The girl at the counter doesn’t make any attempt to help me, so I browse on my own. The Christian Louboutin pumps are set up in a display inside the store, and when I check inside the shoes, I discover they are in my size—a seven.
I remove them from the display and find a bench on the side to try them on. I slip off the shoes I’ve been wearing all day, and I slide my stocking feet into the brand-new pumps. I feel very much like Cinderella when they fit me perfectly. They don’t cut into my heel or pinch my toes. I could wear these shoes all day.
Actually, it would be quite a sensible purchase.
And why not? I worked all summer. I deserve a treat. I don’t know why, but I get a little rush every time I purchase a pair of shoes. I don’t even know what part is my favorite. I love the excitement as I’m bringing them to the counter and then as the clerk is ringing them up and the anticipation that they will soon belong to me. Or setting them up inside my closet, neatly lined up next to all my other shoes. And of course, the first time I get to wear them outside the house. I may be plain, especially compared to my husband, but shoes like this make me feel glamorous. Like I might actually be attractive enough to be married to the gorgeous Nathaniel Bennett.
Except then I turn over one of the pumps and see the price tag. Oh. Oh wow. Nate will not approve of this.
The dopamine rush vanishes. As much as I want them, these shoes will never be mine. Even if I didn’t have to face my husband when the credit card bill arrives, I could never justify spending this much on a pair of shoes. I stare down at my feet, a wave of sadness coming over me. I want these shoes.
So much.
I glance up at the clerk, still sitting at the counter. There’s an elderly woman who is purchasing some shoes, so her attention is occupied. The woman is shuffling around inside her purse, searching for her wallet. She’s probably going to try to pay with a check or something. They’re not going to be done anytime soon.
And my giant purse is gapingly empty.
Before I can stop myself, I slide the pair of Christian Louboutin pumps inside my sky-blue purse. They fit perfectly, like they were meant to be there. When I zip up my purse, you can’t tell they are even inside. And most shoes don’t have anything that will alarm when they are taken out of the store. They don’t have a security tag.
I start to stand up, but my legs wobble and I fall back down. Am I really going to do this? Am I really going to steal these shoes? I’ve never done anything like this before.
Well, not in a long time.
I won’t get caught. The clerk has barely glanced up at me while I’ve been here, and now that the elderly woman is done paying for her shoes, she’s gone back to her phone. I can walk right out of here, and she’ll never know. I haven’t seen any cameras.
Am I really going to do this?
I guess I am.
I stand up more successfully this time, my legs trembling but still maintaining me upright. With a shaking hand, I tuck a strand of my limp, muddy brown hair behind one ear. The elderly woman is shuffling in the direction of the door, clutching the plastic bag with her own shoebox in her gnarled right hand. I follow her, also heading toward the exit. When I glance behind me, the clerk is looking back down at her phone again. She’s never going to notice me leaving with these shoes. I’m going to get away with this, and Nate won’t be able to complain about the credit card bill.
And just as I am congratulating myself, the alarm blasts through the store.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Eight
ADDIE
I GO HOME IMMEDIATELY after school because that’s what my mother told me to do.
I grab a ride on the school bus because I don’t have my bike, and it’s just a bit too far to walk, especially with my heavy backpack. Most of the kids on the school bus are younger, because a lot of the juniors and seniors drive to school. I turned sixteen over the summer, and I got my learner’s permit, but my mom made the executive decision that I wasn’t ready for driving lessons, no matter how much I begged. I did manage to convince her to take me out in our car a few times in a parking lot though. Better than nothing.
Hudson has a car now. He turned sixteen almost ten months ago, back when we were still speaking. He couldn’t wait to get his learner’s permit and pass the driving exam so that he could get a limited license. As usual, he included me in his plans. I’ll swing by and give you a ride to school every morning, Addie.
The car he bought looks like he scraped it together from pieces at the junkyard, and I’m sure he paid for it himself with money from his summer or after-school jobs. But his new girlfriend Kenzie didn’t seem to have any qualms about climbing into it.