A nearby telephone rang shrilly in an apartment, Georgina still snoozing peacefully.
She stirred a little, bed creaking and blankets shuffling as Georgina's bed head popped out from the tangled sheets.
Her squinted eyes blearily scanned for the source of the noise, pained groans leaving her lips at being disturbed at this hour, whatever time it was.
Couldn't a girl get her beauty rest? Was that too much to ask?
"Ugghh who could that be?" she moaned out as she slowly rolled to her side before falling from her mattress to kiss the floor. "Oof!"
Still groggy and disoriented, the woman's brain thought it wise to crawl on all fours toward the ringing telephone, hair all over her head and clothes all rumpled.
Her arms found purchase on the small table where the telephone was, hoisting her upper body up and locating the receiver with a hand. She picked it up and put the phone to her ear, waiting for the person on the other end to speak.
"Wells? That you?" came a gruff male voice that Georgina knew all too well, sleepiness draining from her body to be replaced with cold fear and tension, a chill running down her neck to the base of her spine.
She frowned and looked at the telephone before putting it back near her ear.
"What's it now?" she asked hardly, heart rate picking up in panic. She masked her inner turmoil with the hardness of her voice and the ferocity of her tone. "Didn't I tell you not to contact me again, you piece o' shit?"
A deep sigh reached her ear, making her roll her eyes.
"Don't you remember the deal?" he said exasperatedly.
"What deal?"
Her impatience was growing.
"We've agreed to only contact each other when either of us found something good. I'm merely fulfilling my part," said the other voice on the line, prompting Georgina to snort unpleasantly at that. Either the man didn't hear or chose to ignore it. He was like that.
Knowing him, it was probably the latter.
"I was wondering if you're interested in a steal we're gonna do tonight," the male continued in a sly tone, Georgina quick to inch closer and hold the receiver close to her ear, eyes flitting about out of habit in fear of anyone finding out about the secret conversation.
"How'd you get ahold of me first? No one knows where I live," she hissed harshly, grip on the cool material tightening.
He chuckled, the sound almost condescending and dripping with malice.
"I have my ways, my sweet. You still know where the gang hides, right?"
She scoffed, head leaning on the wall as she fixed her night clothes. It was still dark out. Gosh, what time was it, really?
"O' course," she replied confidently, a smirk gracing her colorless lips. The smirk faded as an implication dawned on her, and her brows knitted. "But what makes you think I'm interested?"
The man chuckled again, making Georgina's blood boil at the way he laughed and prolonged the tease. She hated this about him—finding pleasure in the way people begged. It was disgusting. This was one of the reasons why she cut connections with him but what really put her at unease was how he always somehow managed to get a hold of her.
"Oh don't lie to me Georgie," he cooed, her face crumpling in displeasure at the old nickname. "I know you still haven't gotten rid of your kleptomaniac tendencies. But all you steal are petty things. Don't you want to upgrade your living a bit?"
She pursed her lips to keep herself from saying anything she might regret. Shit, he knew her too well.
Georgina's fingers felt around for her cigarette box, promptly pulling one out and lighting it. She put the roll between her lips and inhaled, letting the smoke sit in her lungs before expelling it through her nose and mouth. What to do?
Her long and dirty fingernails tapped on the wooden surface of the table, weighing out her options.
It was always tempting to join him and his gang for night steals as they were quick and efficient, but her history with the leader hindered her from investing in such grand theft.
Her eyes strayed to her window, the blinds still covering the view outside. On a sliver of space where the curtain didn't reach the end of the window, there was nothing but darkness. Not even stars or the moon were present.
"Wells?"
She snapped back to the conversation, fingers coming to remove the stick of cancer from her lips.
Coming to a decision she asked, "What time?"
"An hour before midnight."
She chuckled then, a memory surfacing at the forefront of her mind.
"Damn aristocrat," she couldn't help but giggle. "You couldn't just say 'eleven pm' eh rich kid?" she jeered as a burst of laughter escaped her, rolling the cigarette between her fingers.
"Bitch," the male uttered, tone a mix of fond and reprimanding. "Don't remind me of that horrible childhood."
"Ah, a dream of every li'l kid."
"Not mine. All right, I gotta go. See ya."
Then the phone call disconnected, leaving Georgina to listen to the dial tone before lowering the receiver from her ear.
She sat in silence for a while when a long-suffering sigh flitted past her lips, hand coming up to rub at her pimpled face and dry lips.
Eleven pm tonight.
Her mind was in a jumble once more, spiraling into a pool of her own doubt and self-hate as the unpleasant memories related to the voice kicked in to full drive, haunting her, taunting her, causing her to nearly fall on the cold floor.
