Owen awoke the next morning wondering if the previous night had all been a dream. Clad in only his boxers, he went to inspect the guestroom and see if, in fact, his father had let a common criminal into their home.

When he reached the door he knew he’d have to be extra quiet, not knowing if she was a light or heavy sleeper or if the girl had even stayed at all. If he got caught sneaking into the girl’s room, there was no telling what his parents would think he was trying to do to precious Leah. He slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. He peered into the room to see her sprawled across the bed on her back.

She looked almost angelic with her short mop of dark hair feathered across the stark white pillow. Her skin was flawless and caramel smooth. If she weren’t a homeless street thief he might have considered her almost attractive, he thought as he began to close the door back.

“Is Lee awake?”

Owen flinched and turned to see his little sister staring up at him intently. “Damn it — I mean, dang it, Hayley! What are you doing sneaking up on me like that?” He whispered harshly as he secured Leah’s bedroom door to its rightful place.

“What are you doing watching Lee sleep?” Hayley asked with a knowing smile.

“I wasn’t watching Leah sleep, I was…I was looking for…” He thought for a moment but could come up with no excuse, so he opted for the only thing he knew would make his baby sister stop asking questions. “You’re a little kid, you wouldn’t understand.”

“I am not a little kid!” She stomped and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Point proven.” Owen said simply and moved toward his room with a satisfied smile.

****

She’d been awake for at least an hour, staring at the white ceiling when she heard the footsteps. The door was ajar and Leah was about to sit up and confront the peeping-tom, when she heard Hayley’s voice. If she hadn’t already been awake, Leah would have been jolted back to consciousness anyway. She had always been a light sleeper, from the day she was born. Her mother would always say there wasn’t a dream worthy enough that could keep her sleeping for long. But it wasn’t insomnia keeping her from sleep; it was the images of the dream swimming around in her head. The nightmare had come back and although she hadn’t had it in months, it was always the same.

The orange flames obstructed her vision and the screams of her mother were ear-piercing. She saw a shadow amongst the smoke and turned to flee. She didn’t know who it was, all she knew was that she needed to get away or she’d meet the same fate as her parents.

If not for the ability to bottle her emotions, Leah was sure she would have let tears fall. Crying was old news, she thought. She needed to start over and find a place she belonged.

Listening to the two siblings bicker brought a gentle smile to her lips. It’d been a long time since she’d been in a real home and surrounded by actual people. She’d been alone for so long.

This time when a soft knock sounded at the door, she sat up.

“Leah? Are you up?” the soft female voice asked.

Leah caught sight of bright red hair that peeked in from behind the door. For a moment, she saw the face of her mother; all feminine charm with gentle emerald eyes. A smiled threatened to break through but when Leah blinked, Anne stood staring at her inquisitively.

“Lee, are you all right?”

Leah blinked again and threw up her shield. “Yeah.”

“We’re having breakfast.” Anne grinned and stood looking at the disheveled girl. The way Miss Greenburg was looking at her was unnerving, as if she was trying to get inside her mind.

“Okay…” Leah drew out. “And you want me to join?”

Anne laughed, as if she’d made a joke. “Well of course we want you to join us, honey.”

Leah shook her head and let her bare feet hit the floor. She grabbed for her jeans at the foot of the bed but found them gone. She looked to Anne accusingly and began to back up until the back of her legs bumped into the bed frame.

“Where are—”

“Your clothes? In the wash,” Anne grinned and made her away around Leah to idly secure the comforter back into place. Such a typical teenage move to not make the bed, Anne thought.

“You didn’t think I’d let you put those old dirty clothes back on without having washed them, did you?”

“Well, I—”

Anne contemplated Leah’s clothing size in her head and smiled once she had it. “I have several clothes from when I lost some weight a few years ago. I’m still holding out for when I get my butt back to the gym.” she winked as she finished smoothing out the sheets and fluffing the pillows.

“I don’t want your damn clothes,” Leah snapped and waited for the older woman to snap back. “I’m leaving.”

“Well, it’s your choice.” Anne shrugged and moved toward the door slowly. “Your clothes won’t be out of the laundry for a bit and you have nothing else. But, it makes no never mind to me if you want to come downstairs in your tank top and hot pants.”

Leah looked down at her powder blue boy-short panties and then back up at Anne. She really didn’t have much else to leave with. The only things left in her backpack was a half eaten sandwich she’d stolen the day before, an empty pack of cigarettes and her mother’s favorite red knit scarf. None of those items would keep her out of jail for indecent exposure. Lord, she thought, she could have used a smoke.

Giving up, Leah sighed. “Is this stuff from the 60s?”

