6.Gem-RAY

I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel when my best-friend decides she's coming to Zircon for the first time, and meet my post-injured self two months after an accident.

I ought to be happy, but well, I wasn't. Mom probably thought it was because I was angry about Sara's sense of friendship since she was coming two months later, but I know Sara was held up by work. No. It was simply because I wasn't very keen at meeting people now, where my doors were left open for only one person.  

Shayne. He wasn't being able to talk to me. He kept telling me, he was being held up due to his training. The poor guy couldn't even call me up, he was so busy. I simply knew he couldn't help it, training was training, and it was so damn important. So I taught myself patience, and called myself an understanding girlfriend.

And I was tired of 'resting' at home. Two months after that stupid accident, I was more than ready to go back to the way things had been going like before. But damn, neither Scar would let me move a muscle, nor would mom. Mom had decided to stay back for as long as she wanted, while dad had gone back to Amethyst, to handle things in his business. 

I was so close to weighing my options as to whether kicking your own mom out of your apartment was accepted behavior. I was growing insane! I felt like a criminal, jailed up in my apartment, with the only missing detail an orange jumpsuit. 

I hadn't even been allowed to step out of my building, not one step. How long would I need to rest, really? My scars were now faded memories, my body jumping in anticipation to feel the outside world accept me under it's wings. But one step out of line, and they went fussing over me!

God! I wanted to jump out of my window out of sheer desperation. So, the idea of Sara coming to meet me was definitely a welcomed idea. Even now, when I should have gone and picked her up from the airport, I was holed up in my apartment with food to 'babysit', while mom and Scar had gone out to get Sara. Though a part of me was glad Sara was going to be on the other side of my door any moment, a part of me wished it was Shayne. But I had promised myself, I'd be his understanding girlfriend, so I straightened my shoulders, and went back to glaring at the cooking pie inside the oven.

And before I knew it, I was being strangled from behind.

"Ray? Am I strangling you?"

Oh. Well. Crap. I must have voiced my concerns in being strangled, aloud.

"Sara! That was a joke. We both know we were enjoying the hug."

She had an eyebrow raised, her bags strewn on the floor near her feet.

I quickly got up from my chair, and hugged Sara, who looked exhausted, but her happy smile came up into her face, just like always.

Sara just hugged me back, and well, it was in that moment that I knew I had surely missed her, and that I felt glad she was here. All my past irritation just washed away with her presence. I knew what I now felt, and it wasn't confused sadness about her not being Shayne. It was joy, in at last having the girl that could tip my world to balance with a roll of her shoulder and a couple of crass conversations. 

It was her who broke the hug, and the short moment of silence.

"God, Ray. It's been so long. Like, really fucking long! I missed you. And you've lost weight!"

I cackled, my eyes welling up with joy.

"Yeah. Quite long. Missed you too. Mom's feeding me so much, I'm sure I'll become double of what I was. Room's that way. Go get a bath, and then we'll talk over lunch. Or you can sleep the exhaustion off, and then we can talk. Just take a bath first."

Sara face-palmed herself, and followed me to her room-my room of course. 

"Ray, and her crazy antics about staying clean, a bit too much. You know that, right?"

I nodded my head, and sat down on my bed, gesturing to the bathroom.

"Yes of course, sweat smells so good."

"Shut up."

"Right."

****

After cleaning up and resting for a bit, Sara lay with me on my bed, companionable silence  holding us together. She turned her face towards me, after staring at the ceiling for a while, and pursed her lips.

I knew she wanted to say something, so I raised my eyebrows, silently asking her to just spit it out. 

"I want to talk to you about something."

"Well, is it gonna be full of obscene language again?"

Sara pinched my arm.

"It's not funny. We need to talk. About serious shit."

I nodded my head.

"Okay." 

"But first, where's the dog you bought? "

"Oh. Him. He's next door. Since I'm not allowed to go out, Mrs. Brooke takes him out for a stroll every morning. It's afternoon now, but since we've been busy, I didn't get him yet. You know what? Let's get him first."

I got up hurriedly, Sara muttering behind me, as I pulled her along to Mrs. Brooke's apartment. Smoothing my hands down my hair and clothes, I rung the doorbell, then knocked twice.

