Page 94 of Dirty Secrets
“After hours will have security. Apart from high-tech surveillance, there will be security guards day and night,” he nodded, pointing to the offices. “On top of that, we have part-time mental health assistance, as well as separate men’s and women’s help for things like abuse, sexual health, and anything that sometimes makes people uncomfortable when dealing with the opposite sex. We obviously can’t fund full-time free clinics, but we’d like to trial some things to see if we can get the government and the local council on board. It’s unlikely to work, but it can’t hurt to try. We managed to get two condom companies to donate regularly, as well as a women’s health supply store. We should have free tampons and sanitary pads on opening week.”
“And how will you stop people from taking free shit to sell?” Zavier asked dryly.
“We have a system in place. Stone and Cruz worked on an app for us to input data like a registration. We mark off who gets what so we can check who's coming in daily. Obviously, we don’t mind if they’re genuinely using them, but if someone is going through five boxes of condoms a day, I think it’s safe to say they’re not using them all,” he laughed. “There’s a bathroom that’s accessible from the side of the building, which will be open twenty-four-seven. Separate male and female rooms with ten cubicles in each, as well as five shower stalls. There’s alaundromat going in out back, but that’s coin operated. Just means those who don’t have access to power or water at home have somewhere to?—”
He stopped talking when I hugged him, not realizing I’d done it until his arm dropped around me to give my shoulders a squeeze. I pulled back with embarrassment, clearing my throat. “Sorry.”
“You’re fine. I’m glad to know all the hard work is going to be appreciated,” he chuckled. “Besides, we’re huggers in our family. I’m used to it. Even the notorious Rory Donovan needs a hug sometimes. Don’t tell her I told you that though.”
The thought of Rory needing a hug kind of amused me, but it made me feel better that even a strong woman like her needed comfort sometimes.
“Are you helping with food?” Zavier asked, and I turned to glare at him.
“Don’t you think they’ve done enough?”
“I don’t expect them to, I was just asking since food is something that affects everyone,” he replied, and Diesel nodded.
“We’re working on it. There’s a lot of food places in surrounding towns that have stuff they throw out that is still consumable. Some even want to donate from time to time. What we’re hoping to do is set up something a few days a week to save on wastage. There’s a lot of food safety issues to go over first, so once we get approval for things, we can get food relief started. A few people have suggested a food truck or soup kitchen, but that requires volunteers and approval. Once we finish with the community center, we can move forward with the food stuff.”
“Why don’t you set up a scholarship for Ashburn Valley Academy?” Zavier continued, making Diesel wince this time.
“That's a complicated issue. We figured it would be better to improve education for the whole town instead.”
“And everyone’s grateful for it,” I answered, giving Zavier a pointed look.
“Is there a way we can get word out to other people who might be interested in setting up scholarships? The Heights has such a bad name, and I just figured maybe if some of the local kids had the chance to go to the academy, that they’d be more employable. I don’t expect you guys to do it all, but have you looked into it? Is there something we can do to make it happen through other people?” Zavier asked, tilting his head. “Look at your girl. She was just like us, but she’s running an empire now.”
“One, we just let her think she runs it, and two, Rory’s success didn’t come from a fancy education. She only did her final year at the academy, which was only possible thanks to Caden’s mom paying for it and taking her in. Rory went through hell at the academy and it didn’t help her in the slightest. Then again, what we do isn’t exactly the usual type of employment,” he chuckled. “The academy is a cesspool of entitled rich brats. Bullying is insane, especially to those who don’t come from money.”
“Why would you want your kids to go there then?” I asked with confusion, and he raised an eyebrow.
“Caden’s mom really wanted her grandkids to go. Who exactly would’ve given them shit though? They’re at the top of the food chain, thanks to the Donovan name, but even without Rory’s name attached to them, Caden, Jensen, Lukas, and Tyler left behind a bit of a legacy there. Trust me, no one was going to fuck with them. If we dropped a bunch of Heights kids in there though? Mayhem.”
“You sent Noah to the academy, right? He’s a foster kid.”
“Being a foster kid of ours and being a kid from the Heights is different, and you know it. I’ll take your thoughts back home though and discuss it with the others. If we could build an academy for the Heights, we’d do it, but we can’t put everyonethrough private school out of our own pocket. I know it seems unfair that the academy gets the better education, but the fact is that the kids who go there have parents who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for them to attend. The best we can do is try to fix the public system here and upgrade all the technology while offering other programs to help kids go a little further than they can now,” he said with regret, raking a hand through his graying brown hair. “There was talk about fixing the local pool and updating the park, but a few locals got snippy about the pool.”
I cringed. “Yeah, the local pool is known as the Pit. It’s where most kids hang out, tag walls, fight, and in a lot of cases, sleep. Ashburn has the track, and we have the Pit.”
“So you’re not against a pool, you just don’t want it to take over your social spot?” he asked curiously, studying me.
“The pool was popular until it shut down. The issue is, no one has money around here for leisure. Unless it’s free, no one will use it. Not because we don’t want to, but because we can’t afford to when a lot of people only eat every couple of days and live in houses with no electricity or water.”
“Budget aside, what would you suggest we do around here?” he asked, pulling his phone out and bringing up his notes. “Anything. Jobs, food, activities, education. I want a list so we can see what's in demand. We can’t do it all, I won’t promise that, but we can work on making some noise about things to see if the government gets bullied into some funding.”
“You guys really give a shit, don’t you?” I murmured, and he let out a laugh.
“You act surprised. We make millions of dollars a week in investments alone. Most of us grew up poor and on the street, so we know how hard things can be. We can make a difference, and the Heights only has a bad rep because no one will help it out. So, hit me with it.”
Zavier gently squeezed my arm, jerking his head towards the door. “I’m going to check out everything outside. You good with D?”
I nodded, knowing Diesel was safe to be around alone, and I gave him my full attention once Zavier had left.
“Businesses never stay. The longest running businesses here are the local diner and the grocery store. I don’t think anything has stayed open for more than twelve months. Hell, they never even rebuilt the police station after it burned down last year. The old high school has sat abandoned forever, the driver’s education program barely lasted two months, and when the salon went in a month later, it was only open for four months before closing. Nothing can thrive here because there’s no money for people to put into it. Investors don’t see the point in coming here in the first place for that reason. Teachers half-ass their lessons because they’re barely educated themselves, and those who might have a chance at working because they’re not fucked up twenty-four-seven, all have kids they have to look after. Child care is too expensive, it’s a luxury.”
“Would free birth control programs help?”
“Probably, but you’d have to offer it forever because when they run out and need more, they can’t afford it,” I shrugged. “Cutting back on unwanted children is a really good start though. I don’t know many people around here who can afford the kids they have, but they keep having them because they work in the sex industry and aren’t careful.”