“I know.”
“I think you can imagine that after something like that, control would become very important.”
“Fuck that guy,” I growl. Even though the kidnapping happened before I knew Hayden and her brothers, I hate knowing that someone was able to take this precious girl and torture her, hurt her.
Hayden surprises me by placing her hand on mine.
“I’m okay, Gaz,” she whispers. “But sometimes, if I think about it too much, I begin to feel trapped again, so I try not to think about it, and I try to find other ways to experience control in my life.”
“That’s why you don’t date,” I say the words before I even consider their ramifications, but Hayden doesn’t freak out or get upset.
“That’s why I don’t date,” she confirms. “A lot can happen when you fall in love, Gaz. Sometimes it’s easier not to let that happen. I was broken once. I don’t know if I could go through that again.”
“I would never break you, Hayden,” I whisper, but the catch of her breath lets me know that she heard me: loud and clear.
*
As far as bars go, Galaxy is an incredible one. It’s not one of the those, dingy places with a disreputable crowd. No, Galaxy is the biggest bar in Diamond and one of the most expensive. Fortunately for me, money isn’t an issue. While Hayden doesn’t make nearly as much as me, she’s thrifty and good with her money, and she enjoys a night out at Galaxy just as much as I do.
We head to a quiet table at the back of the bar. As soon as we sit, Hayden punches our orders into the screen on the wall beside the table. Then she swipes it away.
“What’s your pleasure?” She asks.
“Oceans,” I tell her, and she presses another button. Images of calm oceans from different planets appear on the wall where the menu was previously displayed.
“You know, not all bars have these features.”
“I’m well aware. Ezra and Quinn both like the quainter ones, the ones that are more Earth-ish.”
It’s only a second later when our robotic server appears and sets our drinks down in front of us before vanishing to deliver drinks to another table.
“To us,” Hayden says.
“To us,” I hold up my drink, and I take a sip. Hayden looks around as we drink. It’s still early in the afternoon, which means the bar should be empty, but it’s not. It’s filled with people from every planet imaginable, which is strange for a place like Sapphira. I would have expected nearly everyone in the bar to be blue, but there are a multitude of planets represented here. At a glance, I see people from Mars, Mirroean, and even Dreagle.
“I like the diversity here,” Hayden comments.
“It’s unlike anywhere else on Sapphira, for sure.”
“We’ve come a long way as a planet, but it would be nice to see more people from different places. Growing up, learning about what exists outside of the Hidden Planet was hard.”
“I can imagine,” I tell her, but that’s all I can do: imagine. I grew up on Orchid with private tutors from different planets whose sole purpose was to teach me about their culture. Learning about other places was never difficult for me, and it’s why Sapphira was the perfect choice when I chose to leave Orchid.
Sapphira is a place not many people choose to travel to because it’s still so far apart from the rest of the planets. Sapphirans, even after all of this time, still like to keep to themselves.
That’s just fine with me.
When I came here, it was to study law and then open my own practice. I wanted to help people in a practical way. What I didn’t want was to be forced to travel, especially back to Orchid.
“So, about this whole Trevor thing,” she says. Hayden has already finished half of her drink.
“I’m dropping him,” I interrupt her before she can even start talking.
“What?”
“I’m dropping him as a client, effective immediately. I’ll notify him tomorrow.”
“But why?” She asks, looking around the bar. No one is paying us any attention, though. She has nothing to worry about. “Even with this new evidence, Gaz, you’re good. You’re the best. You can win this.”