Muffled sounds, then the door swung open.

"Oh Ray. I was just wondering why you didn't come today, though I loved every second of the delay. Will you take him now?"

I smiled and nodded, then pointed towards my companion.

"But firstly an introduction. This is Sara Miller, my childhood friend, here, visiting sick me."

Mrs. Brooke laughed.

"Well, hello Sara. Nice to meet you. Would you like to come in?"

Sara smiled sweetly.

"Not today, I'm sorry but I'm so tired. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Sure. Let me get him."

Mrs. Brooke went inside to get my no-more-little pup, while Sara leaned sideways on the wall, looking at her nails. 

"Not my kind of having a nice time. Where's the boy?"

I raised my eyebrows at Sara, and with all that raising they were probably going to fly out of my forehead. What? Was I even listening to what I was thinking? Did eyebrows fly out of foreheads?

I punched Sara playfully, and she rolled her eyes at me haughtily before bursting into laughter. I shortly joined in with my own sputtering laughter, while a bark resounded, and I turned my eyes away from Sara, and there he was! All golden curls shining, a cute package so full of joy.

Ace jumped up and down with excitement, while I picked him up, all his six months of existence making him not much weighty. 

"Don't lick me, no, oh, okay Ace, fine, yes, I'm a nice snack, yep, hmm."

The dog was too excited, his pink tongue now hanging out with adorable guilt at expressing his happiness in seeing me with too much licking of my face and hands. Sara had a pinched expression, looking at Ace with her lower lip between her teeth, full of indecision.

I smiled at Mrs. Brooke and telling her thank you and goodbye, I scratched Ace's belly softly, to which he almost mewled and clutched me in content, but well, dogs don't mewl...

"Ray?"

Walking towards my room, letting Sara close the doors since Ace was in my hands, I put the dog down on the soft rug in my room, while Sara went and sat down on my bed.

"Hmm?"

I went to my bathroom, washed my face thoroughly, then walked back into my room.

Sitting down on the chair by the bed, I picked Ace and placed him on my lap, then looked up at Sara questioningly.

"Where's the necklace?"

...What?

"What necklace?"

Sara huffed a little dramatically then pointed at my neck, then used her fingers to draw a huge circle in the air.

"Where's your blue-fucking-beautiful necklace? I remember the gem quite clearly, and now, I wish to see it with my own eyes and touch it with my own hands. That beauty, oh..."

Oh...that.

"That Pailin Blue Sapphire? Wait a minute, it's in my closet."

After rummaging inside my closet, I carefully got the box out, then placed it on my bed in front of Sara, opening it.

"You are one lucky bitch, it's even more beautiful up close!"

I smiled and put the necklace in Sara's hands, who was looking at it with wide eyes.

"How much does it cost? Got a clue?"

I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Don't know, and don't wanna know. It's a dearly treasured gift, and that's all."

After examining it, Sara put it back in the box, then closing it, placed the box in my hands.

"Now we need to talk."

I put it back in my closet, then sat down in front of Sara.

"Go on, what do you want to talk about?"

"Ray! Sara!"

Sara put her face in her hands, while I turned towards my door.

"Coming mom!"

I smiled at Sara then pulled her up.

"Come on, we need to eat."

Sara reluctantly got up, then gave me a look. I shrugged my shoulders, then pulled her out towards the table.

Mom was setting up the table, while Scar was setting up food on the rug, for Ace. I pulled Sara to her chair, and made her sit. Once sitting down on our seats, food was passed around, and conversation started, mostly questions directed towards Sara. I quickly ate up, sometimes adding words here and there. Finished with lunch, Scar and I were required to help in the kitchen, cleaning the dishes, while mom cleaned up the table.   

Once done with that, Scar took Ace into her room, to do some cleaning, while I pulled Sara inside my room and shut the door. 

"There, done with everything, now we can talk."

Sara lay sprawled on the bed, eyeing me with half-shut eyes. She patted the bed, gesturing me to lay next to her. 

"With all that food, I feel like a pregnant woman."

I laughed at her, then lay down next to her.

"What did you wanna talk about, Sara?"

Sara combed her hair with her fingers, her hair still slightly wet after the bath.

