Caitlin walks, runs, up to the ranch, almost dropping everything that
is in her arms. She cant stop thinking of how great her night was, but she
knows that if she doesn't get into her room by the time someone comes to
wake her she is going to be in big trouble.
Caitlin hides the blanket and the candles under a wheelbarrow
thinking, I will come back later to bring this into the house. She
shimmies up the drainpipe and climbs into her room through the window the
same way she had left last night. "Phew, I think I got away with it," she
whispers to herself.
~/~@
Caitlin changes into new clothes and heads down the stairs. Griffen passes her on his way up with a slightly abnormal smirk on his face. Oh no! I think he knows, is all Caitlin can think. But how could he know and if he did wouldn't they be waiting in my room for when I climbed back in through the window? Caitlin is so nervous that she fears going down to eat breakfast. She knows that the Lowes are still upset with her from yesterday's skipping episode, and them finding out about her leaving in the middle of the night is only going to make things worse for her. She prays that Griffen hasn't said anything to them.
~/~@
Caitlin grabs a handful of Cheerios and heads out the door. "Where do you think you are going?" asks Dori. "Out for a ride." "Not so fast. You have to help me with the animals today." "But I helped last weekend!" "Yeah, and you should be glad that you don't have to work every weekend for the rest of the month for the stunt that you pulled yesterday! It won't take too long, I promise." Thoughts of last night flashed through her brain. His warm skin, his soft lips, his tenderness. She can feel a tingle through her whole body. Evan, Evan, Evan. I can't wait until he comes back for me. "Caitlin! Are you coming?" Startled, reality flushes back in, engulfing and surrounding her. She leaves her thoughts of last night behind, only to be ventured when she is alone, and runs to catch up to Dori.
~/~@
Evan walks towards the yellow bus. The commotion all around him is almost unbearable. He wishes that he could be back with Caitlin embracing her. The bus driver yells, "Last call for 9:00 bus ride to Philly!" Last time he had to get on the bus it was easy. He knew this time it would be harder. This was a new bus station and he didn't know their system for checking on tickets and everything else. Hoping they wouldn't ask for a ticket, he joined in the single file line and moved along with it. As he got closer to the entrance he though that he might just make it, but then he heard, "Ticket please?" He was surprised; he hadn't seen the bus driver standing at the front of the bus asking everyone that got on for their ticket. Evan quickly recovered. "Oh, um...My mom is in the bathroom, she has my ticket. She told me to get our seats. Can I just get on the bus now and then she can give you my ticket once she gets on?" Evan asks the bus driver very calmly. He had been used to lying his whole life, ever since he was 10, and he was pretty good at it too. "I'm sorry son, I can't allow that. You see if I let you on without a ticket, then I will have to let the next kid that asks me to get on the bus without a ticket on and I just can't do that. You'll have to go tell your mom that it's against the rules." Evan hurried away toward the bathrooms acting like he was going to get his mom. Damnit, he thought. I almost made it. Oh well, I guess that means I will just have to buy one. Evan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Just my luck, he thought as he looked inside it. He only had $4 and the trip was going to cost him a lot more than that. If only I hadn't spent all my money on those candles and the blanket, but he knew that his money had been well spent. The night would not have been as special as it was if he hadn't had bought those items.
~/~@
Caitlin had spent the whole morning helping Dori and was pretty sure that she didn't know anything about what she had done last night. She was glad about that. "Okay, I think we are done," states Dori. Caitlin jumps from where she was sitting, still holding a sick kitten in her arms. "Really? Can I go now?" "Well, don't sound too excited there. Remember from now on you have to tell us where you are going and you have to be home by sunset." Caitlin gave her a "yeah, yeah, I know" look and set the kitten down on the table. "I'm going with Bandit to my favorite tree. You know where that is. And don't worry, I'll be home by sunset." She ran out the door and down the street to their ranch. She couldn't wait to get out and tell Bandit all about what had happened last night. She knew he would understand everything.
