After gathering information, learning about the world I was in, being disappointed by the fact that Wikipedia was gone and the information had become more sparse than before, I ended up staying with Hayley. Well, to be more specific, she never kicked me out and I never left. Eventually, she got annoyed by my freeloading and told me to get a job.

I did.

Finding a job was actually not that difficult. Turns out that even though Edge is something similar to something that I know as slums, it’s also not quite the same. It’s a place where different people do gather around, people who have no place to go, nulls, those who need to hide, and anyone else who does not fit into normal and richer society.

Edge used to be highly populated, but starvation, lack of food, sickness, and no help from The Company did their job over the centuries. Oh, The Company is basically the government who used to be many companies that built this ship. Eventually, they all merged into one massive one that rules over this ship. They are not that original with name, though. But as time passed, people in Edge learned to adapt and it became a society of its own. People have made their own life here. Yes, there is a lack of sun, the food is not as fresh as it could be and not everything is as technologically advanced. It's fine, though.

Ding ding ding.

“Hello, how can I help you?” I asked from a man that came straight to me.

“Pack of smokes,” the man said, throwing money on a counter and pointing towards a specific brand he wanted.

“That would be 10.99,” I responded, taking the money and giving a single penny back.

The man took the penny and left. Yes, in this part of the ship, not even a penny is left behind. I'm now a cashier. And honestly, I enjoy it.

“Hey, Daniel!” my boss said as he came out from his office.

“Hey, Michael.” I could easily understand if he needed something from me. And since my work hours were supposed to end within minutes…

“I need a favor from you!” he said.

“Yes?”

“Can you close the store tonight? My kid has a birthday tomorrow and I have yet to buy a present for her.”

Almost like giving him a hint, I looked at the clock on the wall.

“Yes, you’ll get paid for the overtime, the usual deal,” he said. I know that he could very easily make me work overtime without paying for it, but Michael was nice when it came to working time.

“Yeah, sure. I'll close the store for you. Go, get your kid a present!” Jackpot.

Michael sighed but then gave me a barely visible smile. “Don’t be late tomorrow!”

“I never am…”

Michael walked towards the exit, turned out “You’re a good guy, Dan. I’m quite pleased with hiring you. Don’t disappoint me.” And then he walked outside.

Closing the store was not that huge of a deal. Half an hour work at best, which involved calculating money, moving some boxes, and preparing a few things for the next day. Usually, money took the most of the closing time, but since I had to deal with it constantly in my old world, I was quite good at it. Who would've thought that counting every penny would help out many-many millennia later?

Knock, knock.

I knew very well who it was. I placed money into the safe and waited just long enough to hear the knocking a second time. I walked to the back door.

“Hay!” Hayley immediately announced her presence the moment the door opened, raising a bottle that looked like champagne. “I come bearing gifts!”

“Hey. Sorry, I was closing the store.”

“I figured,” Hayley murmured, pushing herself past me inside the door. "Michael giving you the usual deal?"

She smelled good. Turns out when two people live together and both of them get a job, they can actually start affording something besides rent and food. One of such things is shampoo. And to be clear, I am buying them. Why? Because I spend most of the time with her and I like her smelling good. Plus, me smelling good as a cashier is as important. "Yep, the usual!" I said.

“You’re ignoring your holopad again,” she said as she walked straight to the non-food department and removed two long glasses from there.

“Sorry, I didn’t notice,” I lied. I read every message she sends me instantly, but I chose to ignore them. Yes, I am one of those assholes. But I know how crazy she can get and sometimes I need to have a breathing room before I answer her texts. So, I chose to fake not noticing her messages when I was busy enough. Plus sometimes she gets annoyed by that and she’s cute when she’s annoyed. “Work keeps me busy. How’s your work?”

She snorted. “Coast is clear,” she said. “Sometimes I wish I could sleepwalk while guarding.”

“Well, if it weren’t for your job, I would be still homeless,” I said. Hayley’s official job title was Edge’s Security Guard. But her other known titles were as follows: stalker, jobless, annoying walking nuisance, and, admittedly my favorite one, knocker. Yes, she occasionally sells information she hears for money. She thinks that people don't know, but we do.

She has never told me who her client is, but she is keeping peace around here, near the station. And honestly, I can relate. Every time we have gotten into any kind of fight, she can kick my ass.

“Speaking of your homelessness,” Hayley said, placing the glasses on the counter and began opening the bottle.