Her eyes widened in shock and amusement. “Girl, no! I have some style and I’m always current with the latest trends. Besides, I was born in 1970, thank you very much.”

Anne caught Leah’s faint smile as she headed back to her own room for the outfits she’d decided would be perfect for the young girl.

****

Once Leah had showered and selected a simple pair of blue jeans and a blouse with a three-quarter length sleeve that Anne had lain across the lavender comforter, she headed down the stairs. Sunlight filtered in through the open windows and made the living room feel open and alive. The light gleamed off of the silver frames on the fireplace mantel she’d seen the night before. She hesitantly padded toward the photographs and stood on her toes to get a closer look.

The first picture was a black and white of Anne and David on their wedding day. It wasn’t the traditional straight laced wedding photo she’d have expected to see from the cookie-cutter Greenburgs. The backdrop was the lobby of a ritzy hotel lobby with high ceilings, enormous columns and what Leah had guessed was gold trim. The newlyweds had found a comfortable velvet couch to crash after a busy day of celebrating. A much younger and thinner David had undone his bow tie, unbuttoned the first two buttons on his dress shirt and had his head resting in Anne’s full-skirted lap. Her hands were on either side of his head as he tilted his chin up to gaze lovingly at his new bride. There was a faint, knowing grin on Anne’s face as she gazed back. The photographer had captured a beautifully candid moment between the couple and Leah frowned at longing she felt as she gazed the photo.

The other snap shots were of random family members and some of their kids through the years. A photo of Owen in a one-kneed football pose immediately caught her attention. His attempt at looking intimidating had Leah rolling her eyes. Of course he was a jock, she thought and moved on to the next photo of Hayley. She couldn’t have been more than a year old with her chubby fingers reaching for something out of the shot and her open mouth smile displaying four baby teeth.

Laughter coming from behind startled Leah. It was then that she caught the soft aroma of eggs waft past her nostrils, making her stomach coil with hunger.

She’d stay for breakfast, she thought, and then she’d get the hell out of here.

When she peeked in through the entry way, she spotted Anne and Hayley seated at a round mosaic tilted table as David stood at the stove scrambling eggs. She breathed a sigh of relief when she didn’t see their asshole of a son. She could have done without an encounter with the kid; then again, the prospect of tearing him a new one before she left for good was pretty tempting. He must have been out shopping for another girly messenger bag, she concluded as she continued to watch the family silently. Leah had to keep from grinning as David attempted to expertly toss the eggs into the air and catch them in the pan again. He failed miserably and the family broke out into hysterics. The scene looked perfect for a Hamburger Helper commercial promoting family togetherness. As Leah stepped over the threshold, she felt like an outsider intruding and was ready to turn around and bolt before Hayley spotted her.

“Lee! Come sit next to me,” she said and beckoned her animatedly.

Leah folded her lips inward in an effort to keep from smiling at the bouncy girl and followed instructions. All eyes were on her and she felt unnerved. She passed David at the stove but made no attempt to greet him.

“Mornin’ sleepy head. How’d you rest?” David smiled as he finished cleaning up the ruined eggs from the floor.

A short and finalized, “fine” was Leah’s reply. She didn’t want to get buddy-buddy with these people, so keeping it short and sweet was the key. She would have eggs, maybe grab some fruit for the road and be on her way. She quickly reached for a strawberry that sat in a ceramic bowl in the center of the table. She popped the fruit into her mouth and chewed as if she would never taste something so sweet again. It’d been forever since she’d had fresh fruit. Leah was tempted to grab for another but resisted when Anne looked at her and grinned.

“So, Hales, what do you want for your birthday?” David looked over his shoulder at his daughter. He smiled when she began rattling off potential gifts.

“A bike, a puppy, world peace and President Obama to be elected for a second term.”

David considered his daughter for a moment. “The bike we can definitely do. The rest we’ll just leave up to The Man upstairs to handle, yeah?”

Hayley pouted and looked toward her mother. “So, no puppy?”

“We’ll see, sweetie.” Anne kissed her daughter’s cheek.

“Anne, don’t do that.” David said as he rounded the table and placed a bowl of eggs and a plate of toast next to the fruit.

“Do what?” She shrugged and reached for a slice of toast.

“Get her hopes up like that and undermined me.”

Leah watched silently. Hmm, she thought, so they do have some flaws after all. She’d remember her parents used to have fights like this. Most of them ended in silence throughout the house for a few hours, but all of them never lasting very long.

“I just love my baby girl.” She cooed exaggeratedly at Hayley and gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek that left the child giggling. When Anne sobered, she turned back to her husband. “But you’re right. I’m sorry, babe.”