~/~@
Evan scanned the crowd of people. No one had really stricken him as someone that could help him yet. He knew exactly what kind of person to look for. Most of the time he would pick someone old or someone that wouldn't notice anything. He would wait until they were away from all the other people and then strike. This is going to be hard, he thought. But he had done it in even more crowded places than this before and sometimes the more crowded the easier it was. All he had to do was pick the right person and move at the right time. As he stood looking through the faces, he thought back on when Caitlin and him would do this in the big city. She was so good at it and had it mastered by the time he meet her at age 9. She always knew exactly what person to attack and sometimes they would even give it to her if she just asked them with that "please help me look." Evan remembered back on how one time she even use the line of, "My parents died in a car accident and my little brother is sick." The lady brought her and Max, one of the other kids, into her home for almost a week straight. The lady was so nice, but one night she called social services and there was no way either Caitlin or Max were going to be put in an orphanage, even though the lady told them that she would adopt them. They knew that it was time to leave. Evan slowly regained his thoughts and looked through the crowd some more. He had his victim. She was an old lady that looked about 60-65. She had white hair and held a purse that was slung over her shoulder and toward her back. He followed her from a distance noticing the length of her strides and the angle at which her hands were out towards the front of her. He knew this would be an easy take down.
~/~@
Caitlin rode Bandit silently into the woods, following the well-known path to her long awaited destination. Once there she slid off his back and sat down at the base of the tree. She drifted off into a content state of mind. She thought about how life had been before she came to Montana, about Evan, and all her other friends that no one else knew about. How she missed her old life, but she was happy with the way things were going for her now. "Oh Evan," she spoke his name so softly that even if anyone had been near her they would not have heard her. She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms right then. A flood of memories came rushing back to her and she sorted through them slowly. She could see him running at age 10, from what she did not know, he never did tell her what he was running from that day they first met. ~~~He ran right into her that day and they toppled down. He landed on top of her with a look of so much fright that the emotion almost leaped from him into her. "Watch where you're going!" Caitlin yelled without looking up to see the face of who ran into her and when she did she was sorry for what she had said. "I didn't mean it. It's just that.umm.never mind. You would never understand." Evan rolled off her still looking to see if what was chasing him had followed him into the alley. He jumped up and offered a hand toward her. Caitlin took it and he helped pull her to her feet. She looked in the direction which he had came. "What were you running from?" she asked. "Nothing," he answered looking toward his feet, "Nothing." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself that what had just happened had never really happened, but it did and it would be with him forever. "Well, I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around the city some other time. Bye!" Caitlin started to walk away. She had places to go and things to do. Living on her own wasn't as easy as it seemed like it would be and she knew that if she stayed in one place to long sooner or later she would get caught by someone or worse, the cops. "Wait!" Evan called out to her. He knew there was something about her that was different from most other kids. He knew that he needed her. "What now?" Caitlin whipped around seeming a little pissed that she had been stopped from her exit. "Where are you going? What are you doing today?" Evan asked her very timidly. He did not want to upset her anymore than she already was, but he knew that he couldn't let her leave without him. "To tell you the truth, I dunno yet," answered Caitlin. She had been so used to just doing whatever popped into her head, that she never made plans anymore. "Well, can I come with you? I mean if you don't want me to I wont it's just that I thought I should maybe get you something or do something for you because I ran into you." Evan justified the idea well and was almost sure that Caitlin would let him join her. "You want to do something for me?" Caitlin asked with a sly look on her face getting more pissed of by the minute, "Then leave me the fuck alone!" Evan was hurt by this, but he tried not to show it. He could tell that Caitlin was a person that read into what people felt and knew how to use it to her advantage. Just then they both heard sirens waling and then a cop car came tearing into the alley. "Shit, cops!" Caitlin yelled. They both took off running, Caitlin down a little side street and Evan down an area that was full of clotheslines and trash cans. The cops jumped out of the car and went after them. One chasing Evan and one chasing Caitlin. Evan dashed and dodged his way through the obstacles running as fast as he could. It was a good thing he was so small. He lost sight of the cop and crept into a trash can flipping it over so that there was no way the cop would be able to see him. He waited a few moments until the cop passed by. He slowly removed the can from his head and knew that he was safe. But what about the girl? was all he could think of. He started back to were they had split, but heard her yell. I have to get to her, he thought. Evan ran down the side street and tried to catch up to her. He noticed a short cut and took it. He came out a few seconds ahead of her and she came up running. He grabbed on to her as she past and pulled her into the short cut. They both jumped into a dumpster barrel and sat there until the cop went by. "Damn it, we lost them again," said one cop, as the second one came running up behind him. "That was the same girl wasn't she?" asked the second one, out of breath from the run. "I think so," answered the first, "but who was that boy that was with her? I've never seen him before." "Who knows, these kids come from all over the U.S. and all settle in our city." "Well, lets get going. There is no way we are going to find them now." The cops leave the area and Evan and Caitlin jump out of the dumpster. They had been so quiet while the cops were there and until they knew that they were gone that neither one of them wanted to say anything. Evan was first to break the silence. He looked toward Caitlin and said, "Well, that was close." "A little too close," replied Caitlin. "Well, now that we've been in a dumpster together, I think I should introduce myself. I'm Evan," he stated with a smirk across his face slowly growing into a smile. Caitlin smiled back, "I'm Caitlin." She knew that this was the beginning of what was to be a long and great friendship. Evan knew it too.~~~ Bandit moved toward Caitlin and nudged her with his nose. "Oh crap!" she yelled. She had lost track of time and now the sun was setting. She knew that she was never going to get home in time and that once again the Lowes were going to be very upset with her. She jumped up onto Bandit and rode home as fast as she could pushing Bandit to his limit.
