Gem, Himself, Alone, page 21
“Monitoring,” Gem said, and lifted his pant leg to show off a tracker strapped to his ankle. “Have to keep it on, come back for therapy, keep taking the meds.” His face twisted and his anxiety showed momentarily through the studied calm. “Still in prison, even if I’m not in juvie anymore.”
There were minor charges pending against him. Things that hadn’t been covered in the deal with Gem 2. Riker knew that Dr. Ives had been in contact with Social Services, emphasizing how important it was that Gem keep coming back for ongoing treatment. Chances were, he’d never be able to live completely independently. If he ever broke up with Bethany, all bets were off. It was doubtful he could live outside an institutional setting without that support.
“It’s to keep you safe,” Riker said. “They know how vulnerable teens can be on their own.”
Gem and Bethany exchanged glances. They both had more experience than they wanted in that respect. Gem could and probably would brag and bluster about how tough he was and how he could take care of himself, but he’d still been victimized. By Raphael. And by others, if Riker guessed right.
“Listen… I know you probably have all kinds of plans now that you’re getting out. But there’s one thing I wondered about… You don’t have a job yet, do you?”
Gem snorted. “Because people are lining up to hire crazy juvies, right?”
Riker shrugged. He handed a pamphlet to Gem. It had gotten slightly crumpled and dog-eared in Riker’s pocket, where he’d had it the last few times he had come to visit Gem. But the timing had never seemed right. Gem’s eyes flickered over the front of the pamphlet, titled ‘Night Rescue Foundation,’ with a picture of an open doorway on the front. He showed it to Bethany and handed it to her.
Bethany looked at Riker, then down at the brochure. She read the title to Gem, then unfolded it and scanned the inside.
“A charity dedicated to ending child sex trafficking,” she read aloud to him.
Gem’s face flushed. He and Bethany looked at each other, faces guarded.
“I’m way out of that business,” Gem growled. “Why would you give me that?”
Bethany didn’t echo the sentiments, but it was in her face. Riker swallowed.
“They’re looking for spokespersons,” he explained. “People who know something about the business and can talk about it to at-risk children and potential donors.”
Bethany clued in before Gem did. “A job? They would pay Gem to talk to people?”
Riker nodded. “It’s not a lot. But it’s an honest living. And you could help keep other kids from going through what you did.”
Gem scowled at Riker. But he wasn’t arguing, and he didn’t blow up. He would need time to think about it and to talk it over with Bethany.
Bethany gave Riker an appreciative look. She didn’t say anything to Gem about it in front of Riker. There would be a private conversation, or a series of conversations, between her and Gem. She had a feel for how to discuss things with Gem. An instinct for when to push and when to back off. Riker had only grown in his admiration for her over the months that Gem had been in hospital. She was still just a kid herself, but she had slipped into the role of both partner and caregiver for Gem and was more mature than most of the grown men and women he knew.
“I’ll just put it in here,” Bethany said and slipped the brochure into the duffel bag. “We’ll look at it later.”
* * *
EPILOGUE
“GEM…?”
Gem realized that he had been staring at Bethany, lying in bed beside him, and she had caught him at it. He felt his face flush. But why wouldn’t he stare at his girlfriend? Bethany was one of the most beautiful girls that he had ever seen, and it was hard to believe that the two of them were together. How had he been lucky enough to get her?
In the last few weeks, several people had commented on how radiant she looked. Bethany explained to Gem that there was even a term for this. Her pregnant glow. People didn’t know her secret, but still commented on how well and happy she looked. She wasn’t showing, and from what she had told him, wouldn’t for a few more months. But she had known she was pregnant even before she missed her period.
“Have you thought about names?” he asked her.
A smile spread over Bethany’s face. “You don’t think it’s bad luck? To talk about names this early in the pregnancy? It’s my first one; a lot of women miscarry the first time.”
“You don’t want to talk about names?”
“Yes…” Her eyes sparkled. “I do!”
Gem couldn’t help smiling. His stomach tightened. Those slivers of happiness still made him feel guilty. “What do you think of Honey, if it’s a girl?”
“Oh…” Bethany put her hand on Gem’s cheek, looking into his eyes. “I would love that.”
Gem nodded. He felt a pang of sadness. It wasn’t the agony he had suffered at the hospital or the months of oppressive depression. It was just a hurt that he knew would never go away. Not even with the birth of a new baby.
