people at a moment’s notice?”, Claire had asked him. “Of course it is”, Keith had lied. “It’s part of the job. I’m used to it” Claire had looked at him for a second. “No you’re not”, she had said softly. “You’re not used to it at all” “Yes I am” Claire had rolled her eyes at that. “Then why am I sitting here, Keith? And why did that cop only get off with a shot in the leg? You could have killed us both easily.” Keith hadn’t really had an answer to that. “Besides”, Claire had continued. “I can see it in your eyes now. Don’t lie to me, Keith” Keith had sighed. “Okay, fine. I hate killing people. It’s the worst part of the job.” Claire had just given him a small smile and that had been the end of that. They had agreed to no more lies. Of course there were some things about CT that Claire had tried to get away with asking, but Keith refused to answer those. And there were some things that Claire wouldn’t answer either. When this happened, the question was just ignored and a new one brought up. Keith lost track of time for a few hours, then he remembered his date that night. “Oh shoot!”, he exclaimed, looking at his phone. “What is it?”, Claire asked. Keith stood up and put the chair back in the corner. “I have to go get the picnic ready” Claire smiled. “Oh that’s right! Is it that late already?” “Yea”, Keith grinned. “I’ll see you tomorrow”, he said as he walked out the door. Keith went back to his house to get everything ready. He wanted everything to be perfect for the night. As he got the food ready, he thought about Abby. He loved her so much. She was smart, funny, beautiful, she was every man’s dream. And she was amazing working with the kids. Keith got together some sandwiches, hot cocoa, and some cookies. Abby loved cookies. He grabbed a blanket and put it in the back of his car. Then he went to go pick up his girlfriend. He was dressed in faded jeans and a blue tee and jacket when he walked up to her door. She was dressed in tight jeans and a semi dressy shirt. Keith grinned at her. “Well don’t you look nice” Abby giggled. “Thanks. So do you.”, she leaned in to kiss him. “You ready to go?”, Keith asked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and they walked to the car. “Yep!”, she replied. Keith kissed her temple and opened the car door for her. “After you”, he playfully bowed her inside. “Why thank you, kind sir”, she stepped daintily into the car. “So where are we going?” Keith grinned. “You’ll see” When they got to the point where Keith couldn’t drive anymore, they were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Keith chuckled a bit at the confused look on Abby’s face. “Where are we?”, she asked. Keith just smiled and took her hand. “We have to walk a bit”, he said as he grabbed the basket of food. Abby smiled. “A picnic?”, she asked, obviously delighted. “Thought you might like it”, Keith grinned, very pleased with himself. They walked the short distance to the clearing in silence, neither feeling the need to speak. Which was fine with Keith. He loved the fact that they didn’t always need to be talking. She was just as charming silent as she was otherwise. When they got to the spot, Keith stopped walking and started spreading out the stuff. “It’s beautiful”, Abby sighed as she sat down. She leaned back on her arms and gazed up at the stars in the clear sky. “It is”, Keith agreed, sitting down next to her. “But not as beautiful as you” Abby smiled at him and silently gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I love you”, she whispered. “So what did you do after the school today?” Keith thought about whether he should tell her about spending time with Claire. He didn’t see why not. Abby wasn’t the type to be jealous and Keith had nothing to hide. Keith shrugged mentally. Why not? “After the school, I went to talk to Ryan and then some food and a book to Claire.” Abby gave him a strange look. “Claire? Oh! You mean the prisoner you brought home” “Yea”, Keith replied. “We talked for a bit” Abby leaned forward. “Why DID you bring her back?” Keith sighed. “I don’t know… I just couldn’t shoot her. You know how I am with killing people. I don’t know why, I just couldn’t do it” Abby moved closer to him and took his hand. “It’s okay Keith. I understand” Keith leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. “Thanks” “You’re welcome”, Abby whispered back. Just then, his cell phone rang. “Of all the times to call…”, Keith grumbled. Abby giggled. “Just answer it” “Yea”, Keith said into the phone. It was Ryan. “Keith, can you get back here? Paul’s hurt”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 11, 2010 0:56:10 GMT -5