~/~@
Evan crept into position. He needed to do it now if he was ever going to get on a bus for Philly today. No one was around and he knew that this was the time to do it. Even if someone came around the next corner by the time she would have noticed what had happened he would be gone. He took a step back, then aimed for the old lady. He bumped into her causing her to drop her purse. "Oh, I am so sorry," he said watching the lady's bag fall to the ground, open, and spill its contents out onto the street, her wallet glistening in the slowly sinking sun's light. "Let me help you get that." He reached down placing the woman's belongings back into the bag, as she watched him, waiting for them to be returned to her. He handed the purse back to her. "Here you go. I really am sorry about that." "That's quite alright young man," she said once her belongs were back in her hands. "Thank you." She carried on and walked down the street heading to wherever she was going. Evan reached down into his coat pocket. He placed his hand on a bulging, hard object. He pulled his hand out and there it was, her wallet. He hoped that she had enough money in it so that he could buy his ticket back to the city. Just as he opened the wallet to look he heard the lady yelling in the distance. "My wallet! My wallet has been stolen!" She points toward him and Evan knows that it is all over. He tries to run, but when he turns around there is a deputy standing in his passage way. "Um.Hi," Evan says with a little nervous smile on his face. "Come with me son," states the cop. Evan knows that running will be a bad idea. He is not on his own turf and he has no place to run. He follows him back to the station.
~/~@
Caitlin gets home just after the sun dips behind the hills and the night takes over the whole sky. She runs into the house yelling, "I'm home, I'm home!" "That's great," replies Griffen sarcastically. He looks up from his schoolwork. "Where is everyone? And why are you doing homework on a Saturday night?" "Well, Dad is down at the station. And Mom is upstairs. As for my homework, why do you care?" answers Griffen slightly annoyed. "I don't," replies Caitlin as she sits on the couch and turns on the TV. She clicks through the first couple of shows until she finds Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "Do you mind? I'm trying to work here." "As a matter of fact, yes. Go upstairs if you want to work. This is the living room, its free domain." She smirks and knows that she has won.
"Oh really?" asks Griffen thinking otherwise. "Yeah," Caitlin replies with a slightly curious look on her face, "It's free domain. I can be in here if I want to." Griffen looks at her. "Would you say that if I told you that I found something hidden out underneath a wheelbarrow near your window today?" "What are you talking about?" Caitlin, surprised, thinks back to the morning. Oh shit. I forgot to go back and bring in the blanket and candles. He knows. Griffen looks her in the face. "Where were you last night?" "I was in my room, sleeping," was all she could reply. What else could she have said? Out with her old boyfriend having sex? Griffen would have liked the sound of that too much. She already knew he was one up on her and didn't want to give him any more information. "That's not what I think. I went in your room last night and you weren't there. I think you left the house. But here is my question, why the candles? I get the blanket. It was cold out last night, but the candles. Those stump me." "I don't know what you are talking about. I was in my room!" "Liar!" Caitlin begins to feel like something isn't right. She knows that Griffen knows, but why would he keep it a secret? "What do you want?" she asks him. "I want for you to talk to Taylor and get her to like me." "Are you crazy? I can't do that. It doesn't work that way." "I think it will, if you don't want to be grounded forever and never be trusted again." Griffen won this round, but Caitlin knew that she would get him back somehow.
