RubyI had a dream.And in that dream, Diane's face was all I saw. And that made my heart ache a lot more. It ached so much, I couldn't help the tears. As they rolled down my cheeks, I knew I would never be able to recover from the guilt of not being friendly to my birth mother.As my head tossed in the idea of opening my eyes before someone could walk in on me shedding tears, I felt warm hands on my skin, cleaning off the evidence of my pain.Curious to know whose hands were so warm, I opened my eyes and they landed straight on Zion whose face was almost kissing mine."Hello," he gently greeted and relaxed his protruding body. "Hi," I croaked. He blinked. "You are awake." "Hmm." As much as I loved the few-words conversation, my throat hurt as much as my heart did. As I tried to prop myself to a seated position, my eyes not ignoring the slim tube attached to a patch of my skin, Zion beat me to it and placed a cup of water to my lips.After an appreciative smile, I began to down t
RubyHis scent led me right into the principal's office. The one place that is rumoured to exist but never seen.And why is that?Because our wonderful principal makes sure to never show us her face nor does she care to see ours. Everything in here is just weird. This school, its management, the students, the dramas, everything was just wired in an odd manner.After tearing my eyes off the medieval-like painting that welcomed me into the room, I landed them on the broad back of Mr. Klaus who was staring at the mauve-coloured curtain that shielded the room from the sun."Why are we here?" I queried. "I'd like to believe the principal wouldn't like it if she finds us here."" Don't worry." He turned to face me. " She is letting us have this space."I frowned. "What is that even supposed to mean?"His arms crossed over his chest. "Let's just say your principal owes me a favour or two."That statement brought up more questions in my mind."Is that favour the reason you are working in th
Ruby"Uh..."Her response surprised me, I won't lie. I was expecting her to claim that it was all a misunderstanding. A little part of me wanted to hear that Bryan was being accused wrongly. But then..."Ruby I-"I pulled Celery's hand. "Let's go somewhere else. We can't discuss this here."She nodded understandably, wiped off the wetness on her cheeks, and followed my lead as I searched for a space where we could talk without the chance of being eavesdropped on.After a while, a fairly large space where cleaning supplies were stored appealed to me to be a safe enough place and after peeping out of the door to make sure no one had their eyes in our direction, I closed the door."Okay, Caitlin. Talk to me. What do you know?"It is quite weird how I ceased calling her Celery. But I didn't mind. Caitlin is her name at the end of the day."Uh..." Making sure we weren't having eye contact, Caitlin began to dig her manicured fingers into the skin of her left hand. I could tell that she was
Ruby"So, why a date?" I asked once I gave up trying to talk him out of his plan and began to walk down the road with him."Well, this is just me working on making my intentions a reality." "Intentions? What-" His hands grabbed my shoulders suddenly and before I could ask him what he was doing, I was standing by his left, his tallness acting as a shade. Feeling somewhat queasy, I gathered my arms and asked in a low voice, "What was that for?"He gave a lazy shrug as our walk resumed. "I wasn't comfortable with you being closer to the road."" Oh." Gosh, why did that feel so warm to hear?It was just a gesture and my entire soul was already making it a big deal."So Ruby Powers..." From nowhere, his arm slung over my shoulders and I was dragged to his side again. "Where would you like to go for our date?"I scoffed. " You planned a date but you have no venue? Way to go, gangster." I gave up trying to get out of his hold. He was effortlessly strong at that moment, I couldn't win again
Ruby"What the hell, Ruby? What the hell was that?" I crossed my arms when our hurried steps came to a stop. Jake turned to face me, various questions on his face but that didn't bother me.I could still feel his lips on mine. My chest was still thudding at the thought that he kissed me and my head was still screaming that Mr. Klaus is my teacher, who I shouldn't be kissing."Ruby, I am talking to you," Jake sternly said.Our eyes finally met but as I said, I was not yet with him, my mind was still with the man back there who just made me feel something totally... new.Almost unconsciously, I brought my fingers to my lips and that caused Jake's eyebrows to twitch a bit."Ruby, do you have any idea what you are doing? That was Mr. Klaus you were just kissing. Our English teacher."" Substitute," I corrected, and he scoffed. " Substitute English teacher.""He is still our teacher and he shouldn't be seen frolicking with..." His eyes roamed my body and he let out a sigh that completed h
Ruby" I don't want to say 'I told you so', but I knew something was off about that Clara girl," Abby said with lowered voice after we found a spot in one of the empty classes in the rear part of the large building, where we would be less likely to be caught not attending class.Truthfully, I don't think anyone would want to attend class, especially after the arraign of crazy things that have been going on in the school."One thing I don't get is why she did it. Why would she fabricate something that crazy? Something that could destroy you? " Abby was not ready to keep quiet about the issue.I wish I could be like her at that moment. But I am mostly speechless, all I could do was flap my feet like an impatient person.The chair Abby was seated in made a scratching noise as she shifted. With enviable energy in her voice, she asked, "Do you think she'll spend some time in jail?"I shrugged. "I hope she does not. Jail is not a very fun place. "" Neither was what she did." Abby's lips wo
AdonisMan... Hearing her say my name sure gives a different kind of feeling. It is a feeling I hate and love at the same time. I feel so whipped and that is a bad thing because I just met her. But at the same time, especially when she is close to me, especially now that I have held her in my arms and had a feel of her lips on mine, I kind of like being whipped.Chuckling silently while my strides became slower, I relished the memory of how she called my first name and for the first time since I chose to do something with my life, I did not question my decision to look for a fresh start.It might be foolish and selfish of me to say this, but, I am glad I met Ruby even though I am bringing danger to her.But then, there is a huge chance I can protect her and experience what it means to be with Ruby Powers. "Ugh, what am I doing?" I groaned as reality hit me and I recalled that someone might have seen Ruby and me during our heated moment... A heated moment that I was tempted to advanc
RubyI don’t know if it is weird to say this, but I don’t feel like attending any class today.But I have Mrs. Cook’s class in the next five minutes and trust me, she will haunt me for the rest of my life if I fail to attend any of her classes without a solid reason.An instance of Mrs. Cook ruining a student's day flew into my mind and that reminder made me rush to my locker to get my notes. As I cautiously and rapidly moved, the earlier moment with Mr. Klaus crept into my mind and I couldn’t help a smile.So, that’s what intense kissing feels like.The steamy kissing scenes Abby and I used to sneakingly watch intrigued and disgusted us at the same time. The mere thought of saliva being occasionally involved made us cringe as heck.But, now that I recall, the kiss with Adonis wasn’t sloppy. Using Abby’s phrase, he seems to be a man that knows the game.Feeling thrilled, I wore a bigger smile which received a weird look from a passing student. It was then that I realised that the bell
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