“What?”, Keith asked Ryan in a strangled voice. Abby grabbed his arm. “Keith. What is it?” “Is he okay?”, Keith asked. “We don’t know yet”, Ryan answered. “He’s in with the doctor. Just get over here” The drive back to the Moy was tense and silent as Keith ran various scenarios of Paul in mortal peril through his head. What had happened? Had he been shot on a gig? Was he in a car accident? Abby took his hand. “It’ll be okay Keith. He’ll be fine” “You don’t know that”, Keith said tensely. Thankfully, the Moy had its own hospital, so Keith drove directly there. He hastily found a parking spot and ran over to Abby’s door to open it for her and help her out. Even in a crisis, it was a habit. He took Abby’s hand and together, they rushed to the E.R. When they got there, they saw Ryan, George, and Damian all either sitting in blue, plastic chairs, or standing by the wall. “What happened?”, he asked immediately. “He was on a gig”, Ryan answered. “The police came and he was shot” Abby gasped. “He was shot?”, Keith repeated in a strangled voice. Ryan nodded. “In the shoulder” Keith was silent, trying to comprehend this. “But … how did he get away?” “Thankfully, George got to him and ran to the car with Paul over his shoulder.”, Ryan replied. Keith looked over at George. He was standing in the corner, looking out the window. He hadn’t said a word. “Is Paul going to be okay?”, Abby asked. “They think so”, Ryan answered her. Keith sank down onto a chair in relief. Abby sat down next to him and put a hand on his thigh. “You okay George?”, Keith asked him. “I’m fine”, George said simply, still looking out the window. Keith looked over at Damian. The lad was sitting in a chair, hunched over with his arms on his legs. Just then, the doctor came out and walked over to the group. “How is he?”, George asked immediately. Keith felt bad for George. He was Paul’s partner, he had been with him on the gig. Keith could only imagine how he must be feeling. “He’s going to be fine”, the doctor said. “He’ll have to stay here a few days, but he’ll be okay.” Keith let out a sigh of relief. Paul was going to be okay. “Can we see him?”, he asked. The doctor hesitated. “He’s unconscious right now, and it’s late. The best thing you can do is to go home, get some sleep, and come back in the morning” Ryan took a step forward. “I’m in charge of CT, of all the Moy. I want to at least see him” “Mr. Kelly…” “Please”, Ryan asked firmly. The doctor sighed and stepped aside. “Thank you”, Ryan said. “George, you’re his partner, you can come” George silently moved next to Ryan. Ryan looked at Keith and Damian. “You two can go home”, he said. “You can see him in the morning” “But Ryan”, Damian started to object. “No Damian”, Ryan cut him off. “I’m pushing the hospital rules as it is. You can see him in the morning” Damian nodded silently. Keith knew he wasn’t happy, but he wouldn’t go against Ryan. “Come on Damo”, Keith said. “I’ll drive you home” The ride home from the hospital was very similar to the ride going there. Tense and silent. Keith dropped Damian off first, then Abby. Then than he went home and went right to bed. It wasn’t until morning that he remembered Claire. He was supposed to show Claire around the Moy today.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 12, 2010 3:07:50 GMT -5
It was 10 in the morning. Keith wondered if he should go see Paul first, then show Claire around… Or if he should show Claire around first. Then he wondered if he should show Claire around at all today. But he had promised her… and Keith hated breaking his promises. He was sitting at the kitchen table, pondering all this, when Rebecca walked into the room. “What’s wrong?’, she asked. “Paul’s in the hospital”, Keith replied. Rebecca had been looking in the fridge, but at that, she whirled around. “What??” “He got hurt on a gig. I’m going to see him in a bit” “Is he going to be okay?”, she asked. Keith nodded. “You wanna come?”, he asked. “Can I?”, Rebecca asked. “Of course”, Keith was relieved. Going to see Paul would be a lot easier if he had someone with him. “Are you going now?”, she asked. Keith thought about this. Yea, why not? He’d show Claire around later that day. “Yea”, Keith said as he stood up. “You ready?”