~/~@
Jim walked into the house. He couldn't believe what had happened today. Stuff like this just didn't happen everyday. "Supper time!" called Dori. Everyone came running into the kitchen. They all sat down and were ready to eat. "You'll never believe what happened today," said Jim as he started to pass the food around the table. "What happened?" asked Griffen. He was always curious about what happened on his father's job whenever he felt it was important enough to talk about. "Well, it was a normal day, nothing really bad happened, but then, around 6 or so Pete, the new deputy brought in this kid." Everyone had begun to eat and Caitlin's ears began to perk. She normally wasn't interested in Jim's job, but she knew something was going to be different about this story. "Now this isn't just a regular kid. You know, he's not from around here. I could tell as soon as he walked through the door. He had a leather jacket and seemed to know everything he could about his surroundings." Caitlin perked up even more at the word leather. Her guts were telling her that something bad was about to be said. "He scanned the room as soon as he entered, it seemed like he was making little notes of it." "Why was he brought in?" Griffen asked. He never could wait until his dad got to the juicy parts of the job. "I'm getting there. Hold your horses," Jim replied and continued with his story. "His name was Evan Steamer and he was caught stealing from Mrs. Baker." Caitlin's jaw dropped. "You said E-E-Evan St-Steamer?" she stuttered over his name, surprised to hear it come out of Jim's mouth. "Yeah, Evan Steamer," Jim replied. "Anyways, he was caught stealing from Mrs. Baker, but this is the part that you will never believe. He's from Philly, he got here yesterday, and is 17 with no legal guardian." "He has no parents? How sad," Dori's happy face had turned to a depressed one in a matter of a few minutes. Caitlin could only think that's not sad. He's lucky. "Is he going to be charged with anything?" asked Caitlin anxious to know the answer. "Well, no," that's good thought Caitlin. "Mrs. Baker," continued Jim, "said that she didn't want to press charges. Instead she wanted someone in our town to become his legal guardian." Well, that wont happen was all Caitlin could think. The last time someone tried to do that to Evan he locked them in a room with no phone and took off leaving them there and not telling anyone. They were stuck in that room for 3 days straight. "Have you talked to anyone about this?" asked Dori. Don't bother, thought Caitlin, it's not like he will stay anywhere you put him. "Not yet, first I am going to make a list of people that I think would be able to handle him." Sounds like he's a convict or something. Handle him? He isn't a bad guy, is what Caitlin thought to that. It took all of Caitlin's strength to not say anything and Griffen must have read this off her face. "What's wrong Caitlin?" he asked. "Nothing," she answered. "Yeah, so I am going to see who might want to adopt him and see if I can arrange something," Jim continues. Caitlin couldn't hold back any longer. "What if Evan doesn't want to be adopted? What if Evan can take care of himself on his own? What if all you cause by having someone adopt him is heartache? You don't even know Evan. How can you make a decision that Evan is going to have to live with for the rest of his life if you don't even know him?" Jim turned toward Caitlin. "Is this how you feel toward us?" They hadn't figured out that she knew him. That was a close one; she thought they would find out for sure. "No, it has nothing to do with you. It's all about Evan and what he really wants. Why don't you ask him and find out? I mean, I wouldn't think that he would want to be adopted." "What do you mean that you wouldn't think that he would want to be adopted?" asks Jim, Dori waiting for her answer too. "I just mean that he might not want it," Caitlin has blown it. She hasn't come right out and said that she knows him, but Dori and Jim have the idea pondering in their heads. It is only a matter of time before one of them asks. Dori can't ponder the question anymore and asks, "Do you know Evan?" Then, it hits Griffen. She was out last night. She was out with Evan, whoever he was. Now he knew the whole thing and he was sure that he would get what he asked for from her. "Yeah, I do," answered Caitlin. She couldn't take it anymore she had to tell them that she knew him. "But he isn't like other guys. You can't just tell him to live with people if he doesn't want to. He won't stay with them. You have to let him pick and you have to get to know him before you will be able to know who he will allow to be his guardian." "Well, if its okay with you Dori, maybe we should have him stay here for the time it takes for us to set something up. That way we will be able to get to know him and everything." "I don't think that's such a good idea, Dad," Griffen states. "Why not?" asks Jim. Caitlin gives Griffen an evil stare and Griffen knows to stay away from the topic of Evan and her. "Um, oh nothing. It will be fine," as he changes his mind at the thought of both Caitlin and Evan beating him into the ground. "Good, then I will go and get him from the station in the morning. He can share your room Griffen." "Yeah, I guess so," answered Griffen.
