Trafficked by her mother as a child, Gem ran away with the help of Brennan, a man she considered her friend, only to be coerced into prostitution.
Brennan constantly reminds her this is the life she chose, and it's better than the past. But the doubts she'd buried for so long rise back up when Brennan brings a young girl in. She wonders again if this life is really all there is for her, and she begins to believe there is someone who cares enough to help them.
Gem must decide to act, not only to change her life, but save the life of the child beside her, before it is too late.
"Abandoned Gems" is the sixth story in Moments Late, a series of short stories.