Once they got to the hospital, Keith and Rebecca quickly found Paul’s room. “Is he okay?”, Keith asked the nurse on duty. “Not now”, she answered. “He woke up a for few minutes a little while ago, but he’s asleep now” Keith and Becca walked into Paul’s room. Paul was lying on the bed with a huge bandage on his shoulder. He was sleeping. “Oh Paul”, Rebecca sighed. Keith sat down in the chair next to the bed. “It’s okay Paul. You’re going to get better” Paul stirred a bit and opened his eyes. “Keith?”, he asked. “Hey mate”, Keith smiled. “Welcome back” “Hey Paul”, Rebecca smiled at him. “Ugh, I feel horrible”, Paul groaned. Keith chuckled a bit, just relieved that Paul was okay. “Gee, I wonder why”, he grinned. “Last thing I remember was getting shot”, Paul said. “How’d I get away?” “George carried you”, Keith said. “Oh. George’s a good guy…”, Paul nodded and drifted back off to sleep. Keith and Rebecca sat with Paul for a bit longer, then Keith stood up. “You ready to go?”, he asked his sister. “Yea”, she agreed. On their way out the door, they ran into George and Damian. “How is he?”, George asked. “Sleeping”, Keith answered. “But he was awake for a few minutes earlier. He’s fine” Damian smiled. “Good. You going out with Claire now?”, he asked Keith. “Out with Claire?”, George and Rebecca asked at the same time. Keith gave Damian a look. “I’m not going out with her. I’m showing her around.” Damian nodded. “Oh, right. I forgot” Rebecca looked at Keith and raised her eyebrows. Keith sighed. “I’ll see you two later”, he said to George and Damian. He tugged on Rebecca’s sleeve and walked with her out the hospital. On the way home, Becca started in on him. As he knew she would. “You’re taking Claire out?”, she asked. “What about Abby?” “I’m still with Abby”, Keith replied, not taking his eyes off the road. “I love Abby, you know that. Claire just wants to get out of the cell for a bit. Damo’s just sayin’ stuff” Rebecca laughed. “Typical Damian. When are you going to show her around?” “After I drop you off”, he said as he pulled up to the house. Rebecca jumped out of the car and smiled at him. “Have fun!”, she said as she ran inside. Keith turned the car around and drove to the offices where the cells were located. He got out of the car and went in to the cell area. “Hey Claire”, he greeted. Claire was sitting on her bunk, picking fuzz off her blanket. “What’s wrong?”, he asked. Claire looked up. “Nothing”, she tried to be casual as she said it. Keith gave her a look. “You know the rules Claire, no lying”, he said, referring to their little game from yesterday. Claire looked up at his face and he saw the sadness in her eyes. He unlocked her cell door and went to kneel by her bedside. “What’s wrong?”, he asked gently. Claire’s eyes filled with tears. “When can I go home Keith?”, she asked. Keith was taken aback. This was the first time he’d seen her outwardly upset about being here. He guessed it made sense though. “Claire-”, he started. “Why?!”, Claire was starting to get angry now. Keith didn’t blame her. “Why did you have to bring me here?! I had a life!”, she continued. Keith wanted to something. Anything to get her to stop being upset. “Claire, I’m sorry. But you have to stay here a bit longer” “Why?”, Claire’s face was streaked with tears. “I thought you were okay with this.”, Keith said to her. “It’s been three days. Why are you getting so upset now?” “You thought I was okay with this? Okay with being dragged away from my family? With no clue when I’ll go back?”, Claire said in a disbelieving voice. “It’s been 3 days! I’m starting to think I’ll never get out of here!” Keith hated to see her cry. He couldn’t help it. He sat on the bed next to her and put his arms around her in a hug. “I’m sorry”, was all he could say. “This must be hard” Claire wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him back. “It is”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 13, 2010 2:20:55 GMT -5
