We didn't have much inside our home. This home at least. What was left were items we didn't want to take with us in case we ever did return to this town. A table, some chairs, the old televisions, and our old couch. Sure, we had a couple of boxes collecting dust that we never grabbed or forgot about, but there was nothing here.

That's why my mom was sitting in the good chair with strong legs that didn't shake and a destroyed cushion from years of wear and tear. I on the other hand was not that lucky as mines was the complete opposite of hers. The chair was on its last leg and I wouldn't be shocked if it broke while I sat on it.

We were eating Chinese, shrimp fried rice, a couple of dumplings, and some sweet and sour chicken. Nothing expensive because we weren't celebrating and my mom disliked wasting money. I'm still not sure how my dad convinced her of keeping this place, but he did. Together they had a decent income, enough to make it so we weren't struggling. New Dawn City wasn't a cheap place to live in, especially when they brought a house here. That might not be the case now, but at the beginning it was. Now, she'd never sell this place because it held so many memories.

She was what people would call a hoarder. Unable to let go of items that no longer held value or were just useless. Even if it bled money, she'd do whatever she could to retain it.

"How has the troublesome four been?" She asked me after swallowing a spoonful of rice. It tasted better than I recalled, but then again, it has been almost a year. Compared to the Chinese restaurants in New Vegas, this one had something unique about it. Tasted like a piece of home packed with memories.

I wasn't really hungry, my mind was on something else. Someone else. However, I had to eat some food considering I haven't had anything to snack on all day and I did not want her to eat alone.

"The troublesome four? Ma, we aren't ten anymore."

"You aren't, but you're all still babies to me," She said.

I sighed. The troublesome four are what she called Ricky, Buttons, Kiki, and me. I haven't heard her say that in ages, but I knew who she was referring to.

"They're fine. Didn't you speak to them at the funeral?"

"That was how long ago? We didn't really 'catch up' that wasn't the place nor was it the time. It's just that I haven't seen you hanging around with them, besides Buttons." She told me.

I sat my fork down. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Well, why hasn't Ricky been around? You two were close, like brothers even. That boy knows he needs a nanny to take care of him because without one he's a mess. Like, a real mess. Leaving clothes around here and there, and oh god, his feet. Handsome boy, but I feel sad for whoever he marries."

This was good, she seemed to be in a much better mood than earlier. Almost as if she was going back to her usual self. It honestly made me curious as to what she and Buttons talked about, or if that talk even had an effect. As for Ricky marrying anyone, I highly doubted that crossed his mind.

I shrugged my shoulder. "Yeah, but he's just been busy with his own thing. He'll come around sooner or later if we are still here for that long."

My mom also put her fork down even though there was still food left on her plate. "Yeah, about that," She started to say but mulled over how she should say the next part. "I might be here for a little longer than I anticipated." She admitted.

This surprised me, as it was a complete one-eighty of what she was saying about earlier. How we should not have come back here due to the shooting involved at the university.

"Huh?"

"David called, you remember him don't you?" She asked me but did not wait around for my reply. "They have a few openings and he offered me a job, a management position at that. So, I'm thinking about taking it."

David? I haven't heard that name in a while, but he was her last employer. A total horse driver, and he gave off the impression that he liked my mom in a not so 'employee friendly' manner.

"You can't work for him, he's an ass."

"Language Rayvon," She said before she shook her head and sighed. "I need the money, you still have to finish university and I have to pay off the mortgage in New Vegas." She explained to me.

"I can get another job."

"No, you're finishing school. You have one year left, don't blow it all away."

I had one year remaining at university, then I'd have my degree in Physics, not that it mattered anyway. I took time off here and there, so might be even longer than a year, to be honest.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Why don't we just sell that place? Stay here, I can commute or even transfer back here." I offered my two cents on the matter.

"We are not selling the house, because you are not transferring back here. That campus is not safe anymore, you are staying put at the school you're at now. As for commuting, I'm not taking that chance, nor should you even think about it. It's a three-hour drive one way, did you think of that?"

"I'm not even sure graduating would mean much. All the top-paying jobs want you to have a gem. Without one-" I stopped myself from going further since my mom did not have a gem. Not that I knew of, and my father was lacking one as well.

"Uhuh. You do know money isn't everything, and there are still a ton of jobs that will hire you even without one. That's what's wrong with your generation, always trying to be that one percent, never settling for anything less." She said.

Nodding my head in agreement, I just gave in. There was no way she was relenting on this one, so no point in arguing. Besides, she was right, driving back and forth would be costly and almost a full-time job itself.