Bethany stroked Gem’s hair, curling a lock around her finger and then pushing it back behind his ear. “How about Thomas if it’s a boy?”
“Thomas?” Gem repeated. He shrugged. He hadn’t ever known a Thomas. It didn’t mean anything to him. But every name didn’t have to be something special.
“Thomas… it means twin,” Bethany explained.
Twin. Gem’s heart gave a hard throb. He took a few breaths, waiting for the pain to settle again.
“I like Thomas,” he agreed, his voice giving an unexpected crack. “Honey if it’s a girl. And Thomas if it’s a boy.”
Bethany nodded and smiled her happiest, most brilliant smile. A smile Gem couldn’t help returning, even if his own was tinged with sadness.
“You know,” he said, “it could be both. My Gram had boy-girl twins. They say twins runs in families.”
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SNEAK PREVIEW
Ruby, Between the Cracks
Ruby lay in Chuck’s arms, listening to his deep, regular breathing. She wondered fleetingly what he did the nights she didn’t see him. Sometimes it was almost a week between visits. Sometimes she saw him almost every day, but sometimes it was a long time in between.
Ruby shifted to move her arm, which was falling asleep. Chuck stirred, and the hair on his arm tickled her cheek. Ruby stroked his arm with one finger, sighing. She felt safe. The nights that she ended up alone, when she couldn’t find any company, were the hardest. Cold, alone, scared... Ruby’s heart pounded faster just thinking about it. Ruby turned over restlessly to face Chuck. He stirred drowsily, and his eyes opened a slit.
“Are you still awake?” he murmured.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“Go to sleep. It’s gotta be two in the morning.”
“Three-thirty,” Ruby told him.
“Mmm. Come here.”
He pulled her close to his chest. Ruby tucked her head under his chin and closed her eyes. He rubbed her back for a couple of minutes before he fell asleep again. After a while, Ruby finally fell asleep as well.
Ruby awoke in the morning to an empty bed. Chuck’s side was cold and empty. Ruby stretched out her sleep-cramped muscles, slid out of bed, and pulled on her t-shirt and shorts. She wandered out to the kitchen, yawning.
“Hey,” Chuck greeted. “You’re actually up.”
He was all ready for the office. Showered, dressed, curly hair perfectly coiffed. His blue eyes were bright and alert. He smiled at her and took a sip from his coffee mug.
“Yeah,” Ruby smothered another yawn. “What time is it?”
“Almost nine. I’m on my way out,” he glanced toward the door.
“Mmm. To work?”
“Yeah, precious. Some of us have jobs,” he teased.
“I would if anyone would hire me.”
“Well then, go to school,” Chuck suggested.
Ruby laughed, wrinkling her nose.
“Uh-uh. What am I going to do at school?”
“Whatever the other kids are doing.”
Ruby just shook her head.
“You look after yourself,” Chuck said, smiling as he looked her over, “and don’t forget your jacket.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Ruby rolled her eyes. She glanced around and picked the jacket up off of the back of the couch.
“Seriously.” Chuck’s voice took on a more severe tone. “Last time you left a pair of earrings on the sink. Be more careful.”
“You already told me,” Ruby huffed. “Sorry, okay?”
Chuck tugged at his shirt cuffs to get them a perfect half-inch below his suit jacket.
“All right, Ruby, let’s go.”
Ruby put her arms around his neck and pulled him in close for a good-bye kiss.
“I’ll see you around,” he said softly.
“Yeah. You gonna be there tonight?” Ruby questioned, picking up her backpack.
“Maybe.”
Chuck rarely committed. Sometimes he’d pick her up, and sometimes he wouldn’t. He never knew ahead of time. Ruby wondered if he met someone else the other nights, policing her as carefully as he policed Ruby, to make sure that she didn’t leave any sign of her presence. He had his reasons, but Ruby always wondered if he was doing more than just trying to guard his reputation. Why was it so important that there were no signs in his apartment that he had a girlfriend?
They separated in the hall, Chuck going one way and Ruby the other. Ruby wandered to the coffee shop down the street and sipped a fresh cup of coffee slowly. The boy behind the counter always paid her plenty of attention, and Ruby often wondered what kind of guy he was. He was high school or college-aged, she wasn’t sure which. She’d never seen him at the high school, but she didn’t hang around there very much, he might go there and she just hadn’t seen him.