Keith held Claire for a few minutes. She felt so small in his arms. Her warm body was shaking slightly with gentle sobs. “I just want to go home, she whispered. “When can I go home, Keith?” Keith felt horrible. He didn’t want to tell her that she could never leave. He supposed that he’d have to tell her eventually, but not yet. Not now. She was already upset. Keith didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what to do. He just held her. “What do you miss most?”, he finally asked. “My family”, Claire said. “Spending time with my friends… Sleeping in my own bed.” “I’m sorry”, Keith apologized. Claire was silent. After a few minutes of this silence, Keith took a deep breath. “You okay now”, he asked. Claire shook her head. “Not really. But it’s okay” Keith hugged her again. “I’m sorry. You ready for that tour now?” Claire nodded. Keith could tell that she was still upset, but was trying to act normal for him. He stood up and smiled at her. “Let’s go then” Once outside, Claire squinted in the bright sunlight. Keith steadied her and gave her a few minutes for her eyes to adjust. “It looks like a regular town”, she commented once she could see. Keith laughed. “That’s cus it is. The only difference is that this town isn’t on the map. That and it’s a bit smaller” Claire smiled a little and Keith was glad that she was forgetting her sadness for a bit. “Come on”, Keith led her down the street. “This is our small library. And there’s a few cafés. And down the street that way is the hospital where Paul is” Claire stopped walking. “Paul?”, she asked. “Who is he? What happened?” Keith had forgotten that he hadn’t told her about that. “Paul’s one of my best mates”, he explained. “He was shot in the shoulder on a gig last night” Claire’s eyes got wide. “Is he okay?” Keith nodded. “He’s fine. I saw him this morning. He’s just gonna be laid up for a while.” “Oh… Well I’m glad he’s okay”, she said. “Me too”, Keith said as he led her down the street. “Down there’s the school”, he pointed. “That’s where my girlfriend works” Claire looked at him. “What’s her name? Your girlfriend?” Keith grinned, seeing her beautiful face in his mind. “Abby”, he said proudly. “How long have you been dating?”, Claire asked. “2 years next week”, Keith replied. He couldn’t wait. He had so much planned. He was going to do all he could to make that night special. Claire smiled distantly. “You must really love her” “I do”, Keith smiled. “You have a boyfriend?” Claire shook her head. “Nope” Keith stopped walking and looked at her. “You know… If I wasn’t with Abby… you’d be the type of girl I’d want to date” Claire looked at him. “What?” Whoa. Where had that come from? Keith hadn’t planned on saying that. Not at all. Sure, he liked Claire. But he loved Abby. He’d do anything for her. Give his life for her. “I- I’m sorry”, he apologized. “I didn’t mean to say that. I shouldn’t have” Claire nodded slowly. “Of course… I understand” Keith ran his hand across his jaw awkwardly. “Well, shall we”, he gestured for them to start walking again. Claire silently started walking again. Keith could tell that she was thinking about what he had so foolishly said. He was still in shock himself. He thought about apologizing again, but then thought better of it. He’d just let it go. “So now where?”, Claire asked, breaking the silence. Keith showed her around the rest of the Moy, trying to keep the conversation light. But the trouble was… it was so easy to talk to Claire. Too easy. He could talk to her about anything. After a few more hours of wandering the streets, Keith stopped walking. Claire tilted her head and looked at him. “What?” Keith grinned. “I saved the best place for last”, he pointed across the street to his favorite pub. Claire laughed. “A pub. I should have guessed” Keith just grinned and led her inside. “It’s all so normal”, Claire commented when they were seated. Keith sipped his Guinness. “What is?” Claire gestured to the pub around her. “This place. This town”, she said. “You guys are criminals. Bad guys. And you live so normally. And you certaintly don’ t act like bad people.” Keith laughed. “What do you mean?” “I mean, when I first saw you, you were acting all mean and had a gun pointed at me. You actually shot someone”, Claire explained. “And then you were so… cold. So indifferent at first. But you’re actually not a mean, cruel person like I once thought. You, this place, it’s so happy and normal. Not at all like I thought a village of hardened criminals would be like” Keith leaned forward. “That’s cus we’re not hardened criminals. The bad guy part, yes. The mean, rough, un-gentelmanly group you see on tv? No. We’re normal people. We just don’t have a normal job” Claire leaned forward as well. “Tell me something Keith” “What?” “I’m never getting out of here, am I?”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 15, 2010 0:53:52 GMT -5
