"So I told her-"
"Guys! Turn on the TV!" Patricia exclaimed as she ran into the common room, Jerome, Alfie, and Nina trailing in behind her. Hearing the urgency in her voice, Fabian immediately set down his book and switched on the television just as Nina plopped down between him and Amber.
Amber, who was in the middle of telling Mara a story, pouted, crossing her arms, but looked at the TV regardless.
"... According the sheriff not a single fingerprint has been found," a young, blonde, female news anchor stated on the screen. The woman sat at a large, spacious, metal desk, her hands were clasped together as she continued.
"Nor has any type of DNA. Unfortunately, the police had not been able to catch the guy on video as the security camera wires had been cut," She said in rhythm.
"Mr. Millington had told us that the thief had taken all the jewelry from their new fall collection -that has not come out yet- along with their most expensive pieces. But, the robber HAD set off the silent alarm, but unfortunately by the time the cops had arrived, only five minutes later, the thief was gone. Now here's Joe with the rest of the story..."
A balding middle-aged man was showed on the screen, a microphone in hand. His yellow rain coat had small water droplets resting on it and his hair was damp with water. Behind him stood a row of familiar shops and restaurants, but one stood out to the house. At the top of one building was the sign, "Millington Jewelry," in fancy cursive. Nina could feel her palms sweating as she glanced over her housemates, who sat staring intently at the screen. Nina could feel the anxiousness radiate off of her roommate beside her.
"Thank you, Jamie," Joe stated into the mic. "I'm here outside the Millington Jewelry Shop located in the Liverpool villages," he said, walking towards the small, enclosed store.
"As you can tell there's no outside damage whatsoever." He man ducked under a blue and white "POLICE- DO NOT CROSS" tape, walking closer to the building.
"No broken windows." he gestured to the front of the building, pointing out the flawless exterior. "No broken locks. It shows no signs of a possible break in." Joe opened the front door, the familiar ding echoing through the scene. Inside, stood a small group of adults: employees, policemen, insurance agents. The news reporter stepped inside the jewelry shop, facing the camera.
"The inside is pretty much the same. No broken glass cases, no broken locks," The camera scanned over the empty glasses cases the policemen were investigating, "No footprints, and no fingerprints Apart from the missing jewelry and the silent alarm going off, there would've have been no clues to a robbery. Back to you, Jamie."
The scene switch back over to the studio, revealing the same blonde woman as before.
"Thank you, Joe. So no fingerprints, no footprints, and out the village by the time police showed. Not very common for a robber. Whoever this guy is, he's good." Nina smirked slightly, satisfied with the compliment. She felt her phone vibrate and discreetly pulled out of her back pocket, unlocking it, and reading her newest text message.
"...Now over to Zachery with this week's weather forecast."
Fabian shut off the TV and glanced at his housemates. Everyone looked over at the blonde, who sat on the sofa, stunned, her eyes shining. The sound of the grandfather clock echoed throughout the common room. Nina's eyes darted glanced around and she could feel the tension slowly start to suffocate her. Was anyone going to say anything? After a few moments, Amber finally spoke up.
"Someone robbed Daddy's store?" she asked softly. Fabian could feel his heart break when he heard the pain in Amber's voice.
"Ambs," he started, his hazel-green eyes staring at her in pity. Amber brushed him off before storming out of the lounge. Nina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she looked around seeing she wasn't the only one. Jerome, Joy, Eddie, and Patricia all had the same look on their faces.
Noticing the puzzled looks of her friends, Mara spoke up. "The jewelry shop was one of the last connections Amber had with her mother," she mentioned, gaining everyone's attention.
"Her mum passed about eight months ago." Mara explained, seeing the even more confused faces of her housemate. "The pieces in the fall collection were all chosen by Amber and her mum."
"They had never been close," the raven-haired girl continued, "not like her and her dad, so that was the first Amber had done anything with her mum in a long time. It was one of the few times in Amber's life that she felt proud of herself, I guess you could say. So someone stealing those pieces probably makes her feel like they stole a piece of her mum, a piece of her heart." Tears pricked at Nina's eyes, hearing the heartbreaking news Mara had just shared.
"How come she never told me?" Nina whispered, looking helplessly into Mara's dark eyes. Mara immediately saw the pain in the dirty blonde's eyes and smiled sadly and sympathetically.
"Around the time of her mum's passing, you were upset about the anniversary of you're parents' death," Mara explained. "Not that it was wrong for you to feel sad," she added before she could offend Nina. "But she didn't want to burden you by mentioning her mother died. Fabian and I were the only one's who knew."
"I wish I knew," Nina said to herself, staring blankly ahead of her.
"It's not you're fault," Mara mentioned. "It's not like you were the one who robbed the shop." Mara chuckled slightly at her sad attempt to comfort Nina, but little did she know it made the girl feel worse. Mara quietly exited the room, the others following, leaving a conflicted Nina alone in the lounge.
Please review and tell me what you think of the edited version. (: I will hopefully truly update this story sometime soon, but there are no promises.