“Running a little late today,” he commented.
“Yeah,” Ruby agreed. She wasn’t sure what it was about her that interested him. She never did her makeup before she got there. Sometimes, like today, she didn’t even have her hair combed yet. It was just a halfway point for her, between Chuck’s apartment and wherever she decided to go next.
“Doing anything special today?” the boy questioned, with an interested smile.
Ruby shrugged.
“No.”
He probably was intrigued because most girls Ruby’s age would really be flattered by the attention of a guy his age and fawn all over him, but Ruby really didn’t care. He was actually younger than the guys she usually went with. There were only a couple of guys under twenty that she really liked. He might be a better catch than the guys Ruby’s own age, but he wasn’t very interesting.
“What are you taking in school?” he asked.
“I don’t usually go.”
“Oh. Where do you go?”
Ruby shrugged.
“Around.”
She put down her mug, and he moved to refill it. Ruby shook her head and waved her hand.
“No, thanks.”
Ruby got up and went to the lady’s room. Unzipping her knapsack, she dug for her lipstick and other makeup. She brushed her teeth before putting on the lipstick, and brushed her hair into order. Her blond hair was straight and fine and she rarely bothered to curl or style it. She pulled it back in a pony and put an elastic around it to keep it in place. She packed her bag again and moved on.
Ruby wandered through a couple of the arcades and hangouts that she usually found company at, but things were strangely quiet. She eventually gave up, and with a sigh, decided to try the school. She arrived halfway through the morning, and joined up with a couple of the girls she knew.
Kate was plain, with no figure, a girl who desperately wanted to be popular, but no amount of makeup or trendy clothes would make her so. She didn’t have the personality to join the ‘in’ crowd. She didn’t have the money, the manner, the superficiality.
Marty was a different story. Her name was really Martha, but she preferred the less feminine form. Ruby liked her better than Kate, because Marty was more boyish, more like the guys that Ruby usually spent her time with. Of course, Marty would never be mistaken for a boy. Unlike Kate, she was an early bloomer; her figure already well-developed and she had a head of wild, dark curly hair. Marty had an easy manner, the type that attracted people to her, but didn’t really care for a lot of friends or attention.
Ruby felt at ease with the two of them. They were undemanding friends, and she could spend a day with them every now and then and not have them grill her on where she’d been and what she had been doing.
“Hey, Marty,” Ruby greeted, and she nodded to Kate.
“Hi, Ruby. You’re just in time for math.”
Ruby wrinkled her nose.
“Oh, joy. What are we doing?”
“Algebra.”
Ruby shook her head. They arrived in class a couple of minutes before the second bell, and Ruby and Marty talked and watched Kate trying to flirt with Robin, the boy who sat in front of her, who she’d had a crush on for a couple months.
“He’s never even going to notice her,” Ruby commented, watching Robin answer Kate casually, oblivious to her body language.
“I don’t even know what she sees in him,” Marty commented. “Or in any guy.”
“Any junior high boy,” Ruby agreed.
Glancing over at them, Robin noticed Marty looking at him, and his manner changed instantly.
“Hey, Marty! How about you, what’d you think of the homework?”
Marty shrugged, and rolled her eyes at Ruby. Robin didn’t seem to know how to take Ruby, and didn’t say anything to her.
“Did you get A-8?” Kate asked Marty.
“Yeah.”
“Can I see it?”
Marty got out her book and passed it across. Kate stared at it for a moment, and scribbled the answer down in her book. The teacher walked in and looked around. He appeared surprised to see Ruby sitting there.
“Are you still in this class?” he questioned.
“Yeah.”
“Where have you been the last couple of weeks?”
“Sick.” Ruby shrugged.
“You have a note from your doctor?” he demanded.
“No.”
“Your mom?”
“I don’t live with my mom,” Ruby pointed out.
“Where do you live?”
“Foster care.”
“Do you have a note from your foster parents?”
“No. You can call my social worker if you want,” she suggested.
He hesitated for a moment, then shrugged it off. Too much bother.
“You’re going to have a lot to catch up on. Can you get the notes from one of your friends?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay,” he moved towards the middle of the front. “Kate, do your own homework. If you don’t have it by now, it won’t do you any good. Anyone have any questions from the homework last night?”
Ruby stretched her legs out and looked around the room, tuning the teacher out.
