Gold Behind Closed Hands

I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to make sense of it all. I was so confused.

What did they mean, put it on a card?

Since when did I have a bonus?

However, the biggest question was… What was Mr. Brooks up to?

My supervisor looked just as puzzled as I felt.

"Aren't you and Mr. Brooks a couple? He's the one who told the finance department to split up your pay.

"They give you your regular pay, but the bonus and any extra, they put on a different card. He said you wanted to save.

"I never would've guessed you had a boyfriend like Mr. Brooks and that you'd be so careful with money. That's pretty cool."

It turned out that all these years, I was only getting the salary from when I first started.

I kept asking for a raise, not knowing that my pay hadn’t increased not because I was not working hard, but because Caleb had been moving it to another card.

When I finally asked for my pay records, I noticed the bonus section. It showed a big, shiny $2,000.

Just a few days earlier, I had been scrambling to come up with that last $2,000 and had fallen behind on the hospital bill.

Because of that, my mom did not get her surgery in time and passed away.

The craziest part? The total of all the bonuses Caleb kept from me over seven years would have been more than enough to pay for my mom's treatment.

I had been so silly.

Silly enough to just keep working hard, scared of losing my job and not having money to live.

Silly enough to be tricked by Caleb and not even know it.

I did not want him to think I was after his money, so I never touched it, only to find out he took what I earned.

I stayed in that fake, hurtful relationship for seven whole years.

I clutched my paycheck, ready to confront Caleb, but he strolled up without a care in the world.

"Jess, we had a tiny spat, and you stormed off, threatening to quit," he said.

"It looks like you've got quite the temper."

Nevaeh, trailing behind him, wore a grin that said she loved seeing me in trouble.

She sauntered over, pretending to care, and said. "Jess, that's pretty cold of you. You're spending Caleb's money and living in a house he got for you.

"Could you even make it here in the city without Caleb?"

People without shame could lie so easily, without even a blush.

I was so mad I had to laugh, and was about to snap back. However, Caleb cut me off.

"Nevaeh's right. Without me, you'd have been gone long ago," he said.

"Let's just say you're having a bad day. I'll give you a break and not dock your pay. Come on home with me."

The clearer Caleb's true colors became, the more I saw my own blindness over those seven years.

People around them started to gossip and point.

When Caleb did nothing to stop them, they got louder.

"Mr. Brooks just hid who he was so Jessica wouldn't feel bad. He's always cared that much about her."

"She's living off Mr. Brooks, getting mad at him, and still wants more."

"She thinks she can become something special, but without Mr. Brooks, she's nothing."

The more they talked, the prouder Caleb looked.

Nevaeh kept egging them on, heaping false blame on me.

"Jess, weren't you the one who told a fib about your mom being super sick, just to borrow 2000 bucks from Caleb?

"You sure know how to make a buck and still act like you're the good guy. You're pretty slick."

Her words hit the room like tossing ice water into a frying pan, and everything just blew up.