Keith blinked. “Get out of here?”, he repeated. Claire nodded. “I’ve had three days of sitting in a cell to think about this. I’m not stupid. You have no use for me, and yet I know too much. You CAN’T let me go” Keith didn’t reply. He just stared down into his Guinness. Claire sighed and Keith could see her trying to hold back tears. “I’m so sorry”, he apologized. “You didn’t ask for any of this. You’re here because I made a mistake. I-“ “Can I go back to my cell now?”, Claire asked, her voice breaking on the last word. Keith was torn. His heart was breaking. In one way, he knew that she needed alone time. But in another, he wanted to keep her there and talk to her until she was alright. She needed to be alright. “Claire, are you sure?”, he asked. “Can’t we just-“ “Please” Keith paused for a second, then nodded. He’d take her back. He wasn’t happy about it… but what could he do? He stood up and walked her through the town, back to the cell. They didn’t talk. He wanted to say something to her… anything. Anything to let her know that it’d be alright. But the thing was… it wasn’t. It wasn’t alright. He had taken her away from her family, her life. And without a moment’s notice. Keith felt horrible. He really was a bad person. He couldn’t take it anymore. He was done. He had to make sure that he wouldn’t ever hurt someone like that again. He had to resign. He dropped Claire off and started walking in the direction of Ryan’s office, ready to do just that, when he remembered Abby. His adorable, beautiful Abby. He couldn’t just leave her. And he doubted she would be willing to leave the Moy. At least not without a serious argument. So he would have to stay. But he wouldn’t go out on gigs anymore. He thought all this out as he made his way to Ryan’s office. He was on his way up the stairs when he ran into someone. “Keith?”, Ryan asked. Keith looked at him. “Ryan. I was just on my way to see you.” Ryan looked him over and Keith tried to hide how distressed he was. It didn’t work. “You okay, Keith?”, Ryan asked. “I’ve come to resign”, Keith tried to say with determination. Ryan’s eyes got wide and he looked around. “Come to my office”, he said. Keith followed him up to his office and took a seat. Ryan sat behind his desk. “Okay, what are you going on about?” Keith took a deep breath. “I quit” Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Just like that? What about Damian?” Keith shrugged. “You wanna tell me what’s going on, Keith?”, Ryan asked. “This isn’t like you. You love the gigs” “I can’t”, Keith replied. “I already ruined one person’s life. I can’t do it again.” Ryan leaned back in his chair and smiled. “You’re talking about Claire. You feel bad that she can never go back” Keith hit the desk angrily. “Well wouldn’t you? She’s down there in tears. Crying. All because of me” Ryan sighed. “You can’t quit Keith. I need you too much. Especially with Paul hurt. Tell you what”, he said. “How about we get Claire settled in the Moy. It’ll help you both. We’ll get her a home, a job” “She doesn’t want to stay here”, Keith said. Of course she wouldn’t want to stay here. “She doesn’t exactly have a choice”, Ryan was going into his, ‘I’m the boss, what I say goes’, mode. Keith didn’t like this mood as much. It usually ended in him doing something that he didn’t want to do. Keith sighed. “Where would she stay?” Ryan thought about this for a moment. “Abby has a place to herself, doesn’t she? Claire could stay with her. That way you’d be able to see her more as well” Claire? Stay with Abby? Keith didn’t know how he felt about that… it was sure to cause him trouble. But then, trouble seemed to be Keith’s life lately.