“Yes?” I said after a pause. She just stared at me. “Fine. What's the occasion?”

She smiled. “One year ago, I found this dirty, worthless, crying piece of shit on a bench.”

“Oh, I’m blushing,” I said, staring at her with my serious face.

“Well, turns out it’s you. Because your life was nothing before, and I gave you home and your job, it's basically your birthday!"

The bottle opened and made this loud noise. Hayley moved the bottle's opening near the glass quickly, letting some foam fill the glass. She continued to fill the glasses casually.

“I have this theory,” I began.

“Hm?” Hayley reacted.

“That perhaps my biggest downfall was actually being found by this egoistical, occasionally violent alpha female who desperately needed someone in their life so they could pull their shit together.”

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

“Ouch,” Hayley said, snorting.

“Plus,” I continued. “Let’s be honest, I found the job.”

“But I recommended…”

“...you recommended that I should get a job. I found the job.”

Hayley shook her head, finally pushing one glass closer to me. “Tck, tck. I gave Michael a good recommendation!”

I snorted. “Recommendation that almost cost me not getting the job.”

She sighed. “You all mock my job but you know that this job req-”

I placed my finger on her lips. “I know. We know. I’m sorry. Like I said, without you, I wouldn’t be there.” Sometimes it was easier to give up before the situation escalated. Especially with her.

She blushed slightly. “Here’s to us!”

And with a clink, we both took a sip of that champagne. As soon as we got it down the throat, we moaned.

“What is this shit?” I asked.

“I don’t know…” she murmured

“You don’t know?”

“Hey, I went to the store, I saw it, it was cheap, I bought it!”

“You could’ve gone to a better quality store for once!”

“And not pay the rent?”

We both looked at each other and began to chuckle. “I’ll finish closing the store, so we can go home. Clean up the glasses, I still need to sell them.”

"Sure," she murmured, taking the glasses. “I bought some food too. And that's better! I promise!” she shouted after me as I left.

“It better be, or I’m not paying for it!” I said as I continued moving some boxes.

We were both walking towards our home. Besides the chaotic first few months, I'd say that I was settled in. There were even moments when I was quietly thanking the great overlords for saving me from all those debt collectors, letting me start from the blank page.

“What?” Hayley noticed my smile. “Come on, speak.”

I blushed slightly. “Well… I just thought that I’m really lucky. I have a roof over my head. I have my job. I can take every day a shower. And…” I paused.

“...and?”

I looked away to hide my embarrassment. “...and I have you.” Knowing her, she probably had the biggest smug face ever known in the whole galaxy. Instead, I could feel her taking my hand. Out of surprise, I took a look at her. She was looking down at the ground, intensely. How cute was that?

We kept walking, not sharing even a word. As we reached home, she cooked for us. Or well, not really. Cooking ingredients are too expensive. It’s mostly what we grow ourselves that we can use. And what we grow, we usually sell because they sell well. Corporate uses every ingredient to the maximum to leave no waste. So, her cooking mostly meant that she bought food that was ready and just needed a bit of time in the oven.

She didn’t lie. The food was great. We rarely bought as good food like this. We talked more than usual. It probably was holding hands that caused this. Eventually, we found ourselves on the roof of the apartment complex. We were looking at Earth and its companion. It always felt weird to look at them. I should be on one of those. Yet it’s no longer inhabitable. Or so they say.

“It has been one year… and yet I know so little about you,” I said something that I always avoided. Perhaps it was the slight alcohol in the system that made me ask it. Or perhaps it was the hands, making me more courageous.

“Yeah?” She responded. She’s a master of avoiding topics she doesn’t like to talk about. But not today.

“Yeah!” An epic comeback, making every girl melt and tell me all their secrets.

“There’s not much to talk about. I'm boring, and with a dark and mysterious past,” she said.

Bloody hell, my tactic worked! I thought. “That's the opposite of boring. Hayley, it’s not that there’s not much to talk about, but you haven’t told me anything. Who are your parents? Are they dead? Are you a null? Were you a single child? Where are you from? You know that the longer you avoid those subjects, the more suspicious you make me?” That was the moment I knew I fucked up. I pushed my luck too far.

