Serve and Protect

Chapter 19

Adora couldn't be certain, but she was pretty sure that Angella Brightmoon hated her.

For the first couple of days Adora hardly saw her, though she wasn't sure if that was because the chief of police was avoiding her or just busy. She figured Angella was probably still mad that she had been hiding out in her house. (Which was understandable.) She was also probably bitter that Adora refused to hand over everything she knew about the Horde. (Which was also understandable, but Adora didn't feel bad about that part.)

Still, Adora didn't want Angella to hate her. After all, Angella could have kicked her out and left her to fend for herself.

But she hadn't.

She let her stay, and for that Adora was eternally grateful.

Now that her secret was out, Adora was free to move around the house at any time. She made use of her many long hours alone by being the best unexpected house guest she could be. If growing up in the Horde had given her anything, it was a good work ethic. Adora put those years of hard labor to use by scrubbing the floors, deep cleaning the bathrooms (Of which there were many.) and even doing small repairs around the home. She may not have been able to give Angella what she wanted, but she could still find other ways to earn her keep.

"You're really making me look bad," Glimmer said one day when she came home from school to find all the hardwood polished and the carpets shampooed. "You know you don't have to do all of this, right?"

"Well I've got to do something," Adora replied, falling back onto Glimmer's bed with a whump. "If I don't keep myself busy I think I'll go crazy."

Glimmer settled down onto the mattress beside her. "I know how you feel. I get serious cabin fever whenever Mom grounds me."

Adora chuckled. "I was going to say 'at least you don't have to worry about dying if you get caught sneaking out', but then I remembered who your mom is and realized getting caught by her wouldn't be much better."

This sent Glimmer into a fit of laughter too. "Seriously! I don't know who I'd rather face off against: the Horde or my mom!"

Maybe it was because they hadn't laughed in a while, but once Adora and Glimmer started, they couldn't seem to stop. They lay on Glimmer's bed, laughing until their sides ached and their eyes were wet with tears. It felt so good that Adora had to wonder why she didn't do it more often.

But as the laughter faded, she remembered why. She rolled over so she was facing Glimmer.

"Actually, I think your mom's mad at me," she confessed quietly.

"What? No way!" Glimmer waved off the suggestion with a flip of her hand. "Trust me, I know what she's like when she's mad."

Adora chewed her bottom lip. "But she's barely said two words to me since she caught me."

"She's just really stressed out." Glimmer sighed. "This new wave of Runestone has put a lot of pressure on the department. I heard there's a protest that's being organized for this weekend."

"A protest? About Runestone?" Adora frowned. "What's that supposed to do?"

Glimmer rolled onto her back and laced her fingers behind her head. She glared up at the ceiling as if it had done something to offend her. "It's not about Runestone — it's about the police's response to Runestone. People don't think they've done enough to fix the problem."

"Ah," was all Adora could say to that. She knew where she stood in that debate, and she didn't think Glimmer would appreciate her thoughts on the matter. It was things like this that really made their friendship seem so unusual. They were both after the same thing, and they both knew they had to step in to make up for the system's failings. But where Glimmer seemed to believe in the system—that all it needed was a little extra help to make things happen—Adora didn't trust it at all.