Sunset Rising

I tried to remember how I felt four years ago when we met again. I remembered thinking how handsome he was, how tall and strong. A lot of other girls wanted him too, but he picked me and that made me feel special. I liked being out in public with him—socializing with our friends. But I couldn’t remember even one time that I responded to Reyes physically the way I was responding to Jack. Whenever Reyes had tried to make love to me, the only feeling he stirred in me was fear. If I was to be honest with myself, I hated the way his hands groped at me, pressuring me to do something I didn’t want to do. Yet with Jack… just thinking about him made me ache.

Deep down, I knew the only reason I had stayed with Reyes was because we both needed a partner in order to qualify for an apartment. That was the main reason everyone in the Pit eventually married. If I had not accidentally married Jack, then I would have married Reyes after the next Cull. Maybe in time I would have come to enjoy his touch.

It took a long time to fall asleep, but just before I did, I heard Jack softly snoring in the other room. He was my last thought.

Chapter Eighteen

Reluctantly, I brushed away the mists of sleep. I felt a glimmer of happiness that morning, and I think it was because I had a nice dream. I’d like to go back to that happy place and forget my reality. Forget the chaos that had become my life. But I had to go to work. I rolled out of bed, put my pants on, and went into the living room. Jack was still sitting in the chair looking exhausted.

“I’d ask how you slept, but…” I trailed off. He probably didn’t need me telling him he looked like hell.

“I probably look worse than I feel. I managed to get quite a bit of sleep last night,” he said. I was pretty sure he was lying.

“You have to take the bed tonight.” If he allowed himself to get too tired, he would start making mistakes in his work and get himself beaten.

Despite the dark circles under his eyes, he did look more handsome than usual this morning. I didn’t want to stare, but his eyes were closing and he seemed to be going back to sleep. Then I figured it out. He didn’t have the coal in his hair. It was back to its natural light sandy color. His facial hair was thicker too, and it gave him a rugged look. The t-shirt he was wearing was dirty and torn from working in the mines, and where it had ripped, the skin on his hard, muscled torso peeked out. He didn’t look anything like the Jack Ke

I continued my inspection, my eyes following the curves of his muscular arms and back up to his face. I liked the way his black eyelashes framed his blue eyes… blue eyes that were staring straight back at me. I almost jumped when I realized he’d caught me looking at him.

“I was just looking at your hair… I need to darken it.” I felt a tell-tale blush creep across my face. He smirked as he closed his eyes again. “And you’ll need to get a razor soon. You’re beard is coming in blonde and using coal on it will look obvious.”

“How do I get a razor?”

“We need to make enough credits to buy one for you.”

“How long will that take?”

“Probably longer than we have down here.”

I retrieved the coal from the cupboard and rubbed it through the strands of his hair, thinking how surreal this act was. If anyone had told me a week ago that I would be living with Jack Ke

He had fallen back to sleep, for which I was grateful. Maybe when he woke up he would think he had been dreaming when he caught me checking him out. I let him sleep while I darkened my own hair and put my vest back on.

“Jack, time to wake up.” I shook his shoulder gently.

He woke up with a start at my touch. I remembered that the first time I had to wake him he’d gone for my throat. This time I stood behind him just in case. He took a few seconds to orient himself.

“Did you see where I put my hat?” he asked groggily.

I picked it up from the table and handed it to him. He got up and followed me out of the apartment.

“I don’t suppose you have any caffeinated or energy drinks down here?” Jack asked me on the way to breakfast.

“We have water and occasionally hot tea.” I had never heard of an energy drink. Maybe it was like the protein shake he had given me up in the Dome. I remembered it helped combat the effects of the wine.

“Then I’ll pray for tea,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

I saw the look of surprise on Jack’s face when I didn’t head down to the sixth level common room, but he didn’t question me. The only person down there to see now was Reyes, and he had made it clear he didn’t want to see me anymore.

We joined the queue to receive our rations. Jack asked for tea but got water. I spotted an empty table for two and headed toward it. I was happy not to have to share a table with anyone else. Jack sat down and sca

“She looks familiar,” he said with a puzzled look on his face.

I followed the direction of his gaze. “That’s Crystal. I work with her in laundry.”

She was sitting with two people I assumed were her parents. She cast a glance in our direction, and I could tell she recognized me. Then she saw Jack. I was sure I saw a look of surprise on her face before she dropped her gaze.

“How do you know her?”

“I don’t know. She just seems really familiar.” Jack turned his attention to his breakfast. “Oh, stew again. What a surprise.”

He took a mouthful and I could tell he was forcing it down. I opened my container and did the same.

I was concerned about Crystal. If she’d recognized Jack, we could be in a lot of trouble. I remembered Di didn’t seem to think she was trustworthy.

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out so well with Reyes,” Jack said. I wasn’t sure if he was just trying to make conversation or if he really cared.

“I’ll get over it.”

“To be honest, I’m surprised at how well you’re taking it.”

I watched Crystal get up and leave with her parents. “Are you done?” I asked, trying to eyeball his container. It looked empty.

“In a hurry?”

“I think I better get a head start on work today. The laundry room is backed up because of the lockdowns, and I don’t want to have to work late again tonight.” I lied— what I really wanted to do was get to work early again and have a conversation with Crystal.

“Guess I’ll get a head start on chiselling out some coal.” He stood up, and I followed. We walked down the hall together to the stairs. “Be careful,” he said and kissed the top of my head. It was the second time he had done that, and I liked it. I hoped it was becoming a habit.

I watched him until he was gone from sight and then scrambled up the stairs as quickly as I could. Traffic wasn’t too heavy yet so it didn’t take me long to climb the two levels to the laundry room. As I hoped, Crystal was there waiting for the laundry room to open.

“Good morning,” I said cheerfully.

She gave me a nervous smile and then turned to stare at the closed doors. “Supervisor Madi isn’t here yet?”

“No,” she said almost under her breath. She turned her attention back to the doors.

“So how long have you been working in laundry?”

“A couple of years.”

“Do you like it?”

“It’s a job.”

A deep bruise on her forearm peeked out just below her t-shirt sleeve. She saw where I was looking and tried to pull the shirt down over it. It reminded me of the bruises Reyes left on my arms when he grabbed me the other day.