RubyI don't remember a time when I was so tense. It was as though I was about to step onto a huge stage to face a large and intimidating crowd. I felt like I was about to do something that would ridicule me.But, my father's words at the party came to me and that reminder lashed at the ridiculous thoughts I was having.Clutching hard, the handle of my personalized tote bag that Abby made for me for last year's Christmas, I let out a huge puff of air and resumed my intent to walk past the glass entrance of the school building."Hello there."My chest banged hard at that voice, my whole body felt so strange, like it was hypnotised."Mr. Klaus," I carefully said as I turned my head slightly to face the tall man who was dressed like he came out of a fashion magazine. Well, he always dresses like that. He might as well be on every cover of magazines women love to feast their eyes on. "How are you doing?" he asked. "Uh?" I blinked hard after I realised that I was already picturing him i
Ruby"Ruby Powers, are you planning to stand there all day?" Mrs. Cook's firm voice whipped me out of my temporary trance.I was still finding it hard to get that Adonis man out of my head."Oh..." My eyes met the multiple eyes staring at me. " I am sorry I am late, " I hurriedly said before she decides to give me an F-minus for lack of morals."Just go and have your seat."My head ducked a bit as I walked towards the only available desk which was way at the back, but luckily behind Jake's.After I settled, Jake's face literally almost smeared against mine. "How are you doing?" he whispered and his eyes narrowed as though daring me to lie."We'll talk later, Jake." I briefly looked ahead. "Mrs. Cook mustn't be given a reason to deduct non-existent marks."Jake smiled, nodded, and shifted properly to face the ongoing class. But as he turned, I noticed the large bandage that secured a spot on his right jaw and I wondered if he got injured somewhere.Well, I'll just add that to a list o
Ruby"What?" Abby angrily asked and I scoffed.Where does Mr. Bounce think he is? A set for a Telenovela series?"What kind of request is that? Why would-"This time, I stopped Abby from displaying the anger she had within her."Well..." Mr. Bounce made sure to lock his eyes with Jake who was presently clenching hard, the arm of the chair he was seated in. "What do you say? Would you be stupid enough to go to jail? Do you perhaps have certain principles that-""I'll do it. "" What? Jake, no. " I found myself blurting out, my feet already a step closer to Jake."You will?" My ears picked up Celery's mocking chuckle and my angry fists came back. Jake's jaw seemed to dance a bit, his tight hold on the arm of the chair brought out a clear outline of his veins. He seemed like a very different person at that moment."I will do as you say under a condition," his thick voice continued."Oh..." Mr. Bounce was without a doubt amused. "This is interesting." The man then assumed a serious postu
RubyHurriedly, Celery got off the man who was looking equally shocked.At that moment, my brain finally processed the fact that a shutter sound pierced the tense air earlier and I wondered which of my friends took a picture. "Someone please tell me I'm dreaming," Abby whispered, the disbelief etched on her face now taking over her voice. "I wish we were," Jake replied and I just stood there, my lips still apart.When I caught myself and realised I might be looking weird with my lips separated, I clamped them and swallowed hard."So..." Abby was surprising me with her ability to talk. I was still trying to process the scene we saw earlier. "Is someone going to tell me what's going on here?"Celery shifted in discomfort, her arms going around her half-naked chest. "Is this man really your father?" Jake asked.The person being asked a question shifted her eyes to the side, showing reluctance. "You had better talk if you don't want the whole school to learn about what we've just seen.