Alex Simmons. Ex-boyfriend and the one who influenced her years ago to take this path of life. He was partly the reason why she is the way she is right now. They met in a grocery store one rainy Monday. He seemed nice and very interesting then, but it only took her a few days to find out who he really was. He invited her to join him then, and being young and not knowing any better, she agreed.
They dated for three years until their relationship turned toxic and not like what it used to be.
She left him, but her fate was sealed: she would be a stealer and a cheat, living her days as an outcast to the world.
Now he was back, and she's apprehensive to even come close to their usual hiding spot.
Would the others accept her with open arms despite the past?
Her eyes found the cat lounging on the floor and she wondered aloud, "What should I do?"
The day was excruciatingly slow, with the woman passing the time with light reading and leisure writing.
Her stomach grumbled in protest but she ignored it, stomach too tied in knots to worry over food. Georgina was tense all day, knowing that this can only end if they finish the job by the early hours of the morning.
He won't let her go that easily, she knew.
Hours later she was out of her apartment wearing an oversized black shirt and tight jeans, worn sneakers completing the look. Her hair was in a high ponytail, the rest of it tucked in a baseball cap.
The air was cold due to lack of the sun, a breeze rustling the leaves along as she walked briskly, alert for any sign of human life.
Her hands were pushed inside her jean pockets, gut wrenching and stomach churning with anticipation and fear—some of the emotions she lived for because of her life as a burglar.
In the edge of the city there was a lone abandoned warehouse on a field, which she approached. She stood by the doors and knocked thrice then whistled the tune that was unique only to the gang.
The doors were opened by two familiar faces, shock coloring their features as she walked inside and looked around for that familiar face.
"Glad you could make it, Georgie," crooned a man with light brown hair, malevolent eyes, strong jaw, and devilish smirk.
Despite the ache in her heart that still didn't move on, she schooled her expression to a disgruntled scowl and bit back, "Stop calling me that; we're not dating anymore."
"Oh, woe is me."
He came over to kiss her temple in greeting anyway, Georgina not resisting but wiping the spot of any remnants of his saliva.
"All right gang so I've found this quaint li'l shop and as usual, we're gonna raid everything and leave nothin' alright?" Alex told the gang of five, including Georgina. Everyone except her yelled out their affirmation and they all set to get ready for the raid.
She stood there unsure, sucking her lower lip contemplatively.
She then felt a presence near her, and anticipated the action of laying a hand on her shoulder. Her reflexes kicked in, grabbing the fingers tightly and twisting it in an uncomfortable position as a pain of cry erupted from the person. Georgina swiveled around to see her ex.
His face was contorted to show pain, but he managed to speak after shooting her a smirk.
"Like the ol' times eh?"
She rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner, making sure to convey that she didn't miss him one bit. Her grip loosened and he shook his hand to regain feeling.
"Sure," she breathed out, stepping farther away to gain distance. "But that's it and I'm going home with my share." She was about to walk to get some weapons when a thought hit her, and she turned to him. "How'd you find me anyway?"
He smiled—sardonic and creepy—and said, "Don't worry, I don't follow you. I just found you by coincidence."
She didn't fully believe that but nodded as she walked away.
The night was chilly as the van moved to familiar territory. Georgina looked at the blur of the trees, almost invisible because of the blackness of the night.
The black van stopped and all six of them got off wearing inconspicuous clothing, all sorts of tools in their hands necessary for the break-in.
The silhouette of the relatively small building somehow looked familiar to Georgina, but she couldn't remember where she's seen it.
"All right guys we have to be very quiet else we'll all get captured," Alex warned before moving forward as the leader.
One of them, Chuck, used a crowbar to force open the window's ledge, adjusting it to their size.
They all piled inside quietly, Georgina's gut rumbling softly in protest. But no it wasn't hunger; it was something else. She too felt uncomfortable for a reason, their footsteps silent as they walked around.
Another guy immediately looked for a cash register, finding it in mere moments and proceeding to put its contents in a black duffel bag.
Everyone was searching for something valuable except her, who stood in place trying to think and wishing that the lights were on to see better.
Even if her eyes adjust, she still couldn't make out most of the items, which was unusual considering she always steals especially in the night.
yet one of them tripped on something hard and heavy, a grunt sounding loudly that made them all turn toward the noise.
There was loud barking then, and quick footfalls from above were heard, followed by a high-pitched series of yips and barks. The six hurried their ministrations and tried to escape as quietly as their entrance, but two of them stumbled in the dark and fell on their faces, crashes and howls of pain prompting the unknown person to double their pace.
"Get up you idiots!" hissed Alex with hand gestures. "We gotta go!"
"Stop right there, thieves!"
Lights flood the surroundings, blinding all of them momentarily.
Once her vision cleared, a soft gasp flitted past Georgina's lips, dread and horror filling her at the realization they were actually stealing from one of the places she adored.