“Oh, no.” He pointed at his wife accusingly. “Don’t you turn that pouty face on me. That’s exactly where our daughter gets it.”

As if rehearsed, the two put their heads together and made the same pitiful face that had David shaking his head in amusement.

“See these two, Lee? They’re always cuttin’ up. I never win around here and now I’m over run with women!”

“Not for long,” said a menacing voice from the doorway.

Everyone turned and in strolled Owen with a saucy glared directed at Leah, who rolled her eyes and stabbed into her eggs forcefully.

“Oh! My baby boy, welcome home!” Anne outstretched her arms and made a beeline for Owen. She caught her son in a tight embrace and gave him the same smacking kisses she’d bestowed upon her daughter a moment before.

His scowl slowly melted into mock disgust and soon into a full-fledged grin. Leah was momentarily surprised by the sight of his quirked lips and began to grin herself, until their eyes locked. Both of their jaws clenched and they glared evenly. Neither wanted to be the first to break the glower but when Anne called her name, Leah looked to the older woman.

“When do you plan to head out?” Anne asked with indifference once she sobered and moved to a cupboard to retrieve a plate for Owen.

Hayley threw her mother a pout and then looked at Leah pleadingly. “You’re leaving? You can’t go! My birthday is in two days and I want you to be there.”

Leah groaned inwardly. She knew she should have chosen another night to pick pockets.  

****

The day of Hayley’s party, the family had woken up early to make sure the finishing touches were in place. The Greenburgs’ had pulled out every stop for their daughter’s special day. Leah padded toward the window that was facing the backyard so she could get a good look at the source of all the commotion. An inflatable castle was being erected and so was a small pin where Leah was sure animals would later reside. Leah caught Anne carrying food under a white tent that sat adjacent to entertainment.

Leah shook her head in amazement.

She could remember having small, intimate birthday parties with just family. Her mother would make a cake, and her father would be in charge of the presents. Her sixteenth birthday had been the final one she’d had with both her parents. Her mother had given Leah her red scarf she had fawned over for months. Her mother always had great taste in clothing. Leah had worn the scarf multiple times without her mother’s permission, and she was sure her mother had no idea until she had received it on her birthday. Leah had remembered blushing profusely when she’d opened the gift and there sat the crimson wool garment.

Leah broke from her reverie when someone knocked at the door.

“Lee? Are you up? Come down and see all the cool stuff!” Hayley’s tiny voice resounded.

Leah chuckled to herself and pulled open the door to see the child smiling up at her — the excitement evident in her beautiful hazel eyes.

“I can see everything from the window. You’re spoiled kid, you know that?” Leah said with a mock frown.

Hayley giggled and shrugged. “I know. Maybe mama and daddy got me that puppy!”

“They probably did. I’ll be out in a second, okay?”

Hayley’s grin widened. “Okay!” She took off down the hallway and Leah could do nothing but shake her head again as she stepped back into the room, leaving the door cracked.

Moving to her backpack, she pulled out her scarf and held it to her nose. It had long since lost the scent of her mother, but she sniffed it anyway. She imagined how it looked around Aria Henderson’s neck and burned the image in her brain so she wouldn’t forget.

When her door swung open, Leah turned with an amused expression on her face.

“Hayley, I’ll be down—oh, It’s you. Don’t you knock?” She scoffed and quickly stuffed the scarf back into her bag, not wanting Owen to see.

Ignoring the question, Owen barged into the room without any regard for the woman residing in it. “What’s that you have? Something else you stole from my parents?”

“Go to hell.” Leah clenched her fists, ready to strike if necessary.

Owen sneered but was amused that he could get under her skin. “That’s where thieves go; low-life’s with nothing better to do than to steal from honest, hardworking people.”

She rolled her eyes and tried to step around him, but he blocked her path. Leah moved again but he followed.

“Are we really doing this again?” She sighed. “Don’t you get sick of being a dick all the time?”

“No, as a matter of fact. It’s easy when the recipient is scum of the earth.” Owen crossed his arms over his chest and tried to avert his eyes away from her chest where her nipples pebbled under her tank top. “I just want you to know that you’re not going to get away with stealing from my parents. Give whatever you’ve taken back and then leave.”

“I haven’t stolen from your parents.” Leah gritted her teeth and pointed a finger. “Now, get out of my way before I knee you so hard in the balls, you’ll be pissing from your mouth.”

Owen stayed quiet as he gave her a once over and then stepped aside to let her pass. Once she was at the door, Own quickly moved toward her bag. Leah’s confusion suddenly turned to horror as she watched Owen pull the scarf from her backpack and inspect it.

