Part Five

In the mess hall Emma sat on the middle of the two girls Anna and Agatha, Madilda had taken the seat across them and was sitting side by side with the twin brothers Edward and Lucas. Scouring the place, she had spotted Ruby in the far end of the room by the door, a tray on hand and seemed to look lost and out of place. “Ruby!” Emma called out breaking off the earlier conversation she had with her friends and strode towards the girl whose dark hair was unusually darker under the dim hall’s light. The girl however didn’t seem pleased by the attention and flashed Emma what looked like a frightened warning look, as if to say ‘don’t come any closer’. Emma ignored this with a firm grip on the girl’s arm, expression tentative as she examined the girl’s existence. There was something weird about her, besides the bruise on her left cheek from what Nate had done to her yesterday, she was much rather paler, more fearful than usual, as if she seen her own ghost. She struggled in Emma’s grasp nearly launching her tray off her hands and like her mother she was alert and on guard surveying her surroundings.

“Emily no one can see us together!” she hissed, she had rid herself out Emma’s persistent hold and urged her somewhere more private, outside of the mess hall where no one but them alone could hear each other.

“As long as you are surrounded with people you’re safe Ruby, and speaking of which have you eaten yet, you look paler than usual… why don’t you join us?” It was not entirely true, she could have been the same pallor and she might have been mistaken considering they had just only met yesterday.

“I’m fine,” swatted Ruby, she had stepped back, casting a glance from side to side before meeting Emma’s gaze once more. “What I’m worried about is you… did he see you yesterday?”

Emma swallowed the large lump on her throat, “Yes.”

“And did he hurt you?”

“No, he only warned me, told me not to do it again but I’m not really sure what he meant if it was meeting you or running away.”

“You shouldn’t be with me Emily,” she snarled, “what do you want?”

“I was just worried about you, what he did to you was awful.”

Ruby shrugged, tossing her long dark hair on one shoulder, it was curly now that Emma noticed, “I’m used to it, but you gotta be "” she trailed off, expression bile as she dashed by the nearest indoor patio and puked.

Emma gasped, “Oh my god Ruby, you’re… you can’t be, didn’t he force you to take the drug?”

Ruby held up the hand, the other brushing past her lips, wiping it clean. “I wasn’t telling you my entire story Emily.” She coughed and spat at her side, “I didn’t really know about you until a few months ago. It wasn’t true about what he had done to me, at least partially. We were sort of in a relationship he had just broken up with his girlfriend then, and when you came into his life, I guess there is no denying you pushed me out of the picture.” She sighed rather ruefully and continued, “From time to time we’d meet up, and that very one night, it happened, after we did it he told me to drink it like any other time. He was drunk to have noticed but I spat it back out on my way home, I loved him very much Emily.” The Ruby she knew was long gone, this was just like any other desperate girl falling on her knees pleading, fighting for her right and wanting the mistress to surrender her lover, except she didn’t need to, she understood now, understood her attention. “I wanted you to hate him Emma, I’m really sorry. I was just so desperate I wanted him to come back to me.”

“Does he know about it?”

Ruby shook her head, “I was going to tell him, but he doesn’t even want to talk to me.”

“Ruby, I don’t know if I should be thankful, happy, or angry at you. I mean what you have is a gift, and I’m thankful that you wanted me to stay away from Nate. I should be angry at you because you lied to me you didn’t even try to at least tell me the truth. I was so relieved that someone understood me, someone just like me, someone who would be my friend and shoulder to cry on to support me from what I was facing.”

“I want to be your friend too Emily and I don’t want it to be ruined all because of what a boy had done to us. But it’s just too shameful now, our mistakes are coming to haunt us, but the question is " is there still hope?”

“There is always hope Ruby,” Emma stretched her arms wide, motioning Ruby for a hug, “we just have to learn to live and forget.” Ruby in the verge of tears nodded,

“Things we do for love.”

“Yeah,” Emma agreed, love.

