"I must say, I am rather impressed with you today," Riley said in approval, while he held a silver jewel between his fingers. Staring at the large blood red ruby on it's pendant with greed. Not that Alice wasn't greedy herself, seeing how her bag was filled with cash at the motel under the floorboards, although she had been smart enough to drop it off before going to Riley. She saw no reason to tell him just how much she had taken, and how little she actually had chosen to share with him.
"Well you are the one who gave the tip," Alice reminded him, and collapsed on his couch with a can of coke in her hand. Riley had never really given her permission to take from his fridge, but Alice didn't care, although she could see a hint of irritation in his eyes as she opened it. But it was quickly forgotten as he once more stared at the jewels in front of him.
"Still… you truly have a talent for this kind of shit!" Riley muttered excitedly, and didn't even have time to look at Alice, far too obsessed with the shiny metal on his desk. "You know you are my best, right?" he asked absent minded, but his comment still made Alice smile. It was always nice to know she was good at something.
"I am also your only one at the moment," she reminded him, as she sipped on the coke while looking at Riley. If she had to be honest Riley was in his own way rather attractive, although he was far too old for Alice. If she had to guess she would say he was around his late twenties, with a featured jaw and soft grey eyes. Not to mention his light brown hair. In Alice's opinion he could get any girl he ever wanted, if only he would dress a bit more fashionably, as his sweatpants and baggy t-shirt made Alice shutter.
But it was evident nothing about Riley was fashionable, as she stared at his small apartment located in a basement, which mostly consisted of trash in Alice's opinion. He hadn't even bothered painting the walls, or doing anything about the concrete floor, and his furniture seemed to be from another century. But not in a charming way. Not that there was anything charming about his neighborhood either, as Riley lived in a small rented basement a bit outside Seattle, and Alice would describe the whole area as lifeless. If not slightly boring.
"With these kinds of values I won't need anyone but you," Riley said with a charming smile, looking up for once, and held eye contact with Alice for just a second. Alice had known Riley since she was thirteen, one could say he had hired her from a young age, and four years later Alice still worked for him. Riley wasn't aware of just what Alice was capable of, or her special gift, but he had quickly learned to trust her judgement as it never failed.
"This time we should both be set for quite a while," Alice agreed, and tried to avoid the question of her own loyalty to Riley. Because she had no intentions of staying with Riley forever. She had dreams and ambitions like any other kid, and had no desire to stay in this position as a simple thief for the rest of her life. But unfortunately for Alice she was only seventeen at the moment, and could not fulfill any of her dreams until the age of eighteen. She was forced to live like this for another year, unless she wished to see her father once more, and Alice would rather die than get near that monster.
"But nothing lasts forever," Riley muttered sadly as he stared at the jewels in front of him, and Alice knew he couldn't live on those for long. How Riley even managed to sell these was a mystery to Alice, although she never asked, but she knew whatever profit he made would be used quickly as Riley had a bad gambling habit. The more money Alice managed to secure the both of them, the faster he seemed to spend them.
"Well then you better call me when you have another tip" Alice sighed, knowing it wouldn't be long, because if Riley wasn't broke he was in debt.
Alice couldn't say she wasn't slightly greedy with her own money, but she always tried to save some of it for later in life, but the rest was spent on clothing, her motorcycle and a place to stay. But with the amount of cash she had taken tonight, she wouldn't need to rob another house for a long time, and if she invested some of it when she got eighteen, she might be set for life. It was only due to her age, and her shitty fake papers Alice hadn't invested yet, but when time came she would know just where to invest and wouldn't need to steal again.
"Which reminds me… how did you even know of this house? It was in the middle of fucking nowhere!" Alice asked curiously. Mostly she tried not to get more involved with Riley than possible, but she had been wondering about this all night, and knew the question was rather innocent.
Riley didn't really seem to care either, and didn't even look at Alice, although he answered her question.
"I used to live in that shithole… and everyone always spoke about that fancy Doctor's house in the middle of the forest," he explained, like it was nothing, but it still surprised Alice.
