Page 29 of Zalis
“It suits you. Messy-chic is very stylish,” Emry said.
Who was this? Not her Emry who kept her hair back in a ponytail and refused to wear anything but tank tops under her chef’s coat.
“What?” Emry asked, but her confrontational tone made it clear that it wasn’t a question. “I’m practical, but that doesn’t mean I can’t admire the pretties.”
Gemma held up her hands in surrender. Her sister was allowed to admire pretty things.
The clothing selection was disappointingly limited, not that Gemma expected the latest fashions. Her choices were leggings, tops with both long sleeves and short sleeves, and the most functional underwear she had ever seen. She could have them all in any color she pleased, as long as it was black, gray, or navy.
“There’s plenty of good shopping at Sangrin Station,” Mercy explained, perhaps sensing Gemma’s disappointment as she scrolled through the selections.
“This is good. I need some basics.” Gemma needed everything and wasn’t so picky that she’d turn down fresh, well, anything. She’d worn the same filthy clothes for weeks. Being clean was something she’d never take for granted again.
One problem: there were no prices. She had money on Earth. In theory, she could access her bank account. All Earth banks were supposed to be part of an intergalactic network now. She never bothered before and the idea of setting that up exhausted her. The day had been very busy with lots of new faces and new information to learn, and she just wanted to watch one of those baking competitions where everyone was nice and the worst thing to happen was a soggy bottom.
“How much is this?” she whispered to Emry.
“It’s free. I think everything we can order on the ship is free,” Emry whispered back.
“No. Get out.”
“And we get an allowance. No one told me that. Apparently, I’ve been loaded this whole time.”
Gemma ordered a pair of slip-on shoes in black, three pairs of skirts, one in every color because a dealing with the boot on her foot sounded easier in a skirt, both short and long sleeve shirts, tanks in all the colors, the necessary undergarments, and a loose and flowy cardigan in an alleged universal design meant to be worn by various species. There were no sleeves, just slits along the sides. That was the universal design. It resembled a ruana or poncho more than a cardigan, in Gemma’s opinion, but she wasn’t in charge of product descriptions. A quick step onto the scanning bed and the computer had her measurements to start printing.
While waiting for the clothes, she ordered toiletries. Soap, lotions, moisturizer, razors, a scrubby-net thing, toenail clippers, toothbrush, and deodorant. She almost forgot to request a hairbrush. There were so many little things that went into making her feel like a person. Gemma tried to picture the clutter on her bathroom vanity, but her mind went frustratingly blank.
Outfitting the kitchen was far easier. Dishes and cutlery came in one style, so there was no dithering over choices. She ordered two of everything, along with a full set of pots, pans, baking sheets, and utensils. She could order the more specialized equipment as the need arose. Chances were she wouldn’t be able to create much with the tiny kitchen in the apartment, but lack of space wouldn’t stop her from trying.
She was exhausted. The day had been a lot. The past few days had been a lot, physically and emotionally. The pastmonthhadbeenso much. She really needed to self-soothe with a baking program and a tub of ice cream, stat.
The orientation finished, Mercy released them to find lunch.
“Want to be nosy about that café?” Emry asked.
Gemma did, but her energy had vanished. Despite using the chair and only being on her feet a few times, she was tired. “I think I’ll take a nap.”
“Are you sure?” Emry squinted her eyes, as if she didn’t trust the words coming out of Gemma’s mouth. Gemma had never been a nap type person.
“I’m repairing bones. My body needs rest,” she said, perilously close to repeating Dr. Kalen’s words.
“Sure, sounds good. Ren is moving stuff from his old cabin to our new place. I’ll see how he’s getting on.”
Emry and Ren’s newly assigned cabin was two doors down from Gemma’s. Convenient. While she fully accepted how clingy and codependent it sounded, she felt better knowing Emry was nearby. Especially since an empty apartment waited for her.
No note. Not even a text message. Gemma checked the setting on her comm unit. She was connected to the network. Zalis just ghosted her. She had no idea where he was but it wasn’t there. Moving his stuff over? She doubted it. The apartment was exactly as empty as it had been when she left.
Gemma took two acetaminophen for her aching foot and tried her best to nap. Sleep wouldn’t come. The silent apartment… wasn’t. Forced air through the vent had a rattle. Muffled voices from the corridor drifted in as people passed by. The appliances had an electric hum. Gemma swore she could hear the thrumof the ship’s engines. Worse, there was this odd sensation that someone else was in the room.
Blame it on the caffeine. She was too wired to sleep. Her first coffee since being abducted and she didn’t even savor it. Too much had been going on.
Too much was still going on, at least in her head. She kept replaying every conversation she had with Zalis, every interaction. That was not the coffee’s fault. It was hers. This was guilt.
She did to Zalis the exact thing she raged against being done to her. She took his choice away.
She was a hypocrite. Being scared and traumatized wasn’t an excuse, but it’s all she had to explain her motivations. Returning to Earth terrified her, so she clung to the closest thing that looked like safety: Zalis. And much like a drowning person would drag their rescuer under water while panicking, Gemma dragged Zalis into her problem.
A headache emerged, an aching at the back of her head that said the pain was from tension. She didn’t want to take another pill. Instead, she took a hot shower, hoping the heat and team would relax her muscles. It did, somewhat. She just wanted to feel like herself again.