The clearing of someone’s throat brought the two girls back into reality. Both girls’ looking up at the same time found his presence to be Nate standing right beside them. “Hey Emily,” he chimed casting the two girls a fake smile they understood, Emma had shoved the other girl from behind her all defenses locked as he took a step forward. “Mind if I steal you for a moment?”

Emma shifted her gaze from the two, Ruby now that she knew the girl’s feelings showed an expression of hurt, love and fear while Nate’s showed irritation and disgust. Ruby with an understanding nod stepped aside, making her way past the two and disappeared from the double doors of the mess hall. Nate had cornered her then, lightly pressing her body flat against the hall’s flat surface of a pallet wall. It wasn’t as hard as cement nor was it sound proof and so he was much gentler with his force. He ducked down, his face meeting hers, both arms locked at her sides, “Tonight,” he whispered, his face was so close that it brushed her cheeks, his breath despite the barrier of her hair between her ears managed to have make them prickle with its heat. “I’ll introduce you to my family as my girlfriend.” Emma flinched, shocked by his words. How had things gotten this way, she didn't know. She didn’t love him, yet here he was right in front of her so close that it was suffocating, wanting to make it all official was he crazy? Or better yet, maybe she had gone insane and was mishearing things, after all she was not sane enough with meager deliriousness she had caught from her mother.

There was a shift of movement on the corner of her eye she knew they were not alone and at the same time Nate had stepped back, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. They had both looked at the direction where the movement came from, both very aware that someone was indeed there, it was Jiro, he stood a few feet away looking stunned, hurt or rage Emma didn't knew what it was at that moment etched on his slim frame. Nate had already stalked off, and Emma had immediately rushed towards Jiro who had begun to walk away as well.

"Wait Jiro you got to believe me, there is nothing going on between us."

Emma hadn't realize that she had a firm grip of Jiro's arm, his skin feverish yet still surprisingly pale as a corpse, his gaze shifted from her and the grip and back at her, "You gotta be more specific there Emily by us you mean 'us' or 'us'." The comment was admittedly a snide snarl, "and why would I care, whoever you associate with doesn't concern me right? No need to clear something that is not necessary." The last sentence was like a slap in the face, he was right, why was she explaining herself anyway? They were not together, and there was nothing special between them. So why did it hurt?

"You're right." She agreed dropping her grip, her fingers like her chest twitching and she defiantly balled them into fists, "there is nothing between us."

Jiro shook his head utterly displeased by the answer he had received, and pushed past her, leaving her stunned by her words, hurt and remorse to having said what she did and after several long moments of her lapses, returned inside the mess hall.

Ruby had found herself in a deep conversation with Vincent, who surprisingly enough had put up a flirtatious output. He didn't even seem to pay attention with his surroundings nor did he notice Emma's return. Noting her presence though, Ruby jolted up from her seat, she was previously occupying Agatha's who scooted over so that the new girl was parallel to the notorious Vincent.

"Emma, have you met Ruby, she's Jiro's cousin." acknowledged Edward with a mocking tone. He had a fry dangling between his fingers above him and popped it without any hint of table manners in the tunnel of his mouth.

"Half cousin" Ruby corrected, her pale cheeks flushed,

"We've met," agreed Emma. "We're somewhat aquatinted."

"Really, who would have guessed Emma had cool friends, well beside us anyway." Vincent snickered and regretted it once Emma shot him a vicious glare, sinking down a little lower on his seat like a puppy scolded by its master, tail tucked behind his hind legs in retrospect.

"I really have to go," Ruby excused dropping her gaze from Vincent's intense ones and met Emma's side, a wry grin set on her small faded lips. "I'm going to miss you Emma." The shorter girl mused her tone soft and hoarse and suddenly hugged her tight nearly crushing her bones inward from the tightest of her hold. It was odd Emma thought. It was as if the girl were saying a long last goodbye. She brought her limp fingers to the back of Ruby's head, the knotty joints of them tangled in her dark locks as she stroked them down in a way that was both sisterly and reassuring.

 

"I'm going to miss you too."