~/~@
Supper drifted on and all Caitlin could think about was how great her life was going to be with Evan living under the same roof. She knew it wouldn't last long. He would take off, or he would be adopted and then take off, but she knew for the time that it would last it would be great. She just had to make sure that the Lowes wouldn't find out how deeply in love they were and this would be hard because Griffen already had an idea.
~/~@
Caitlin changes into new clothes and heads down the stairs. Griffen passes her on his way up with a slightly abnormal smirk on his face. Oh no! I think he knows, is all Caitlin can think. But how could he know and if he did wouldn't they be waiting in my room for when I climbed back in through the window? Caitlin is so nervous that she fears going down to eat breakfast. She knows that the Lowes are still upset with her from yesterday's skipping episode, and them finding out about her leaving in the middle of the night is only going to make things worse for her. She prays that Griffen hasn't said anything to them.
~/~@
Caitlin grabs a handful of Cheerios and heads out the door. "Where do you think you are going?" asks Dori. "Out for a ride." "Not so fast. You have to help me with the animals today." "But I helped last weekend!" "Yeah, and you should be glad that you don't have to work every weekend for the rest of the month for the stunt that you pulled yesterday! It won't take too long, I promise." Thoughts of last night flashed through her brain. His warm skin, his soft lips, his tenderness. She can feel a tingle through her whole body. Evan, Evan, Evan. I can't wait until he comes back for me. "Caitlin! Are you coming?" Startled, reality flushes back in, engulfing and surrounding her. She leaves her thoughts of last night behind, only to be ventured when she is alone, and runs to catch up to Dori.
~/~@
Evan walks towards the yellow bus. The commotion all around him is almost unbearable. He wishes that he could be back with Caitlin embracing her. The bus driver yells, "Last call for 9:00 bus ride to Philly!" Last time he had to get on the bus it was easy. He knew this time it would be harder. This was a new bus station and he didn't know their system for checking on tickets and everything else. Hoping they wouldn't ask for a ticket, he joined in the single file line and moved along with it. As he got closer to the entrance he though that he might just make it, but then he heard, "Ticket please?" He was surprised; he hadn't seen the bus driver standing at the front of the bus asking everyone that got on for their ticket. Evan quickly recovered. "Oh, um...My mom is in the bathroom, she has my ticket. She told me to get our seats. Can I just get on the bus now and then she can give you my ticket once she gets on?" Evan asks the bus driver very calmly. He had been used to lying his whole life, ever since he was 10, and he was pretty good at it too. "I'm sorry son, I can't allow that. You see if I let you on without a ticket, then I will have to let the next kid that asks me to get on the bus without a ticket on and I just can't do that. You'll have to go tell your mom that it's against the rules." Evan hurried away toward the bathrooms acting like he was going to get his mom. Damnit, he thought. I almost made it. Oh well, I guess that means I will just have to buy one. Evan reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Just my luck, he thought as he looked inside it. He only had $4 and the trip was going to cost him a lot more than that. If only I hadn't spent all my money on those candles and the blanket, but he knew that his money had been well spent. The night would not have been as special as it was if he hadn't had bought those items.
~/~@
Caitlin had spent the whole morning helping Dori and was pretty sure that she didn't know anything about what she had done last night. She was glad about that. "Okay, I think we are done," states Dori. Caitlin jumps from where she was sitting, still holding a sick kitten in her arms. "Really? Can I go now?" "Well, don't sound too excited there. Remember from now on you have to tell us where you are going and you have to be home by sunset." Caitlin gave her a "yeah, yeah, I know" look and set the kitten down on the table. "I'm going with Bandit to my favorite tree. You know where that is. And don't worry, I'll be home by sunset." She ran out the door and down the street to their ranch. She couldn't wait to get out and tell Bandit all about what had happened last night. She knew he would understand everything.
~/~@
Evan scanned the crowd of people. No one had really stricken him as someone that could help him yet. He knew exactly what kind of person to look for. Most of the time he would pick someone old or someone that wouldn't notice anything. He would wait until they were away from all the other people and then strike. This is going to be hard, he thought. But he had done it in even more crowded places than this before and sometimes the more crowded the easier it was. All he had to do was pick the right person and move at the right time. As he stood looking through the faces, he thought back on when Caitlin and him would do this in the big city. She was so good at it and had it mastered by the time he meet her at age 9. She always knew exactly what person to attack and sometimes they would even give it to her if she just asked them with that "please help me look." Evan remembered back on how one time she even use the line of, "My parents died in a car accident and my little brother is sick." The lady brought her and Max, one of the other kids, into her home for almost a week straight. The lady was so nice, but one night she called social services and there was no way either Caitlin or Max were going to be put in an orphanage, even though the lady told them that she would adopt them. They knew that it was time to leave. Evan slowly regained his thoughts and looked through the crowd some more. He had his victim. She was an old lady that looked about 60-65. She had white hair and held a purse that was slung over her shoulder and toward her back. He followed her from a distance noticing the length of her strides and the angle at which her hands were out towards the front of her. He knew this would be an easy take down.