Hayley pushed herself on her side to look at me. I pretended not to notice that. “So you want to go there, huh? Very well. You’re the one to talk, Mr. Daniel. You appeared here out of nowhere, without knowing anything. You remember nothing, you’re nobody, yet you have this look that whispers something different. Is the amnesia even real? Sometimes I think you know way more than you tell me, but you quickly hide behind that amnesia of yours when you're about to be exposed. And yet I’ve been very nice not to bring it up, giving you a chance to hide the secrets you might have and start a new fresh.”

I sigh. “You're being slightly paranoid here. You do know I have amnesia. We established that. And it’s normal for someone who has amnesia to have moments when they almost remember something!” I felt disgusted. Disgusted by myself. After a year of being with her, I still lied into her face like it was nothing. I can’t really tell her that I am actually a time traveler from the time when the earth was still traversed. I've wanted to tell her the truth so many times, but every time I’m about to, I manage to catch myself. And eventually, it’s easier to lie and hide behind this non-existing amnesia. I'm probably protecting her by not telling her. “What about you? Do you have no amnesia? No? So, it means you’re literally hiding it! You’re refusing to speak of things that should be normal! Things that I should know after living a full year with you!”

“Because I don’t have anything to hide behind!” she whispered in a harsh voice, gritting her teeth. “I lie to my neighbors, co-workers, boss... because I have to… because I don’t want to tell anyone about the past I’m trying to forget. But I cannot lie to you, Daniel. Not you. Perhaps the only one person I cherish enough. But I can’t tell you the truth either. So I’m just… silent… in-between of those two. And the only thing I’m asking from you is just to… forget it.” She takes hold of my hands as I raise my body to look at her. “Don’t ask any questions. Let’s live and enjoy the lives we have now.”

The first thought was just to agree and forget about it. Yet all I could do was to remove my hand from hers. “Hayley. I appreciate. I really do. I think you’re a wonderful woman, the best I’ve ever met. But I cannot build a relationship on lies... on secrets that will eat me up.” I could see her eyes tear up. It was breaking my heart. I'm such a hypocrite. “And I’m not just talking about you. Before I expect anything from you, I should look at the mirror.” It was perfect the first truth I told her.

I’m an idiot. An asshole. Why did I have to do it? Did I love misery? Or was one year not enough to feel safe about my future?

“Oops, it seems that my drink is empty. I’ll go refill it,” she said, walking off the roof, leaving her half-filled cup behind. She then noticed her not having her drink and quickly grabbed it.

She was running away to hide her tears. “You know what? I’ll take a walk. I’ll see you later!” I shouted as she was about to climb down the latter. And yet I saw her beautiful smile as she responded, “I’ll see you later!”

The walk was long, dull, and just awful. All I could think was Hayley, her tears, and our talk. I replayed the discussion over and over again, cursing at myself for saying the most foolish things, or what I could've said instead, taking an even longer path to reach home. I knew that we had to have another talk once I got back home. I needed to apologize.

“Mr. Daniel, I assume?” a voice pulled me out of my thoughts, making me stop and look in front of me. A man stood there in a fancy coat. But my vision was too blurry to make out too much.

I said nothing.

“How has your year been? Quite a simple one… but a bit of romance at the end,” he said, making me immediately take a few steps back, wary of my surroundings. It was at that moment when I realized that I was surrounded by others. But unlike that man in front of me, their faces were hidden by masks. “Mr. Daniel, please. You should not resist as this is very unnecessary. You got a year, a chance for a new beginning, or at least a taste, something you’ve always wanted. But it’s time -- and it’s quite ironic -- to pay your debt.”

I turned around and began to run in the opposite direction, towards home. But before I knew it, one of the masked ones intercepted my movement and hit me into the stomach with a stick. All I could do was groan, fall down on my knees, and do my utmost best to keep in all the food Hayley had recently fed me.

“Every time you try to run, you’re forcing our hand, and you’re placing yourself at disadvantage,” a voice reached me once more, this time next to me, crouching. “Cooperate, and nobody needs to get hurt...” I could feel the threat in the last sentence.

Hayley… was the immediate thought I had.

“Just stand up and follow us into the shuttle. Let me tell you this much; your chances aren’t zero yet. And I’m your greatest ally!”

I stood up, carefully and slowly, feeling the pain finally leave me. “Fine. I’ll do as you say.” Together, surrounded by the masked ones, we walked to the nearby flying car. And just before I entered it, I looked back towards the direction of my home.

While my thoughts were with Hayley, I said something different. “I’m sorry to disappoint you Michael, but I think I won’t make it to work tomorrow…”