unsolved disappearances » otis and ruby

Part 22

Spending time with my family, catching up after my absence, was amazing. I had spent so long trying to help out my father with his condition, the stress of my disappearance had taken a toll on him. Although seeing his face light up when I arrived home, made more tears fall from my face.

I would spend three days locked in the house with Noah, he was getting bored on the constant streaming of movies online. He had always been active and wanted to check out the small village he had travelled so far to visit. 

Although I was anxious about stepping out in public, I saw it was a gloomy day. This could be used to my advantage, as I was able to dress in my thick black jacket with some active leggings.

Before leaving the house I threw a beanie on top of my head, which amuses Noah as we exit the house. "Got a chill?" He asks teasing me as I lead him to my small Volkswagen that still sat in the driveway. I was shocked my parents still hold on to the car, still registering it to be used on the roads.

"Just have to hide in plain sight," I answer as I start my engine. "So what do you want to look at first?"

"Your kingdom." He answers. "Shouldn't the queen be drawn back to the place where she ruled them all?"

I roll my eyes at his statement. "You better hope everyone is still in class." I retort, driving in the direction of my old high school. There was still debate on whether I would finish my final exams so I would be able to have admission to a university. 

As luck would have it, all students were still tucked up in their classrooms when I had parked my car in the outskirts of the student car park. "Very fancy for a public school, you wouldn't find sometime like this in New Zealand." He explains. "My high school was just a bunch of wooden buildings, these are like works of art."

"Well, growing up in this environment is normal for me. I might even call it hideous." I explain. "But there is some beauty in structures, the insane is nothing exciting."

"Right, can I show you around the rest of the town?" I ask, turning to Noah.

"You are the tour guide." He reminds me as I pull out of the school car park. Not seen by any other students.

I take Noah around the small sights that we had in the small town. I force Noah to purchase us some hot drinks from the local cafe, I still didn't want to be seen by any of my former peers. "Ruby, I need to stretch my legs!" Noah complains like a child.

"If you were patient like a normal human, you'd see that I'm parking the car." I remind him, shutting my engine off and pointing in the direction of the small walking track the followed the edge of the small river that ran through town.

Walking along the path, I take in the warmth of the hot tea Noah had purchased while he drunk his coffee. "It's not a bad town, small but plenty more to do than my town." He comments making me laugh.

"You had a whole beach just five minutes walk from your parent's house!" I remind him as he had forgotten.

"Minor details." He urgently comments.

I give him a strange look before sitting on top of some rocks that many people used to sit upon. I watch as the river flows by, enjoying the beauty of nature. That was one of the many things I found myself enjoying with my travels around New Zealand, the nature was just so magical. Makes me appreciate the scenery around my childhood village more.

Noah takes the moment to show off his gymnastic skills as I finish my hot drink in the takeaway cup. I watch as he attempts to backflip off the rocks, although it was a failed attempt as he didn't have enough air to make himself rotate the whole way.

This results in the back of his head hitting contact with the rock before he falls to the ground, injured. "Fuck!" He calls out in shock, touching the back of his head which covered his hand in blood.

"You're a fucken idiot," I comment, putting my cup down and making sure the cut on the back of his head wasn't deep. He was lucky my mother had taught me first aid, as I put pressure on the wound with my black beanie. "You're lucky it's not deep."

Helping him up to his feet, I'm able to help him walk back to my car, helping him into his seat. "Is it bad enough to need a doctor?" He asks, shutting his eyes from the pain.

"No, we just need some cleaning supplies," I explain before starting my car and driving to the nearest chemist. Which happened to be 'Greers Chemist'. The thoughts of my last visit are blanked with the focus on getting some supplies to stop the bleeding and keep the wound clean.

Going inside I head straight to the first aid kits, picking up the cheapest one and going to the counter, throwing the product on there and looking out the window to my car where Noah sat with a towel on the back of his head. "Well, it's the girl I don't know." The familiar monotone voice chimes as she scans my product.

I turn to her with a sarcastic smile on my face. "I see the protection didn't work." He looks towards the small bump which was slightly visible under my jacket.

"You should just mind your own damn business, Natalie. I would hate the be fired for unfair comments on the general public." I say throwing her the correct amount of money before exiting the store.

It would take me just twenty short minutes to clean the wound and place some plastered on the back of his head. The wound wasn't serious enough for stitches and covering the boy some painkillers. "You're the best."

"Someone has to look after the man-child." I remind him.