Pure (Ruby Rose)

12| Falling Apart

I LOOKED UP when I felt the mattress dip. Of course it was no one other than Ruby. However, instead of standing like she usually did, she was sat at the end of the bed, her hand resting flat beside her.

I used the back of my hand to wipe away the tears. The way she looked at me, as if she knew, almost caused me to start crying again.

"Don't tell me you can read memories too." I said, sniffling.

"They hurt you," she said, "more than once."

"It doesn't matter anymore. They're still in there, and I'm out here." I said, as if it didn't bother me anymore. It did, because the memories still haunted me.

For a moment, I seemed to forget that Ruby was a killer. When I remembered, I felt my stomach churn.

"Please don't hurt them," I pleaded, "we were only fourteen, and they're mentally ill. They need help, and that's what they're getting." I said, although I didn't know if that was true at all. They were probably still in there tormenting more people. I never even caught their names, even though I saw them almost every day.

"They won't change. People like that don't change. At that age, they knew what they were doing. Once they're out of here, they are capable of so much more-"

"Don't hurt them! Please!" I screamed before I realized that I could get Will's attention.

Ruby was about to stand up but instinctively I reached out and grabbed her arm, holding it as tightly as I possibly could because I knew how strong she was.

She looked down at my hands, then back at me.  I begged her with my eyes and my mind, knowing very well that she was reading it.

I can't be responsible for another death.

"You're not..." Ruby responded quietly.

"But I know about the deaths when other people don't. And-And you wouldn't have killed them if it weren't for me." Ruby didn't reply, and I was starting to think that I was getting to her. "This is ruining me, Ruby."

She glared, but not at me. "Fine." She said sharply. I let out a breath in relief and removed my hands from her skin. I should have left a white mark on it, but it was as if there was no blood flowing through her body anyway.

And with a blink of the eye, she was gone.

"ARLO, DINNER." MY mom yelled from downstairs. I ran my fingers through my bed hair before making my way downstairs. I noticed my heart was beating extremely fast, something that had been happening a lot lately.

"Since when do we eat together?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen.

"Since I have some important things I'd like to discuss with you." She said, putting down a bowl of salad on the centre of the table. I assumed it was about the wedding, so I didn't fight back.

I sat down next to Wiley, realizing that I had barely interacted with him. He gave me a smile, having already started to dig into his roast lamb.

I loaded my plate with salad. I didn't really have an appetite for meat anymore. Not after seeing that girl and Evan's bodies bleed out.

"Don't tell me you're anorexic too, now." My mom said causing me to drop my fork and glare at her. Even Will seemed to be taken back by her comment.

"I'm nothing." I said, stabbing the lettuce.

My mom shrugged, the rim of the wine glass pressed against her rosy lips. You could tell by her face that she wanted to argue against me, but the look on my face must have scared her.

Just to prove it to her, I loaded my plate with potato salad. A lot of it.

I may have been pushing it a little, because the potato salad was overfilling the plate. Wiley quietly giggled.

"Arlo-" Will said but I was quick to cut him off.

"So, what would you like to discuss, mother?" I gave her a fake smile.

She looked furious, but said nothing of it. "Dr Lynn called, and I told her what happened. She wants to see you." She also looked like she enjoyed upsetting me with this news, like it was
revenge for my behaviour lately.

I was unable to form words. Inside, I was panicking.

"N-No," I said, pushing my chair backwards.

My mom smiled, shaking her head. "You don't have a choice, sweetheart." She tapped her hand against her wrist. "I am your mother, I have the control."

"But I told you, nothing is wrong with me!" I yelled. I saw Wiley flinch from the corner of my eye.

She didn't respond, so I got up and walked away. "Where are you going?!" She yelled once she realized that I was headed for the front door instead of the stairs.

I broke into a sprint down the driveway when I heard her following, a hand clasped over my mouth to stop myself from crying too loudly.

I stopped at a park that I hadn't visited in years. It was a fair distance from home, knowing that it gave me some time before they found me. If they were even looking for me.

Sitting on the swing set, I let it all out. My chest hurt. Everything hurt. I wanted to scream. But instead, I cried silently, with every sob erupting from my lips causing me to jerk forward.

I couldn't go back to that place. I brought back too many painful memories, and could possibly create new ones.

I noticed a figure standing in the distance, leaning against the graffitied brick building. I immediately recognized it as her by its shape.

But before she could come towards me, I was running towards her.

I crashed into her but she didn't fall back. I pressed my head against her chest, the leather of her jacket a ball in my fits. She felt tense, and didn't touch me back.

In that moment, all I needed was comfort. I spent too many times crying on my own, with nothing but a pillow to give me comfort. In fact, I don't think I have ever been comforted by someone in my life. I've always been an independent person, no matter what was happening in my life.

It didn't matter anymore what she was, I just wanted her to hold me and tell me everything was alright.

For the first time ever, I was relieved that she had read my mind.

She laid her arms across the top of my back. She didn't hug back or cuddle into me, she just held me. I found it better.

I could have sworn that I felt her body heat up, like its purpose was to keep me warm. I realized in that moment, that she cared about me. That maybe it wasn't just the fact that I knew her secret after all.

"If they send me away," my voice trembled, "will you be there?"

It took her a few seconds to reply. "Of course." She said, her voice quiet.

I nodded, tears falling from my eyes and onto her leather jacket.