She stretched her arms out as she yawned. It was contagious because right after she finished I began.

"So, Buttons seems to be doing ok."

I raised my eyebrow at that and quickly decided it was best to keep my reply short. "Yeah, it seems that way."

Crossing her arms, I could tell she wanted more out of this conversation. "That's all you have to say?"

Shrugging my shoulders I said, "Yeah kind of. It's just complicated."

"There's not anything complicated about it. But since things are so 'complicated'," She made air quotes with her fingers. "Why don't you stay here for a bit longer to uncomplicate things."

"You're right, I should," I told her as a scooted my chair back as I gathered the empty plate and fork. She'd clean the dishes because she had this weird system of doing it a specific way. Even my dad was bewildered by it, never able to figure it out. That was the case even after they were together for more than sixteen years.

"Want me to remind you to bake that cake?" She asked me.

"No," I said forgetting that was what I told her. "I'll just start on it in the morning."

Having finished my food I headed upstairs, there was not much else to do at this time. It was late, and although I was not against going out at this time, there wasn't much of anything to do. I was thinking about what my mom said, to uncomplicate things. So, I headed to my room and laid out on the futon where I did my best thinking.

There was also the matter of money. How can I gather a lot of money to help my mom out? Being an upstanding citizen was one way, but the money would come in slow and in small amounts. Sure, you can make a hundred thousand a year easily by having a degree, but that isn't enough. When the cost of living varies from place to place, but you still need two or sometimes even three times that amount just to survive.

It's not actually fair when you think about it. Slaving away for years only to have a massive debt to pay off just so you can make a few bucks. It sucks, but that is the way the world worked. If you want to live in this great country of ours, you have to pay the price in blood, sweat, and tears. People who had gems were few, but they were more common than most realize. It's just to obtain one was costly, even if you didn't go through surgery.

Cheaper than it used to be, but that was due to those who harvest gems from others without remorse. Still, the cheapest kind costs five hundred thousand on a good day, which was out of range for a lot of people. Some starved themselves just to save up enough, others perished before they could even hold one.

My mind drifted to the information One-Eyed Joe gave me. Not a ruby, I saw it in there but paid it no mind at first. Now, it had me wondering what it was. If not a ruby, then it could be another of the same rarity. This might be better in the long run, a common gem is still a gem people are envious of and crave to have. However, one that is of a higher rarity gives you even more perks. Higher status in society, more job opportunities, basically the people living here would bend the knee just to cater to your every demand.

You go from making a hundred thousand a year, to millions. With money coming in like that, I could move us somewhere better, safer. Heck, I could take us all out of this dump so we could have a fresh start. That was a dream, but one worth keeping.

None of it would be possible unless I survived long enough to see it happen, and to do that I had to go through this surgery. So at the end of the day, it all came down to one thing.

My arm fell against the futon with a thump. This wasn't working. Thinking like this was just making me feel helpless and hopeless.

I question if I'll be just like my old man, going through the motions at some company where I'd never be able to spread my wings at. He liked his job but sometimes worked fifteen hours a day. Nah, that can't be me. It just can't be.

Grabbing my phone, I opened up Linkster, an app that connected people from around the world. You could post comments, pictures, like, share, and do almost anything you wanted. Everyone had a Linkster account, and for some reason, I ended up going to Buttons. She hasn't posted anything in almost a year, but what she did have on her account made me smile. Man, so many memories.

Even saw pictures of little Jenny. It felt like ages since we last spoke, but she was more shy than her sister. Not really a loner, but just liked to keep to herself.

"Good times," I said to myself when I spotted a picture of me and Buttons. We tagged a wall with our names and posed in front of it. Childish, but fun at the time. This was taken, three, or four years ago? I wonder if it was still up.

Oh yeah, the USB. I suddenly remembered I was supposed to watch the video contained in it. I had it on top of the television and it hasn't been touched since. I would have gotten to it earlier if I never encountered Buttons here with my mom.

My computer was not present, but my phone was. I had to connect the USB to my charger and then my charger to my phone. The end of my charger was able to hold the USB and it acted as a reader.

Accepting the prompt that emerged on my phone the files were downloaded. Only took three minutes considering the size of the file.

A notification appeared seconds after the file was done beings transferred to my phone. Someone sent me a message on Linkster. It was my first message on the app since returning, and knowing that I did not reach out to anyone left me wondering who it was. The curiosity only lasted mere seconds when I saw it was Alisha, my ex.