"A Doctor owned all of these jewels?" she asked, confused, and once more eyed all the golden objects in front of Riley, wondering just how that kind of salary could afford this.
"To be honest, I think he might have inherited some of it… don't care to be honest," Riley muttered. "Now run along Alice, i got business to attend to," he told the young girl, and made it clear their conversation was over. Not that Alice cared, as she took a last sip of her coke and left it on the coffee table. Just beside all of Riley's cigarettes.
"You just call when it's time," Alice said tiredly, grabbing her helmet by the door, and left before Riley could say anything else.
Because this was their relationship. Riley scouted out some place that seemed interesting, while Alice broke in, took the values, and made sure no one saw her in the process. Their partnership had worked well for both of them, although if Alice had been given the chance to travel back in time, she would have chosen another path for herself. But she had been desperate at thirteen, and Riley's offer had been so tempting, not to mention it had been Alice's only option at the time.
She was essentially a homeless person, and had lived in hiding for the past four years. Hiding for her father, the police and any kind of authorities. She could only be thankful for her visions, as it was them who had kept her safe all these years, and warned her each time she was close to getting into trouble.
And as she drove into the small parking lot in front of her current motel, she began to wonder whenever it was time to change location. She had been living at the "Paradise Motel" for almost a month now, and knew it was dangerous to stay at the same place for too long. This motel wasn't really a paradise either, with it's worn down facade and used beds, but it had been her home for almost a month, and would do just fine. It was one of those places that accepted her cash without question, and didn't bat an eye at her fake ID, claiming she was twenty. Not that they even looked at it. But it was a place where people came and went, and one could remain private as no questions were asked. Although one couldn't be careful enough, and as Alice parked her motorcycle close to her room, she decided it would be best to move the following day.
Although she knew her next spot would be just as shitty as this one, which only was confirmed as she opened the door to her small room, and looked at the dark place. Even when she turned the light on the place remained creepy, and looking at the outworn bed she wondered if there was any reason to sleep, knowing it wouldn't be a comfortable slumber.
But closing the door behind her, she looked toward the fridge and knew it was empty. She was too lazy to even think about getting some food at this point, as it was far too late, if not early morning already, and with a groan she grabbed her laptop and flopped down on her bed.
Alice didn't have a smartphone, as she had no one to call but Riley, and he always called her on the old outdated phone he had given her. But she did have a laptop, mostly to stay in touch with the real world as she read all the news in Seattle, afraid she might have caused too much attention. But she never did. Alice hadn't attended school since she ran away from her father, and so through her laptop she tried to teach herself the most basic things, although it wasn't going too well.
And at the moment she didn't even consider learning anything new, as she began to browse through the web, devoting her time to what she loved the most. Fashion. She had loved everything that had to do with the fashion world since she was a little girl, and had loved to give people makeovers and play dress up for as long as she could recall. She even planned to become a designer one day, knowing she had the talent, and so it was important for her to stay updated and develop new ideas for clothing.
And if she had to say it herself, she would say her own appearance was pretty fashionable. Sure she couldn't help how small and petite she was, but she had been gifted with long dark hair, which she could style to perfection by now. And she only owned stylish clothing, although Alice couldn't buy from the brands she loved so much, as it would draw too much attention for her to wear an expensive shirt. But one day when her life turned around, Alice would buy all the things she dreamt of, it was only a question about time and age.
But even Alice couldn't look at fashion forever, and just an hour later Alice tiredly began to undress, before slipping under the rough old covers of her bed. But just as she was about to take her jeans off, she felt something in her pocket, and to her own surprise a necklace was inside it. She almost couldn't recall where it was from, before she saw it's pendant shaped like a fern, and realized she had taken it from that house because it reminded of her mother. With a soft smile she wrapped it around her neck and closed the clasp, promising herself she would wear this forever.
Alice wasn't really sure when she fell asleep, but in her dreams she dreamt of golden eyes and a grand mansion.