Ruby"Mr. Grassi filled everyone in about the scholarship," Abby took a detour from our conversation, which was an argument about the best type of pizza.Trust me, that is a scene you don't want to watch. If Abby hadn't gotten tired of Jack rooting for the barbeque chicken flavour that she detested for some reason, a cooking war might have been introduced at a point."Who on earth is Mr. Grassi?" Jake was still pissed at Abby for murdering his taste in the best thing he knows as food."My art teacher?" She gave him a duh look and as she turned to face me, I wondered if she would have attacked me so easily had I had the same taste as Jake. "The scholarship program is huger than I thought. "" Weren't you filled in on the program before deciding to go for it? " I asked her." Mr. Grassi just threw it into the air at that time, he didn't exactly delve into the contents and now that he has, I have to make sure I get that scholarship. "I couldn't agree more. "Let us know if you'll need an
Ruby"Where do you think people who die go?" I asked the question that found a place in my head that particular day.And Abby gave me her signature blank look in response before going back to rummage through my wardrobe for any cloth that could be party-worthy."I have no idea." She finally paused her search, her nonchalant expression relaxed and she found support against the wardrobe door. "Truthfully, no one knows the certain details, we just embellish the little we know to make us feel less scared about the reality of the life cycle."" Mmm... " I pondered on her words, my fingers exploring the pack of gummy bears in my hand. "It is indeed a mystery.""What is a mystery... " Abby's loud voice changed the atmosphere to what it was before. "... is how you don't have any cloth worth wearing to a party." " Well, my good friend, I have never been to a party."" Wait, where is the cloth you wore to that boring party your Dad took you to? " Abby's eyes wore their investigative look and s
RubyAdonis had dragged me along for quite sometime before my brain finally woke up and remembered that I wasn't supposed to let him pull me like that. I was about to snatch my hand from his grasp when he stopped walking. As an effect, I bumped into his back which gave me more of his nice scent."Let's stay here," he simply said and I noticed the space was quiet and empty. I had no idea whether to be relieved or scared. "Are you going to say something?" his thick voice dragged me out of my thoughts and he turned to face me, a wide, gorgeous smile on his face."Why did you bring me here?" I finally found my rebellious tone." You didn't stop me. " His response shut me up without stress and I blinked toward my left. I was already training my eyes on the white wall opposite me when he said, "You look gorgeous."What on earth is wrong with me?My cheeks were growing warm at his words. I bet I could make chilled water turn warm with them.Hopefully, I wasn't looking as red as fire."List
Ruby"Ruby... Please get up."It made no sense to me. Who would wish Diane so much ill that they'd go as far as separating her arms from her body in a brutal way? And her eyes...Within me was the urge to throw up coupled with the extreme sadness growing inside of me and that was not a great thing.Maybe, it would be safer to get up as Abby suggested, I might see less of the gruesome sight.Well...I didn't see less of it. Even though I tried to look away, I kept seeing those bloodshot eyes which said a lot about the pain she must have been in."Ruby, we need to leave." Abby pulled at my arm but I refused to budge." I can't just leave. She's-" I swallowed hard as the whole thing crushed me with greater intensity. "She's my mother..." I whispered into the tense air." That's why you have to leave. This is not a helpful sight. You need to go somewhere else. "" But what if she has no one to claim her? " I retorted. "What if she just ends up at some place because I couldn't stay with he
AdonisI resisted the urge to smile as I studied her face the moment she closed her eyes. My arms crossed and I let out a shuddering breath. I was slowly being pulled into some kind of trance, I needed to remind myself that I was not dreaming.I needed to remind myself that I should be alert, and waiting to hear her response, but I couldn’t help myself.Apart from a few times when I managed to send one of the men to check up on her, I had no particular idea of what she looked like in person. Definitely, the pictures sent did no justice to how beautifully grown she was.My head tilted as I observed her entire face. Her lips kept twitching as she delved into her thoughts. Her forehead wore some kind of frown and I realized once again how selfish it was of me to suddenly show up and ask her to choose from painful options. Options that make my heart ache as well.But I have no choice. I had to do it that way. Hopefully, she chooses to…“I have an answer,” I heard her blurt out, her soft v
RubyStepping out of the airport, my bag rolling with me as I walked towards the taxi I had flagged down, it hit me more that I was back in Manhattan on my way to see my parents and… him. And my mind became more confused.Thankfully, it was the mid-semester period and we have a one-week break which I will extend to a three-week holiday because I seriously need the break.Soon, the taxi moved and began the long journey that would lead me home.And towards Adonis Klaus.Two weeks after our unexpected reunion, I finally contacted Adonis, telling him I had an answer for him.I sounded so determined that I already had an answer but as the moving car sped and allowed some cool breeze to come my way, as I rested in the seat some more, I realised that my heart was still confused.Of course, I want to be with Adonis, I wish for nothing more. But thinking about the present only is such a short-sighted and risky thing. There is a strong need to think about how any decision I take would affect m
RubyThree years.I have been waiting for three years.Time flew past so fast while I was waiting for Adonis to show up in front of me again. While I managed to go on with my life, I always paused for some seconds to see if he was anywhere around me.He never was neither were there traces of him in his two homes.I graduated high school, took a year break before heading to the university to find out what appeals to me the most in life and now, that I am finally in the university, I am still waiting for him.At first, all I wanted was just to see if he was alive. I placed my hopes on the numerous searches embarked on by the police but, after a while, everything was futile. I watched the cops pack their bags and give up on searching for the man whose existence had become a mystery. Occasionally, I felt anger towards Adonis Klaus, but I always managed to cloud that anger with my need to see him alive.But, as three years passed, I felt anger and many more emotions. Some days I hate him,
