Different

Chapter Thirty-Three

The room was silent, Sapphire sat alone in the corner. No one else was there. Ruby walks closer to her, hoping everything is alright. The front door slams open, the girl who opened it couldn't be seen quite well. Ruby turns back to Sapphire, only to see her arms, legs, and stomach areas covered in scars, blood trickling down like small teardrops.

'Sapphire?'

The unknown girl who opened the door walks up to Ruby, grabbing her by the hands and pulling her away from Sapphire. She's trying to struggle, but she can't.

'Sapphire, please!'

Ruby finally finds the strength to get away, shutting the girl out of the apartment, locking it and running to Sapphire.

'I'm too late...'

Sapphire is laying on the floor, cold and soaked in her own blood. She isn't moving. Ruby gets to her, looking for a pulse or a breath. Nothing. She calls out for her, screaming her name, somehow not knowing that the girl was gone.

'Sapphire!'

'Sapphire!'

Sapphire...'

Ruby held the body of the girl she loves. She cries and cries, trembling, gasping for air as if she's in a room full of smoke.

Then a soft sound slowly crescendoed, pulling the dreamer back into the real world, almost slapping her like a bucket of cold water.
                                            ~
Sapphire shot up from the bed, gripping onto the sheets under her and panting heavily. She looked around, not seeing Ruby anywhere near her. She yelled out in desperation.
"Ruby! Ruby are you here? Ruby please!"
She ran out of bed and looked around her apartment, only to be met at the door of her bedroom by the taller girl. She immediately embraced her in a loving way, refusing to let go when Ruby asked what was going on.
"Was it another nightmare, Sapphire?" She asked.
"Yeah.."
"Was it about me again?"
Sapphire nodded, hiding her face in the space between Ruby's neck and collarbone. She kissed it gently, then she looked up and kissed Ruby as gently as she could. Ruby had no words, so she expressed her emotions through a delicate kiss, softer than the one Sapphire gave her. She picked up the shorter girl by the waist and carried her bridal-style back into the room where they talked a bit more about the night before.
The clock next to Sapphire's bed showed that the time was now 7:15 am. Ruby ignored the time, not caring whether it was one in the morning or five in the afternoon. All she cares about is Sapphire.
"Ruby," Sapphire spoke, "you know I love you, right?"
"Of course I know. I'd never doubt it."
"Promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me...that you won't let me hurt myself anymore. I can't stop myself when I do the things I do, it's like second nature. So, please, don't let me kill myself, whether it's emotionally or physically."
Ruby was in a different spot on the bed, somewhat far from the shorter girl. She watched as the girl, now crying a little, walked over to an empty corner in the room and slid down the wall. Ruby had no words, shocked that her girlfriend admitted to still hurting herself. Her eating habits got better, but she hadn't paid too much attention to her scars. Were there more?

The room was silent, Sapphire sat in a corner. Only Ruby was there in the apartment with her. The taller girl walked to her, hoping she could somehow help. There were no interruptions or heinous girls to take her love away.

Just them.

Nothing else, and no one else.