“Give that back to me!” Leah reached for her scarf but he held it out of her grasp. “I’m dead serious, you prick! Give me my scarf back.”

“Looks like shit. You must have stolen this one several months ago when it was colder.” He laughed harshly at her attempts to retrieve the item.

He wasn’t sure why he was baiting her like this, but he found some satisfaction in pissing her off. Owen had never considered himself a bully but he may have taken up the practice sooner if he’d known how much gratification he would get from it. As she continued to jump and reach for the scarf, her body repeatedly brushed against his. He was becoming oddly accustomed to having her womanly curves so close and that single fact disgusted and confused him.

“Give that back. It’s important to me.” She pleaded desperately.

“What are you willing to do for it?” Owen barely recognized his own husky voice, and was shocked at the sexual innuendo he’d just presented. “I mean…will you leave if I give this back to you?”

“Gladly.” Leah tried to keep her voice from quivering but Owen had caught the subtle hint of tears.

Slowly Owen lowered the scarf. She snatched it from his grasp and shoved him aside to stuff it back into her bag. When she turned to glare at him, the look was more than anger, more than sadness — it was defeat. And he felt more guilt than he had ever in his entire life.

As Owen stood by awkwardly and watched her gather the rest of her things, he wondered why she was so emotional over a piece of clothing. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a scarf.”

At that, Leah whipped around to face him. “It was my mother’s scarf. And she’s dead, you asshole. Yes, I’m an orphan. Not really news. You probably think they’re better off dead so they don’t have to deal with me, huh? We’ll you’re probably right.”

Speechless, all he could do was watch as she went back to angrily and unknowingly stuffing the clothes Anne had let her borrow into her worn backpack. Owen heard her sniffle and for the first time since they’d met, he really did feel like an asshole. And he didn’t like it one bit.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t know.” Owen shoved his hands into his pockets.

Leah stopped packing and hesitated before looking over her shoulder. “Well, now you do.” She said as she zipped up the bag and threw it over her shoulder.

As she made her way to the door, Owen stepped in her path. “Where are you going?”

Leah kept her head down as she spoke. “Away from you.”

“I said I was sorry. I didn’t know your mother was…I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“So? You’re sorry. Good for you. Now, move!”

“You can’t leave. Hayley would be heartbroken.”

Leah’s humorless laugh was unrecognizable, even to herself. “Hayley will be heartbroken, or you’ll get into trouble for running me off?”

Owen considered his answer and thought of the tongue lashing his mother would give him if she found out he’d been the cause of Leah’s departure. “More so for Hayley’s sake. She’d never forgive me if I took away her only female companion.”

Leah shrugged indifferently and pushed Owen out of her way. “Looks like you’ll have some expl—”

Both heads snapped in the direction of Hayley’s voice echoing down the hall way from the foot of the stairs. “Lee, are you coming?”

Leah kept her eyes fixed on Owen as she answered. “Yeah, I’m coming down right now.”

He visibly relaxed and sighed. “Than—” Owen stopped short when she held up a dismissive hand and gave him a hard look.

“After today, I’m gone. There’s no reason why you should need to speak to me. Don’t even look at me, as a matter of fact. Just stay as far away from me as humanly possible, then I’ll leave and you can go back to you perfect life. Agreed?”

Leah didn’t wait for his reply as she tossed her bag onto the bed and sauntered from the room, leaving Owen to stare after her. He closed his eyes for a second and wondered why his temperament was on such a rollercoaster lately. He’d called her a low-life, but the way he was acting was no better than the guys his father hauled off to prison daily.

She hadn’t asked for anything in the three days since she’d arrived and that had made Owen suspicious. He had been convinced that she was stealing and had come to confront her about it but he had become distracted by the sudden attraction he’d felt for her. It had irked him and pissed him off, so he had tried to annoy her as much as possible to the point where she could no longer endure it. It had almost worked until he had taken her mother’s scarf and acted like a complete jerk.

He hadn’t known that her mother was dead and that made him curious about her father. Was he dead as well? She had said she was an orphan, so obviously she didn’t have a guardian to speak of. Deep down, he ached when he’d seen a brief glimpse of the lonely girl who really had no one else in the world. He didn’t know how he would have survived without his parents in his life. Maybe that’s what he’d have to do — just survive. Exactly what Leah was trying to do. He couldn’t let her leave now. His parents would crucify him and his sister would never forgive him.

All Owen had to do was stay clear of Leah for the rest of the day and she would be out of his life by tomorrow, with no guilt on his part. He could definitely do that, but he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t look at her.