Once, warmed with a tangle of admiration and need, Nate had thrown his arms around Reed before leaving for the day, and Reed had stiffened and stared like Nate had a bad case of mouth sores. Nate had gone to Brick that night, asking what he’d done wrong.
“He hasn’t had enough practice being loved on,” Brick had said, shrugging. “He doesn’t know what to make of it, s’all.”
When Reed finished checking Nate over this morning, Nate gave a playful shimmy, imagining his pockets weighed down with small, heavy credits.
“It’ll be a good day. I know it.”
Reed made a dubious sound. “Keep your eyes open. And try to find more fruit at the market. I think it’s good for all of us.”
“I will.” Nate would find fruit, not because people said it warded off rashes and sores, but because it made Reed smile. Nate turned to climb through the hatch, and Reed gripped his arm. He glanced back.
Reed’s mouth opened and shut. And then he swallowed and lowered his eyes, his hold softening and not quite letting go. “Every time you leave, I wonder if you’ll come back.”
Nate’s breath caught against his ribs. He knew that Reed suspected him of using chem, but Nate never thought he’d figure him the type to run off with the gang’s haul and never return. “I’m not a thief,” he said in a harsh, hurt whisper.
Reed made an exasperated sound and let go of Nate’s arm. “That’s not what I meant. I mean I’m afraid you’ll. . .”
“Afraid I’ll what?” Nate let out a tight, confused sigh. “I don’t know what to make of you sometimes.”
Reed’s soft laugh broke the remainder of the tension. “I can tell.”
Natedefinitelydidn’t know what to make of that.
“Just be safe, Nate.”
“I will.” Nate avoided Reed’s gaze as he slipped through the hatch and climbed down the duct. A blast of rancid air from the street below stung his throat. On a good day, the Withers smelled like steaming shit and gasolex.
There were rarely good days.
The duct emptied into a hollowed-out air-conditioning unit hidden behind a pair of rusted trash bins. Gagging on the thick stench of rot, Nate slid down and landed in the stuffy cylinder. He crouched there long after he’d caught his breath. His head ached, but maybe it wasn’t anything. Just a normal headache.
Or Reed twisting my guts inside out.
On this block, no one paid much attention to anyone else. Foot traffic moved steadily, as if everyone had somewhere better to be as soon as possible. Nate couldn’t afford to stand around, trying to untangle his feelings. He took a deep breath and squeezed out onto the crowded street.
Three small children—around Pixel’s age—played on the front stoop of a building that leaned slightly to the left. Barefoot and shirtless, they grappled and dragged the biggest toward a sloped basement door.
“Why doIalways have to be the GEM?” the biggest kid whined out, half-heartedly fighting the little ones off. They ignored the protest, shouting and scrappy.
“The Breakers have you now!”
“We’re rich!”
A skeletal woman with thinning hair like old straw leaned out the open window behind them and smacked the closest child with a broom handle. “Quit that now,” she said, pale gaze darting out into the street as if she was worried someone had overheard the children. Her eyes met Nate’s, and he turned away, dodging deeper into the crowd.
He pulled his coat tighter.
Of course the Breakers would want GEMs. He’d seen the rapture on Alden’s face enough times to know how valuable he was. Even in the decay of the Withers, people would find a way to pay handsomely for what the elite of Gathos City experienced. A wave of revulsion chilled him.
Everyone knew someone who knew someone else who swore they’d seen a GEM taken into one of the Breakers’ hideouts. Brick had told them her version one night as they huddled around the stove, rags tied around their faces to keep the worst of the smoke out.
“Three went in, two came out—two and enough credits to buy meat for a year. Fresh meat. Meat still bleeding,” she’d said. “We could find a GEM instead of all this rotting tech, and we could buy housing papers. Stay in one place forever.”
“That sounds boring,” Pixel had said, biting her lip.
“And I don’t want to stay here forever.” Sparks had spoken with raw conviction. “I’m going to the city to make a real living when they open the gates.”
“You could make a real living as a Courier right now. Secrets don’t weigh much.” Brick had barked out a laugh when Sparks punched her arm. “But I’d rather sell a GEM.”