~/~@
Caitlin rode Bandit silently into the woods, following the well-known path to her long awaited destination. Once there she slid off his back and sat down at the base of the tree. She drifted off into a content state of mind. She thought about how life had been before she came to Montana, about Evan, and all her other friends that no one else knew about. How she missed her old life, but she was happy with the way things were going for her now. "Oh Evan," she spoke his name so softly that even if anyone had been near her they would not have heard her. She wanted nothing more than to be in his arms right then. A flood of memories came rushing back to her and she sorted through them slowly. She could see him running at age 10, from what she did not know, he never did tell her what he was running from that day they first met. ~~~He ran right into her that day and they toppled down. He landed on top of her with a look of so much fright that the emotion almost leaped from him into her. "Watch where you're going!" Caitlin yelled without looking up to see the face of who ran into her and when she did she was sorry for what she had said. "I didn't mean it. It's just that.umm.never mind. You would never understand." Evan rolled off her still looking to see if what was chasing him had followed him into the alley. He jumped up and offered a hand toward her. Caitlin took it and he helped pull her to her feet. She looked in the direction which he had came. "What were you running from?" she asked. "Nothing," he answered looking toward his feet, "Nothing." It sounded like he was trying to convince himself that what had just happened had never really happened, but it did and it would be with him forever. "Well, I gotta go. Maybe I'll see you around the city some other time. Bye!" Caitlin started to walk away. She had places to go and things to do. Living on her own wasn't as easy as it seemed like it would be and she knew that if she stayed in one place to long sooner or later she would get caught by someone or worse, the cops. "Wait!" Evan called out to her. He knew there was something about her that was different from most other kids. He knew that he needed her. "What now?" Caitlin whipped around seeming a little pissed that she had been stopped from her exit. "Where are you going? What are you doing today?" Evan asked her very timidly. He did not want to upset her anymore than she already was, but he knew that he couldn't let her leave without him. "To tell you the truth, I dunno yet," answered Caitlin. She had been so used to just doing whatever popped into her head, that she never made plans anymore. "Well, can I come with you? I mean if you don't want me to I wont it's just that I thought I should maybe get you something or do something for you because I ran into you." Evan justified the idea well and was almost sure that Caitlin would let him join her. "You want to do something for me?" Caitlin asked with a sly look on her face getting more pissed of by the minute, "Then leave me the fuck alone!" Evan was hurt by this, but he tried not to show it. He could tell that Caitlin was a person that read into what people felt and knew how to use it to her advantage. Just then they both heard sirens waling and then a cop car came tearing into the alley. "Shit, cops!" Caitlin yelled. They both took off running, Caitlin down a little side street and Evan down an area that was full of clotheslines and trash cans. The cops jumped out of the car and went after them. One chasing Evan and one chasing Caitlin. Evan dashed and dodged his way through the obstacles running as fast as he could. It was a good thing he was so small. He lost sight of the cop and crept into a trash can flipping it over so that there was no way the cop would be able to see him. He waited a few moments until the cop passed by. He slowly removed the can from his head and knew that he was safe. But what about the girl? was all he could think of. He started back to were they had split, but heard her yell. I have to get to her, he thought. Evan ran down the side street and tried to catch up to her. He noticed a short cut and took it. He came out a few seconds ahead of her and she came up running. He grabbed on to her as she past and pulled her into the short cut. They both jumped into a dumpster barrel and sat there until the cop went by. "Damn it, we lost them again," said one cop, as the second one came running up behind him. "That was the same girl wasn't she?" asked the second one, out of breath from the run. "I think so," answered the first, "but who was that boy that was with her? I've never seen him before." "Who knows, these kids come from all over the U.S. and all settle in our city." "Well, lets get going. There is no way we are going to find them now." The cops leave the area and Evan and Caitlin jump out of the dumpster. They had been so quiet while the cops were there and until they knew that they were gone that neither one of them wanted to say anything. Evan was first to break the silence. He looked toward Caitlin and said, "Well, that was close." "A little too close," replied Caitlin. "Well, now that we've been in a dumpster together, I think I should introduce myself. I'm Evan," he stated with a smirk across his face slowly growing into a smile. Caitlin smiled back, "I'm Caitlin." She knew that this was the beginning of what was to be a long and great friendship. Evan knew it too.~~~ Bandit moved toward Caitlin and nudged her with his nose. "Oh crap!" she yelled. She had lost track of time and now the sun was setting. She knew that she was never going to get home in time and that once again the Lowes were going to be very upset with her. She jumped up onto Bandit and rode home as fast as she could pushing Bandit to his limit.