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 16, 2010 0:54:08 GMT -5
Thankfully, Keith had a key to Abby’s house. She was still at school, so he had a couple of hours to get everything ready. He didn’t really know how to cook… at least not very well. So he decided to call the only person that he knew would be available. “Damian”, he said into the phone. “What are you doing right now?” “Umm… nothing”, Damian replied. “Why?” Keith rolled his eyes. “Damo, I can HEAR that game in the back-round” “Oh” Keith was grinning now. That was so like his young partner. “Yea, ‘Oh’. Can you come over to Abby’s house?”, he asked. “I need help with something” “Something like what?”, Damian sounded distracted. “Damian, put that game away. I need you to come over here and help me cook Abby diner” The sounds of the game suddenly stopped. “Let me get this right…”, Damian said slowly. “You… want me… to help you cook?” “Yea” Damian burst out laughing at that. And Keith didn’t blame him. It sounded ridiculous, even to his ears. “Come on Keith”, Damian continued. “You know I can’t cook. And neither can you. Why are you cooking for her anyway?” “Hey, can’t a lad do something nice for his girlfriend every once in a while?”, Keith asked. “Come on Keith. Why?” Keith sighed and wondered again if asking Damian was a good idea. Probably not. But Keith didn’t have a choice. Ryan was busy, Paul was hurt, and George was who knows where… Damian was the only guy left. “I need to ask Abby about Claire moving in with her”, he said. “I thought that making dinner would help her de-stress” “She won’t be de-stressed when we burn it. I’ll be right there”, Damian hung up the phone. When Damian finally got there, Keith had already gotten the ingredients out. “Okay, what are we making?”, the young lad asked. “Spaghetti”, Keith answered. “I figured it would be the easiest.” Damian just looked at him. “Do you know how to make spaghetti?” Keith hesitated. “Well… no. But Abby has a cookbook. It shouldn’t be too hard.” Damian looked doubtful. But like the adventurous lad he was, he decided to try. “So how do we start?”, he asked. Keith looked down at the instructions. “Umm… it says to boil a pot of water.” Damian nodded with confidence. “We can do that.” He found a pot, put some water in it, and put the pot on the stove. “How do we know when it boils?”, Damian asked. “How the heck should I know?”, Keith retorted. “I’ve never done this before” Damian sighed and sat down at the table. “I think we just wait for a bit. That’s what me mammy does. But Keith?” “Yea?” “You forgot to turn the stove on”
15 minutes later, Keith was starting to get impatient. “How much longer do we have to wait?”, Damian asked. “I don’t know”, Keith shrugged. “I surf, not cook” Damian got up from the table and peered at the pot. “It’s hot. I think we can put it in now” While he and Damian were working, Keith started thinking about Abby and how much he loved her. Him willing to work in the kitchen with Damian pretty much proved it. Their 2 year anniversary was coming up next week and Keith had a plan. He knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Abby. He just hoped it didn’t blow up in his face. But the real question was… was 2 years too soon? “Damian… do you think that 2 years is long enough to ask someone to marry you?” Damian dropped the can of sauce he was trying to open. The can was still closed, so nothing spilled. “What?”, he asked. Keith ran a hand through his hair. “I want to ask Abby to marry me. I love her and I know I always will. But will she think that it’s too soon? Should I give her more time?” “Wow Keith…”, Damian said slowly. “Asking her to marry you is a big step… is that what all this is for? The dinner and everything?” Keith stood up and stirred the spaghetti. “No. I told you, I need to talk to her about Claire staying here. I plan to propose on our anniversary” Damian thought for a moment. “Well Keith… if you love her…” “But does she love me?”, Keith suddenly doubted. “I mean, I know she does, but enough to marry me?” Damian thought about this for a minute. “I’m sure she does…”, he finally said. “I think you should go for it Keith” For the next 20 minutes, the pros and cons were thrown around. Keith knew he was ready. He was only worried that Abby wouldn’t be. Keith lost track of time again. After a bit, he smelled something weird. “Damian, why does it smell like something’s burning?”, he asked. Damian got up and walked to the stove. “Umm… Keith? Can spaghetti burn?”, he asked. Keith didn’t answer. He got up to go look at the pot. Sure enough, they had forgotten to stir the spaghetti and it had burned at the bottom. Keith turned off the burner and turned to Damian. “Great. Now what are we going to do?”
