Page 131 of Homebound
Ruby and the new guy, Sam, approached her with a bucket of water. Ruby scooped it up with a tin cup, the action painfully familiar to Gemma.
“Here,” Ruby gave her hers. She cast a glance at Sam, and, because he was inspecting Gemma with great interest, said nothing more.
Gemma let go of the bars and accepted the water. Her hand didn’t shake, which she took for a positive sign. The headache still raged, but she no longer saw haloes.
“Thank you,” she said hoarsely.
“Hey, do you know why you’re here?” Sam asked her, deadpan.
“Sam,” Ruby snapped at him, “You aren’t supposed to engage with the prisoners. If you can’t remember the rules, you can’t work here.”
He immediately looked alarmed. “Yes, Ms. Ruby, I remember. But a real strange case, seeing this woman in here with the aliens.”
But Ruby had already moved on, and he had no choice but to follow.
Gemma shuffled back to her cot where she sat and drank her water in small slow sips. Her stomach held, and she felt a little better.
After the helpers escorted the prisoners down for their yard time, Ruby came back.
“You aren’t allowed to go, I got the instructions from OO himself. Which is a good thing, you shouldn’t be out with the lot of them. How are you holding up?” Ruby’s creased face expressed genuine concern.
“I’m hanging in there, Ruby.”
“See that you do. See that you do…” She gave a quick look around. “What do they want you for? My goodness, you, of all people.”
Gemma gave her a wan smile. “Long story. Mainly, they want Simon. Dr. Delano wants Simon.”
“Is Dr. Delano that hoity-toity character whose ass our OO was ardently kissing yesterday?”
“I’m guessing that’s him.”
Ruby shook her head. “I heard what happened when your Simon bulldozed his way outta here. Arlo… well, so long to him. But when you didn’t show up the next day, I was out of my mind with worry. I had no way of contacting you.”
“I’m sorry Ruby.” She wished she could give the older woman a hug. “OO fired me, and my aunt threw me out of the house. It’s all in the past.” There was no point in sharing with Ruby the details of her time on the streets. “Now, you have to be careful. OO will fire you too if he knows you’ve been kind to me.”
“Don’t you worry about me, girl.”
“How’s Cricket?”
Ruby’s face fell. “Same. Stays home. Coughs a lot. What can I do? She won’t ever get better in the City.”
“I wish I could help, I do.”
Ruby gave a rusty laugh. “That’s our girl Gemma. Locked up and looking like she’s been put through the wringer, still worrying about the old biddy and her invalid daughter.”
“You are no old biddy, Ruby. I hope your daughter will turn out alright.”
“Why don’t you worry about yourself for a change?”
“Maybe because I can’t help myself. I can’t help anybody.” Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes and ran down. “I am so damn helpless, Ruby. You’ve been right all along, I can’t make it in this city. I should've died on The Islands with my parents.”
“Hush! Don’t ever say that.” Ruby pressed her face to the bars. “You have a heart of gold, and it touches everyone you meet. You inspire people to be better. Your friendship means the world to me.”
“Thank you, Ruby.”
Their hands linked briefly for a firm squeeze of reassurance.
“You’d saved Simon from dying in here. Did the two of you meet on the outside?” Ruby asked.