Ruby“Did you hear that Bryan was arrested? Even Mr. Grassi! I wonder what the deal is with this school.” My ears caught the loud whispering from one of the girls who were in front of me as I dragged my feet sadly out of the last class for the day.Well, it wasn’t exactly the last period in school, but for me, who was already tired of the talks about Mr. Klaus resigning and how they miss him, I was already done with school for the day, I just wanted to go stay in a lonely place.All I want to do now is stare into the air and pray fervently for Adonis’s return.I might seem hopeless for banking on the idea that Adonis is still alive. Given the fact that it has been almost two weeks since the incident and no traces of him being has been found, my prayers seem useless.But, at the same time, traces of him being dead were yet to be found. Unlike others, evidence in form of pieces of burnt body parts belonging to Adonis has not been found.Yes, they are yet to fully get rid of the rubble,
Ruby This time, I slept for a longer period. I could tell that much as I grudgingly sat up. I was rubbing some sleep remnants off my eyes, when I felt a hand on my head, its fingers pushing back the strands of my hair in a very loving way. I know that touch! With happiness instantly overriding the sadness that had followed me into my long sleep, I fully opened my eyes and smiled widely at the man whose eyes watched me with affection. My throat felt heavy and tears threatened to come again. My eyes squinted and my forehead creased while I tried not to break into another bout of tears. But I was just so happy to see him. I was so glad that he came back to me. I was glad that my bad thoughts didn't come to pass after all. Filled with more and more emotions as seconds went by, I held onto his hand which sent soothing waves down my spine “Adonis…” I called him, my voice cracked as I couldn’t disguise the tears anymore. “Hey, Peanut.” His other hand leaned against my cheek and I rest
RubyWhile some men tended to Mark Lumber’s injury which didn’t have a good look, old man Matt circled the three hostages that were in the room. I was back on the chair, tied down as well. Adonis and Jake had been forced to kneel and some men were placed behind them. Those men watched the duo keenly as did their guns which were pointed at their heads.I sighed hard as my health situation got even worse. At intervals, my body shook, due to fear and the terrible state of my headache. At that point, my system had gotten used to the loud banging but that didn’t mean I wasn’t in pain.I was trying so hard to hide it but my entire body felt like it had been hit with a huge rock.“Where on earth are the fools that went to get the ropes?” Matt hollered as his annoying footsteps came to a halt and his eyes fell furiously on the entrance which was now destroyed thanks to the earlier exchange of bullets. “I need to make sure that these bastards don’t escape. Especially Adonis."”I’m sure they ar
Ruby I woke up from my long sleep and had a tight grip restricting my wrists and ankles. It was hard for me to move, my entire body felt like it had been pulled into sudden stillness.I finally opened my eyes which I closed to ignore the crazy headache I was still having. It had magnified its effect, and my head was practically about to burst at that point. My opened eyes made me fully aware of the dangerous situation I was in. While my nose tried to get rid of the yucky smell the strange building was oozing, I saw the number of men that were guarding the entrance that led to where I was. The strong, weapon-carrying men looked so unforgiving, it would be hard for any uninvited individual to make his way in or out peacefully.And… it would be harder for me to plot a possible escape.I sighed, my mouth feeling somewhat heavy as my entire soul felt like breaking down and crying.As I took another look around the tall building, the rusting machines surrounding me and especially at the u
AdonisIt was a Saturday evening.That meant it was a busy evening in the den. The wild party I walked into told me two things. One, a certain part of the gang wasn’t aware of the plan that involved taking Ruby. Two, the longer I stay in that environment, the more likely I was to attain an unforgivable height of anger- The kind of anger that could make one turn into a complete beast, with all sides of the face drawn into ugly wrinkles, with a voice coarser than sand, and with energy so negative, the world could turn to chaos.I don't want to be that angry. All I want to do is get the possible location of Mark Lumber or whoever the fuck kidnapped her. Then, I can spring into action.So, I hurried my steps towards the executive lounge of the hideout. As usual, the executive lounge was where the real party was always happening. There was hardly any noise but you can tell each person is having fun, one way or the other.As my eyes scanned the entire span of the room, I noticed Maximus
RubyIt happened too fast.One second, I was adjusting the towel covering my wet body while I stared at the food Adonis made for me. The next moment, glass shattered around me and these hefty men dragged me out of the apartment, ignoring my cries.It seemed like the building was empty as well. The people that heard my shouts were the security men who were mere souls in front of the tall, angry-looking men.Looking down at my chest as the jeep raced some more towards the highway, I let out a sigh. I then noticed that one of the men seated beside me had his eyes glued to my body."Listen," I started talking, my eyes furiously eyeing the pervert beside me, "I did as you said, I have not made noise since you guys kidnapped me.""We did not...""Get me some clothes before someone eye-rapes me." The tone of my voice was intentionally raised on the last statement, and my head tilted slightly towards the man on my right. The man seated beside the quiet driver let out a sigh. His hand rubbed