Emerald Ashes | H.S • A.U

8

⛔​ Mature Content Warning: Substance abuse, Violence, and Mentions of Rape (fade to black). 

Please, read with caution.

💛Ashley Hood💛

My fingers toy with the make-believe silver necklace Troy gave me before leaving. The heart pendant feels cold and smooth under my touch. When tilting it to a side, the sun makes it shine as if it were the most expensive gem in the world. It's crazy to think about how some things can be so cheap and still be worth so much to us.

I would never sell this necklace, not for all the money in the world. Even if I was starving, I would never sell it.

While these ten stacks of money that surround me are also very valuable, they will disappear soon enough. Sitting crisscrossed on my bed, I gather the money, towering the small stacks one on top of the other.

It's been two days since Woodstock. And only today have I found the time to count out the money Harry gave me. Even when it's a lot, it would never be enough to keep up with Satellite's tax system.

I shouldn't complain. It's more than I could ever earn on my own. My biggest fear is that Ketzia and I would have to bring money by selling our bodies. This money is giving us some extra time before we start doing that. And I'm hoping that Troy will get here before I run out of it.

In fact, if someone from the government ever catches me with this money, they would take it away. Citizens from Cherry Lands are not allowed to use money. Our currency is fruits, goods, illegal stuff, and our bodies. Money is just for the people in The North.

Troy did leave some money when he left, assuming he would be gone for a few months. But we run out of it very soon after he left. You see...my brother had some issues coping with life back then, but he has changed, and I promised him to forget and bury everything in the past because that's what forgiving means in my family.

I just need to hide this money really well to avoid repeating that story.

Standing up, I walk to my wardrobe. Once the bottom drawer is opened, I slide away my underwear. Then, I pull up the wooden lid that reveals a secret section. No one knows of this place, so the money Harry gave me will be safe.

His name stirs memories in my mind that end up causing butterflies in my stomach, and I forbid myself from feeling that. Sighing, I try hard to think of something else.

I fail—miserably.

He was right, though. I feel so much calmer—relieved. Feeling for my back pocket, I grab his shiny emerald earrings. These are beyond expensive. I need a better hiding place for them.

The hustle of voices and humming of cars driving over our bumpy roads interrupt my train of thoughts. What's happening?

Frowning, I walk to my window. The car's engines die, and Grillgrind steps off the car. A red siren sits on the car's roof. He works for the government now, so the Styles logo is printed on the side of the door.

Sadly, the people who should protect us can be the most dangerous ones. And I know for a fact, that he is dangerous. I just know that he has something to do with Troy not returning home.

I'm sure he's here again to claim more fruits, more goods, more money. It's never enough to satisfy him and to reach for the taxes this government expects us to pay.

Charlie and Xavi appear through the left side of my view. Their hands are covered in grease since they fix the cars here.

A heart-rending sob coming from Grillgrind's car puts me on alert. Getting closer to the window, my palm presses against the glass. The sheriff opens the car door, then he forcefully seizes someone, pulling at his clothes and shoving him outside the car—the guy looks so beaten up that I cannot tell who he is.