"I think we'll do that after I rant about my new colleague."

I turned on my side, facing her.

"New colleague? When did that happen?"

Sara sighed.

"A month before? God, the man is so hot."

"Jeez, who's this hot bloke you're all crazy about?"

"He's more than just hot. He's way too much, and the guy knows it. This is the time I'm gonna admit, that cocky hot men are not all bad. He's just joined our HR department, but damn, us girls are close to shoving our panties in his face, he should be knowing what his charm is doing to us."

I giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Really? What has got you so wound up like a coil though?"

Sara smacked her head.

"My fucked up life of course, what else? That man had come to my table, and with full of cocky audacity, had charmed the fuck out of me, and had kept me wanting, hanging at the edge with his suggestive words. So after being frustrated for 4-5 days, I'd found a cute guy in the club, and guess what, I'm even more frustrated after that! That night went so bad, I'm sparing you the details. Poor me. But, enough about my stupid frustrations about hot candy, what was I thinking about asking you?"

I raised my eyebrows at that, not like I knew what she had in her mind?

"Aah, yes. Ray, promise you won't hit me for asking you this, but I'm so confused after I heard what your mum said, I really need an explanation. Shayne's in Iridium right?"

I frowned at her. What the hell?

"Uh...yes? And why would I hit you for asking that? And what's making you confuse yourself?"

She bit her lower lip and looked at me thoughtfully. 

"Umm, I'm pretty sure I heard your mom right, but I was so exhausted, I didn't ask her if she was joking. But well, your sister had to say the same thing, so I didn't...anyway. What they said was, that you're making up stories about Shayne, when I told them you were always talking to me about Shayne. Apparently, he's not in Iridium. They didn't tell me further than that, but well, he IS in Iridium, right?"

What? No...

"Uh, you must be mistaken, that's not something they said."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'M not making this up. They even ventured on to say, that he's not in Iridium for the past two months, and that it was apparently a forbidden subject, so they shut me up after that. What's the deal?"

No, that was all false, wasn't it? Shayne was busy with his training in Iridium, and...

"No you-you're wrong-"

"Ray? Are you alright? You look pretty pale suddenly, and umm, are your hands shaking? Shit, your lip's bleeding, stop biting into it!"

My phone, it was right there, yeah, on the table. 

"Shut up. Just shut up! Of course he's there in Iridium, what the hell? Yeah, we were texting this morning..."

Hands curled over my hands, clutching my phone, trying to steady my hands.

"Ray? Ray, listen to me, what's wrong with you? Your hands are fucking shaking so hard! Ugh! That hurts, that fucking hurts-"

"No, move away from me, you're not touching my phone, you won't!"

"Ray! Stop twisting my arm! What the fuck, are you insane? I won't touch that godforsaken cellphone but leave my arm, how the hell...are you out of your mind-"

"No, move away from me!"

"Fuck you, Ray!"

"Aah!"

The noise of the slap resonated in the whole room, ringing my ears, my skin, my eyes, then holding my brain, shutting it down, my heart beating faster, my cheek smarting from the force of the slap, while panting reached my ears, and I looked up at Sara with watered eyes.

"Fuck you! My arm, shit, it hurts so bad...what the hell's wrong with you!"

Sara was panting, her left hand massaging her right arm and she still couldn't straighten it. Oh no. She was hurt.

"Shit. Sorry Sara, are you-"

"Move away from me! Who the hell are you, this is not Ray, not you!"

Sara used her left hand to open the door, and she ran out sniffing.

And her slap played in repeat, slowly merging with a slap I'd received on the same cheek, weeks ago, somewhere in a faraway place, from someone who was so angry, so angry, and when she hurt me, that hurt...hurt so bad...

I collapsed on the floor.

"No!"

 ~*~

Hey guys! End of the year closing in, and I thought, well, forget everything, you have to update! 

So here's an update!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and happy whatever I missed, cause damn, it's celebrating time!

Go and enjoy with your family, be it whosoever is your family, your parents, your friends, be it anybody. I love you guys!

And?

That's Jourdan Dunn in the picture, who's Sara Miller here.

Here begins a rough ride.

Happy new year!

Love (and loads of it),

Orlena