Chapter Two
The bus finally reachedher stop, doors folding open with a seemingly tired hiss.Jade stepped off with the rest of the evening crowd, her body moving on habit more than intention.It was just past 6:00, the sky dimming into that gray-blue hour where everything looked a little more worn down than it really was.Well, perhaps that was just her.
Her feet hit the pavement, and for a second, she swayed.Jade had been on her feet for twelve hours.She had done coffee refills, handled burnt fries, and some annoying customers who snapped their fingers like she was part of the furniture.
Her back ached in a steady, dull line, and her wrists felt like they’d been twisted too many times in the wrong direction.The smell of grease clung to her skin no matter how hard she scrubbed at the diner sink.
She exhaled slowly and started walking.Jade hit one block, then another.
The neighborhood didn’t change much from day to night.It was still the same cracked sidewalks, the same flickering streetlights, the same buildings that looked like they’d been forgotten halfway through being repaired.Paint peeled like scabs, and windows were patched with cardboard.
Her legs felt heavy.Each step dragged just a little more than the last.She kept going, because Jane would be waiting.That thought kept her upright, barely anyway.
Jane was only a year old, too young to understand why her mother kept leaving, why she came back smelling like oil and exhaustion instead of warmth.She was too young to know what it cost Jade every single time she stepped out that door.
Jade swallowed hard, blinking against the sting in her eyes.Mrs.Rochford was watching her tonight again.The old woman had been kind, in that quiet, no-questions-asked way.She took Jane in like she was something precious instead of something burdensome.
Jade paid her what she could, always feeling like it wasn’t enough, always seeing the way Mrs.Rochford tried to wave off the extra few dollars.Jade never let her.Dignity was a fragile thing.She clung to it where she could.
Jade tightened her grip on her bag as she turned the corner onto her street.Derek was supposed to help.The thought came uninvited, bitter as it settled in her chest.He left town three days ago.
She could still see him standing in the doorway, half in, half out, like he’d never really belonged there to begin with.
“Where are you going?”she’d asked, Jane on her hip, her voice already tight with the answer she knew was coming.
Derek hadn’t even looked at her properly.The jerk had just shrugged, like she’d asked what time it was.
“Out,” Derek said.
“For how long?”Jade questioned.
He paused.“None of your business,” Derek snapped, tone careless yet sharp.
Jade tightened her jaw.“You said you’d help with rent this month,” she pointed out.
“I said I’d see,” he told her, purposely avoiding looking at Jane.
“You promised,” she said.
That had gotten his attention, just enough for him to glance at her with something between annoyance and boredom.
“Don’t start, Jade,” he warned.
“I’m not starting anything,” she’d snapped, exhaustion already fraying her patience.“I just need to know if I can count on you.”
His laugh had been short, and humorless.“That’s your first mistake.”
Then he’d left, just like that.Derek didn’t give any further explanation, and he didn’t tell her when he would be back.He was simply gone.
Jade pressed her lips together now, forcing the memory down as she reached her building.It loomed in front of her, all cracked concrete and rusted railings, the front door sticking just enough that she had to shoulder it open.
The hallway smelled faintly of mildew and something sour she didn’t want to identify.Home sweet home, she thought.She dragged herself toward the row of mailboxes, already bracing.
The metal door creaked when she opened it.There was too much paper crammed in there.Her stomach dropped.
