●Gem●
Jade was too hangovered to drive, which resulted in me taking the wheel on our way back. I usually drove us to the club while she handled the ride home, but for the past few days she had been coming back drunk. She had met a guy who kept asking for her every night, and even without her admitting it, I could see it in the way her guard softened. I had been there once. You do not miss the signs when you have already fallen in love before.
We climbed the narrow stairs to the second floor of our building, where I unlocked the door to our shared one bedroom apartment, and held it open until she stumbled inside, following her in and locking it behind us.
"Fuck, I still feel like I'm floating in the clouds." She dropped onto the couch, shoes still on, her head falling back against the cushion.
"You will be floating in the clouds for real if Harry finds out about your little fling." I kicked off my shoes and set my keys on the counter, my chest tightening as the words left me.
That was how fucked up our lives were. We were owned. Dating was forbidden. Attachment was dangerous. I had watched people die for less than feelings, and the thought of Jade getting pulled into that kind of ending made my stomach twist.
"Fuck him. I don't want to talk about that bastard. I'm going to bed" She waved a lazy hand in the air, eyes squeezed shut. Despite saying that, she made no effort to move.
I grabbed the remote and turned on the television, the sound of a woman reporting the weather filling the room. While she droned on about clear skies and rising temperatures, I moved into the kitchen and made two cups of coffee, letting the bitterness rise with the steam. I sliced the cake I had baked the night before and set it on a plate.
If life had been kinder, I would have been a chef. Cooking had always made sense to me. I had even enrolled in a catering course before everything went to hell.
I carried the plate over and nudged it toward her. "Here."
Her face tightened suddenly and she bolted for the bathroom, gagging. By the time she came back, her eyes were watery but steadier, and she curled back into the couch, pulling the blanket over her legs.
The television had shifted from the weather to a studio interview. A single man sat across from the host, silver hair neatly combed, a flag pin glinting on his lapel. The words Sitting Senator glowed at the bottom of the screen.
"So, Senator," the interviewer pressed, leaning slightly forward, "the public wants answers. Billions were allocated to education and public healthcare last year. Yet schools are still underfunded, and hospitals are collapsing. Where did the money go?"
The senator's smile did not falter. He adjusted his tie slowly, as if buying time. "There seems to be a misunderstanding. No funds have gone missing. These processes take time. Budgets are distributed in phases, and delays are normal when dealing with large scale public projects."
The interviewer raised a brow. "With all due respect, Senator, this is not about delays. Independent audits show discrepancies. Teachers are unpaid. Medical supplies are scarce. Citizens are paying higher insurance premiums because public healthcare is failing."
The senator nodded sympathetically, hands clasped together. "What people fail to understand is that systemic reform cannot happen overnight. There are administrative hurdles, legal approvals, and private partnerships involved. It is unfair to label that as theft."
I sank deeper into the chair, my fingers tightening around the mug.
"So you are saying no public money has been misused?" the interviewer asked.
"Absolutely not," he replied smoothly. "Every dollar is accounted for. The real issue is misinformation and impatience. We are building a stronger system, one step at a time."
Jade let out a low laugh, reaching for the cake. "Must be nice to sound that calm while people die waiting for treatment."
I did not bother much with the news. We were never lucky enough to have a good system, and I knew better than to expect one now. Our higher boss, the man none of us had ever met, had connections that ran deep, including the police. Escape was not just difficult, it was suicidal. Going to the authorities would only get us dragged back, punished, or quietly killed off. The system was stacked against us, and the very people meant to protect us did not give a single fuck.
I moved toward the window and drew the curtains aside just enough to peek through. Dawn was creeping in, painting the sky with pale colors that did not match the heaviness in my chest. Our neighborhood could not be called safe, but it was decent enough to keep us breathing. My gaze swept over the empty streets before stopping on the black Mustang parked right outside our apartment gate.
This was the third day I had noticed that car sitting there, sleek and expensive, completely out of place. I had no idea who it belonged to, but something about it made my skin prickle. Either someone was being watched, or someone was about to be.
I let the curtain fall back, plunging the room into early morning darkness, then crossed over and flicked on the light. The exhaustion finally settled into my bones. I stripped out of my clothes, wrapped a towel around myself, and headed for the bathroom. By the time I was done showering and changing, Jade was still sprawled in the living room.
I went over to her quietly. She was already asleep, curled into herself on the small couch, her face slack with exhaustion. A small smile tugged at my lips as I nudged her awake. She groaned, cursed under her breath, but still dragged herself up. Even half-asleep, she managed to shower before shuffling toward the bedroom.
I climbed onto the top bunk of our double decker bed while she dropped onto the lower one, the mattress creaking softly under our weight. The room settled into silence again, broken only by her steady breathing.