~/~@
Evan crept into position. He needed to do it now if he was ever going to get on a bus for Philly today. No one was around and he knew that this was the time to do it. Even if someone came around the next corner by the time she would have noticed what had happened he would be gone. He took a step back, then aimed for the old lady. He bumped into her causing her to drop her purse. "Oh, I am so sorry," he said watching the lady's bag fall to the ground, open, and spill its contents out onto the street, her wallet glistening in the slowly sinking sun's light. "Let me help you get that." He reached down placing the woman's belongings back into the bag, as she watched him, waiting for them to be returned to her. He handed the purse back to her. "Here you go. I really am sorry about that." "That's quite alright young man," she said once her belongs were back in her hands. "Thank you." She carried on and walked down the street heading to wherever she was going. Evan reached down into his coat pocket. He placed his hand on a bulging, hard object. He pulled his hand out and there it was, her wallet. He hoped that she had enough money in it so that he could buy his ticket back to the city. Just as he opened the wallet to look he heard the lady yelling in the distance. "My wallet! My wallet has been stolen!" She points toward him and Evan knows that it is all over. He tries to run, but when he turns around there is a deputy standing in his passage way. "Um.Hi," Evan says with a little nervous smile on his face. "Come with me son," states the cop. Evan knows that running will be a bad idea. He is not on his own turf and he has no place to run. He follows him back to the station.
~/~@
Caitlin gets home just after the sun dips behind the hills and the night takes over the whole sky. She runs into the house yelling, "I'm home, I'm home!" "That's great," replies Griffen sarcastically. He looks up from his schoolwork. "Where is everyone? And why are you doing homework on a Saturday night?" "Well, Dad is down at the station. And Mom is upstairs. As for my homework, why do you care?" answers Griffen slightly annoyed. "I don't," replies Caitlin as she sits on the couch and turns on the TV. She clicks through the first couple of shows until she finds Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "Do you mind? I'm trying to work here." "As a matter of fact, yes. Go upstairs if you want to work. This is the living room, its free domain." She smirks and knows that she has won.
"Oh really?" asks Griffen thinking otherwise. "Yeah," Caitlin replies with a slightly curious look on her face, "It's free domain. I can be in here if I want to." Griffen looks at her. "Would you say that if I told you that I found something hidden out underneath a wheelbarrow near your window today?" "What are you talking about?" Caitlin, surprised, thinks back to the morning. Oh shit. I forgot to go back and bring in the blanket and candles. He knows. Griffen looks her in the face. "Where were you last night?" "I was in my room, sleeping," was all she could reply. What else could she have said? Out with her old boyfriend having sex? Griffen would have liked the sound of that too much. She already knew he was one up on her and didn't want to give him any more information. "That's not what I think. I went in your room last night and you weren't there. I think you left the house. But here is my question, why the candles? I get the blanket. It was cold out last night, but the candles. Those stump me." "I don't know what you are talking about. I was in my room!" "Liar!" Caitlin begins to feel like something isn't right. She knows that Griffen knows, but why would he keep it a secret? "What do you want?" she asks him. "I want for you to talk to Taylor and get her to like me." "Are you crazy? I can't do that. It doesn't work that way." "I think it will, if you don't want to be grounded forever and never be trusted again." Griffen won this round, but Caitlin knew that she would get him back somehow.
