Blinking and gently shifting my jaw I looked up towards my sister. She was fuming, that much is obvious.

“I might have been a little late” I said, all but weakly.

“Late!?” She seathed, hands on hips. “You were out three hours longer than what we originally agreed upon!”

Scratching the back of my head I uncomfortably winced as the dull pain of the slap was finally setting in. For someone of her stature she can surely pack a punch.

“I already warned you that on Fridays we get busy, the later I stay, the more tips I get.” I said.

Glaring at me she turned in a huff, if my reasoning is money she can’t argue or complain about it. We surely need a lot of it now with our situation. I watched her as she marched back to her side of the room and covered herself back up within her bed sheets. This time, she confronted me in a more civil manner.

“Don’t do it again, I thought the worst” She said, continuing her glare.

“Roden got nothin on me” I chuckled, “Plus I know my way around this side of the city, the safest route is all I go. Just like I promised.”

Even though I have been sticking to the safe zones, I find it a tedious task since the safest routes tend to be the longest ones.

“You better…and I wasn't talking about just Roden… ugh whatever,” Tristan huffed.

“Why? You don’t trust me?” I teased. I waited for a response but nothing returned. Only the sound of her blowing out the light from the lamp was the only answer I got. When the darkness returned I finished removing my socks and brought myself under my sheets. I was exhausted. I didn’t care how dirty I was either, a habit I need to work on sooner than later. Laying on my back with the occasional snore from my sister as company I thought of what I needed to do to make it up to her.

For starters I need to meet up with Rob to grab my money. I also have to tell him that we need to lay low for a while, cops are becoming too paranoid. The smarter ones are starting to patrol these parts which isn’t good when I need to make cash. My thoughts moved onto spending, a good day's work equals a good day's reward. Maybe I'll get her a watch, maybe this time she could actually look at something other than the stars to tell the time.

Time.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I won’t beat around the bush. What did I do back there? Everything froze? The cop car was surely about to hit me, the lightning, the rain, and trees in mid sway. How?

Before I can think of it any further my exhausted body took over, and sleep embraced me with open arms.

______

A rustling Bed was the first thing I heard before a gentle tap on my chest woke me up.

“Hey, wake up,” Tristan said as she stretched her arms towards the ceiling.

I groaned as I sat up, a dim light glowed from under the doorway into the storage room where we slept. I watched as the dark figure of my sister clothed herself into her work clothes.

“Tristan? When does your shift end today?” I asked.

She froze in thought before responding, “I’ll be gone for a week actually. Some clients I need to attend to in another city, I'll tell you when we eat.”

I groaned again as I got out of bed, all that running last night did me no justice. I hope Rob doesn’t receive any job’s anytime soon, my legs can't handle it. I noticed Tristan taking my bag with her as she left the room, making sure to leave the door open.

“Can’t you just close the door when you leave,” I complained.

“Wake up,” was all I heard her say before she left the room.

It wasn’t long until I joined her outside the storage room. Tristan sat behind an overturned book shelf that we used as a table, as she poured some hot water into two bowls of oats. She set one across from me and one for herself, as she sat back down she brought my bag onto the table.

“Mind if I take a look,” Tristan asked.

“Help yourself,” I said, mixing my bland, gray breakfast with the spoon she had set out.

Opening my bag she took out a couple pairs of aprons, snacks, water bottle, wallet, and a couple dozen business cards. Tristan quickly took interest in my wallet, inside were only a few bills and a fake ID which we both had. After leaving every pocket inside-out she placed everything back into the bag, with the exception of my wallet. She then focused her attention back on to me, her eyes showing her confusion

“Did you not get paid yesterday?” Tristan asked.

“It’s today,” I nodded back, bringing a spoon full of oatmeal to my mouth.

“Was it? How were your tips?” She pressed.

“I got a lot more than what I would normally get on a normal night. That's why I stayed up late at the bar. Tips were too good to have left them with their previous owners.” I chuckled. “Would have gotten more if that one guy who-”

“Roden started doing his rounds around the mall yesterday,” She cut in.

“I thought it was next week?” I said, slowly lowering my spoon into the bowl in confusion.

“It was, but the bastard decided to pick up the cash from everyone last night. Most of us don’t have the money. I was able to delay it for the following week as planned but…I just thought you were being paid last night is all, but now we might be in a bit of a pickle,” Tristan sighed.

Roden walks around every couple of weeks and collects three thousand northern paper backs from each group that lives in the mall. Apparently it’s for his services as a protector, funny enough most people here know how to do it themselves one way or another. As for why It’s been a problem for Tristan and I, the key word is groups. Our group consisted of two people as of now, while others consisted of at least 10. Collecting cash is much less problematic when more than two are the breadwinners.

”which brings us to our current issue,” Tristan continued. “I won’t be here to pay Roden his due, so you need to give it to him within the next week. Do you think you can do that?” She asked.

“Don’t worry,” I sighed. “I’ll talk to my boss and get my money. He likes me enough to give it to me early, I can pay Roden as soon as I get back. Promise.”

”You better, because if you don't. Well… I guess we won't really have a roof over our heads would we.”