She sat in his car, her heart was still pounding, her hands shaking. This was not what she'd expected. He's not a drugs dealer, but he is a thief. She wanted to say: "Why didn't you say so?" Would it have made a difference? Would she have given him the drugs he needed? Because the answer would still have been no. She wouldn't. He had to pay for it, just like anyone else. There were other, better ways to deal with this problem. Stealing wasn't the way.

He sat next to her, behind the wheel, not driving. His heart was pounding, his hands shaking. He hadn't expected to tell her or even show her the truth. He had hidden it for everyone. Even his closest friend didn't know about his mom. Nobody could know and yet he told her: a girl he didn't even really know. All they had together was that store he was stealing from, every time he went there. He distracted the girl he liked, so he could steal from her and her hardworking dad. He was just a criminal.

"Drive me back," Aliyah demanded. She didn't look at him. She had no idea what to say to him, other than that she wanted to go back.

He didn't say anything as they drove back. That façade he had been putting up had crumbled down and he no longer had witty or clever answers to her comments. He just drove her back.

Those thirty minutes felt a lot longer than before. The silence between them was weird, awkward, electric. He knew he had made a mistake.

She had fallen for him, his smile and his eyes. Even though she played hard-to-get, she fell for him, but he played her. Everything he said to her, was a play to get what he needed and she knew it from the start. However, she chose to ignore it. She was blind to his lies. Could she forgive him? Maybe he could pay it back. Maybe he could work for her dad and pay back every penny he had stolen from them.

When they arrived back at the store, she didn't get out. She just stared out of the windshield and thought of every way he could make it up to her.

He too thought of ways to apologize, but the words didn't come to him. "Aliyah," he finally said.

She glanced at him. Was he going to say he was sorry? Because that would not cover it. "You shouldn't have stolen," she interrupted him. "It was wrong and stupid."

"I know," he said. He hated that he had done it in the first place, but he just didn't know what else to do. He was running low on money and his mother needed the painkillers. Even though ibuprofen wasn't by far strong enough, he still had to try. He had good intentions, but his way was wrong and he knew it.

He wanted to tell her how sorry he was. That he wanted to pay back every penny, but of all things he said: "I love you." He leaned over to her, closed his eyes and pressed his lips onto hers.

It was supposed to be that magical moment. She had thought about the moment, when he would buy her a gas station bouquet and kiss her in the aisle of the lady products, but none of that had happened. Instead, he kissed her in an old, sweaty car after he broke her heart.

She immediately pushed him away. "You can't do that!" Her hand found the doorhandle. "Not without asking." Her eyes teared up again. As fast as she could, she rushed out of the car and slammed the door shut. "Don't you dare follow me," she said, trying to control her shaky voice. "Go!" she yelled. She turned around and ran off into the store of her dad.

He blew it. He destroyed everything. His throat tightened. He swallowed, but it wouldn't go away. He wiped away the single tear that had formed in his eyes. He slammed the steering wheel. His hand burned and felt bruised but all he felt was the burning of his heart. Then he turned the ignition key and drove away. He lost it all.