|
|
|
Post by celticgirl91 on Feb 23, 2010 0:40:12 GMT -5
The next few days went on without too much drama. Claire, of course, was estatic when Keith told her about moving out of the cell. She was a bit nervous about living with a stranger though. “What if she doesn’t like me?”, she had asked. Keith had laughed. “She’ll love you. I promise” And he had kept that promise. Abby and Claire loved each other and got along like sisters. Claire loved her new job too. She had gotten a job at the coffee shop down the street from the offices. Keith was also getting more and more sure about proposing to Abby by the day. He bought a ring and started thinking of the best way to ask her. “How should I do it?”, Keith asked Paul one day while he was visiting him in the hospital. Paul’s arm was getting better very quickly. He couldn’t go home yet, but could walk around the hospital floor and actually stay concious for more than 30 minutes. Paul thought for a minute. “Make it special”, he said. “I’m sure Abby wouldn’t care if you proposed to her in a bank, but be creative.” Keith just looked at him. “A bank?” Paul rolled his eyes. “Yes. A bank. The point is, she won’t care” “I’d care”, Keith argued. “Forget the bank!”, Paul exclaimed, half exasperated. “Just make it special” Make it special. Make it his own. Keith only had one thing that he was into besides CT, and that was the beach. He planned it all out with Paul that day. He would take Abby to the beach and propose to her while looking for seashells. It was going to be perfect. One night, about 2 days before their anniversary, Keith went to Abby’s house to hang out. Except that it was Claire that answered the door. “Hey Keith!”, she greeted. “Hey Claire”, he said as he gave her a hug. Claire let him in and led him toward the kitchen. “Abby’s not back yet”, she said as she stirred something on the stove. “She’s at the store” Keith came up beside her and stared into the pot. “What’s that?” “Hot Cocoa”, Claire smiled. Keith went to sit at the table. “For me?”, he grinned. “If you want some”, Claire shrugged. “Oh and do you want me to get out of here? To give you and Abby some alone time?” “That would be nice”, Keith nodded. “But not necessary. You always leave when I come over. I never get to hang out with you anymore” Claire sat at the table across from him. “You’re right. We never get a chance to talk anymore. So. How’s life?” Keith rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean Claire.” She knew perfectly well how his life was. And he knew hers. It’s just that they never had a chance to really talk anymore. And Keith missed that. Claire stood up and went to the cabinets to get the mugs. “Yea, I do. Can you stir the cocoa? I don’t want it to burn.” Keith got up from the table and went to stir the hot chocolate. Claire came up beside him and put the mugs on the counter. “Is it ready?”, she asked. “Ummm…” “Oh wait. I’m asking the one who burned spaghetti”, Claire joked as she picked up the pot. Just then, the pot slipped from her hand and clattered onto the counter, spilling hot cocoa everywhere. “OUCH”, Claire exclaimed, holding her thumb. Keith yelled out in pain as well as the hot liquid spilled all over the front of his shirt and onto his bare arms. There waas hot cocoa everywhere. On the counter, on the floor, on Keith, and on Claire. “Oww… “, Claire moaned. Keith reached out and took her hand to look at her thumb. “Are you okay?”, he asked. Her thumb was bright red. “You need to get that under cold water”, he told her. “I’m sure it’ll be okay”, Claire insisted. Keith looked down at his soaked shirt. It would have to be washed. Well, he wasn’t going to sit around in a wet shirt the whole night. He sighed and pulled it off over his shoulders. “Claire. Go put it under cold water. It’ll swell if you don’t. What happened anyway?” “My thumb touched the hot pot”, Claire explained as she took a step toward the sink. Bad idea. Being distracted by her thumb, she slipped on the spilled liquid and startd to fall. Keith’s quick reflexes enabled him to qickly catch her, but her unexpected weight threw him off as well and they both tumbled to the floor. Keith landed on the floor on his back, with Claire on top of him. “Whoa”, he said. “You okay?” Claire’s face was inches away from his. “Yea. I think so” And in that instant, Keith wasn’t sure of anything anymore. He hadn’t been aware of it before, but now he knew. He liked Claire. A lot. And in that instant, the only thing on his mind was her. And the fact that her oh so inviting lips were ony inches away from his. Nothing else existed. He forgot about Abby, he forgot about the fact that they were sitting in a puddle of hot cocoa. All he knew was that his silly, adorable Claire was laying on top of him. Keith sighed and raised his head a bit so that his forhead was resting against hers. That’s when Abby walked in the door.
|
|