~/~@
Jim walked into the house. He couldn't believe what had happened today. Stuff like this just didn't happen everyday. "Supper time!" called Dori. Everyone came running into the kitchen. They all sat down and were ready to eat. "You'll never believe what happened today," said Jim as he started to pass the food around the table. "What happened?" asked Griffen. He was always curious about what happened on his father's job whenever he felt it was important enough to talk about. "Well, it was a normal day, nothing really bad happened, but then, around 6 or so Pete, the new deputy brought in this kid." Everyone had begun to eat and Caitlin's ears began to perk. She normally wasn't interested in Jim's job, but she knew something was going to be different about this story. "Now this isn't just a regular kid. You know, he's not from around here. I could tell as soon as he walked through the door. He had a leather jacket and seemed to know everything he could about his surroundings." Caitlin perked up even more at the word leather. Her guts were telling her that something bad was about to be said. "He scanned the room as soon as he entered, it seemed like he was making little notes of it." "Why was he brought in?" Griffen asked. He never could wait until his dad got to the juicy parts of the job. "I'm getting there. Hold your horses," Jim replied and continued with his story. "His name was Evan Steamer and he was caught stealing from Mrs. Baker." Caitlin's jaw dropped. "You said E-E-Evan St-Steamer?" she stuttered over his name, surprised to hear it come out of Jim's mouth. "Yeah, Evan Steamer," Jim replied. "Anyways, he was caught stealing from Mrs. Baker, but this is the part that you will never believe. He's from Philly, he got here yesterday, and is 17 with no legal guardian." "He has no parents? How sad," Dori's happy face had turned to a depressed one in a matter of a few minutes. Caitlin could only think that's not sad. He's lucky. "Is he going to be charged with anything?" asked Caitlin anxious to know the answer. "Well, no," that's good thought Caitlin. "Mrs. Baker," continued Jim, "said that she didn't want to press charges. Instead she wanted someone in our town to become his legal guardian." Well, that wont happen was all Caitlin could think. The last time someone tried to do that to Evan he locked them in a room with no phone and took off leaving them there and not telling anyone. They were stuck in that room for 3 days straight. "Have you talked to anyone about this?" asked Dori. Don't bother, thought Caitlin, it's not like he will stay anywhere you put him. "Not yet, first I am going to make a list of people that I think would be able to handle him." Sounds like he's a convict or something. Handle him? He isn't a bad guy, is what Caitlin thought to that. It took all of Caitlin's strength to not say anything and Griffen must have read this off her face. "What's wrong Caitlin?" he asked. "Nothing," she answered. "Yeah, so I am going to see who might want to adopt him and see if I can arrange something," Jim continues. Caitlin couldn't hold back any longer. "What if Evan doesn't want to be adopted? What if Evan can take care of himself on his own? What if all you cause by having someone adopt him is heartache? You don't even know Evan. How can you make a decision that Evan is going to have to live with for the rest of his life if you don't even know him?" Jim turned toward Caitlin. "Is this how you feel toward us?" They hadn't figured out that she knew him. That was a close one; she thought they would find out for sure. "No, it has nothing to do with you. It's all about Evan and what he really wants. Why don't you ask him and find out? I mean, I wouldn't think that he would want to be adopted." "What do you mean that you wouldn't think that he would want to be adopted?" asks Jim, Dori waiting for her answer too. "I just mean that he might not want it," Caitlin has blown it. She hasn't come right out and said that she knows him, but Dori and Jim have the idea pondering in their heads. It is only a matter of time before one of them asks. Dori can't ponder the question anymore and asks, "Do you know Evan?" Then, it hits Griffen. She was out last night. She was out with Evan, whoever he was. Now he knew the whole thing and he was sure that he would get what he asked for from her. "Yeah, I do," answered Caitlin. She couldn't take it anymore she had to tell them that she knew him. "But he isn't like other guys. You can't just tell him to live with people if he doesn't want to. He won't stay with them. You have to let him pick and you have to get to know him before you will be able to know who he will allow to be his guardian." "Well, if its okay with you Dori, maybe we should have him stay here for the time it takes for us to set something up. That way we will be able to get to know him and everything." "I don't think that's such a good idea, Dad," Griffen states. "Why not?" asks Jim. Caitlin gives Griffen an evil stare and Griffen knows to stay away from the topic of Evan and her. "Um, oh nothing. It will be fine," as he changes his mind at the thought of both Caitlin and Evan beating him into the ground. "Good, then I will go and get him from the station in the morning. He can share your room Griffen." "Yeah, I guess so," answered Griffen.
~/~@
Supper drifted on and all Caitlin could think about was how great her life was going to be with Evan living under the same roof. She knew it wouldn't last long. He would take off, or he would be adopted and then take off, but she knew for the time that it would last it would be great. She just had to make sure that the Lowes wouldn't find out how deeply in love they were and this would be hard because Griffen already had an idea.
