Ruby Red

V

His grip on me is strong, and it reminds me of something I've been wanting to forget ever since it happened. That one night at the club, when I struggled to break free. But this time it's different. Unlike the other guy, this one wants to protect me instead of hurt me. He turns off the lights, kicks the storage room door to a close and quickly drags me down to the floor behind a pile of boxes. It's pitch black in here. I have a hard time trying to process what's happening. Then I hear glass breaking inside the shop. I gasp quietly against his hand. He pulls me closer to the wall.

"It's not here." a voice says angrily. I hear people pacing around the shop. Every now and then I see rays of light coming from underneath the door. It appears they brought torches. "You said it would be here." "Didn't you say it was gone from-" "Wait." After the bickering, there's a short silence. Then, the sudden burst of light almost blinds me. Someone kicked open the storage room door. The guy next to me opens his coat and covers me with one side of it. The pile of boxes next to us is our only shelter from whoever these people are. By the sound of it, I don't think I want to meet them.

"Go look over there. I'll go here." The sound of approaching footsteps sends shivers down my spine. They are opening boxes, breaking them and throwing them on the floor. I can't think clearly. The guys hand slowly slides off my mouth and I bury my face in his shoulder, too scared to even look at the wall in front of me. I cover my ears with my hands. It's better to not see or hear anything at all.

...

I don't know how much time has passed, but when I open my eyes it's pitch dark. Slowly, I remove my hands from my ears. The guy puts his coat down and helps me get up. I shuffle behind him, just in case this is all some trick and there are still people around. But it appears there aren't. The door is open, so the light from the street lanterns outside illuminates the shop enough for me to see the mess. There are boxes everywhere. Broken ones, whole ones, empty ones. The guy steps forward and I follow him. He pushes me back with his arm when he reaches the door. I stay behind him. He looks around, and when the coast is clear he walks forward. I follow him and look at the mess.

There's broken glass everywhere. Items are scattered all over the floor. How will I explain this mess to Mr Nirbnwad? I don't notice that I'm crying until a tear runs down my cheek. I lower my head. The guy turns around. I blink a few times, then look up at the ceiling to prevent more tears from dropping. "I'm fine." I say. It doesn't sound very convincing, but it seems to be enough for him. He looks at the broken glass by the counter. I use the sleeve of my sweater to carefully dry my eyes. "Don't go home tonight." He says.

"..What?" I ask, surprised to hear his voice again. He crouches and grabs a torn up piece of paper from the floor. On it, there's the left half of my address and full name. It was torn in the middle. It's from the notebook. With his free hand, he lifts an antique scarf that somehow ended up on the broken counter. The notebook is nowhere to be seen. "You had your ears covered, but I heard them go through your stuff. They took your bag, and now I'm pretty sure they took whatever this book was too." "It was a notebook. I used it to write down how many items got sold per day." I explain. He holds it up to the faint light of the street lantern outside to read it better. "They can trace your address easily." he says, turning around and putting the piece of paper on the broken counter. "Don't go home tonight. Find a cheap motel to spend the night. Register under a fake name." He digs his hand into his pocket and holds out a pile of dollar bills. I look at the money. "I..." "They took everything from you. Just accept this." I carefully reach out to accept the money. "Thank you." He sighs. "Go to the motel on Pinnacle Avenue. I'll get going now." He turns around and walks to the broken entrance door.

"Wait," I say. "What's... your name?"

He turns his head to the side slightly. I can't see his face clearly, just the shadow of his profile. "Ken."

And with that, he disappears into the dark street.