The Skin Walker

09 | I've Seen Worse

"And I'm thrown in the gunfire of empty bullets,"

My Blood Ellie Goulding

R U T H

His back was doused with blood. There were no wounds on his skin to indicate how hurt Rueben was, but scars decorated his complexion instead. All my thoughts slowed as I took them in.

"Rueben," I whispered and took a step toward him. His eyes remained closed as he drew his eyebrows together. "What happened?"

My legs numbly carried me around the room until I was standing in front of him. His bare chest had scars on them, too, as dry blood stained him. Rueben's eyes closed as he sighed, sounding exhausted to the bone.

"Please, Ruth," He pleaded with me, exposing the vulnerability in his voice as he continued, "you can't be here."

No matter how much I wanted to leave the room, my heart couldn't bring itself to walk away from the scene before me. I knew what was happening. Reuben must've caught a suspect and interrogated him with methods beyond my understanding. The blood on Rueben wasn't his, or I hoped it wasn't.

"Are your eyes hurt?" I dumbly asked, watching as he squeezed them shut. I contemplated reaching out to touch his face, but I didn't want to scare him away.

"No," Reuben's hesitant voice quietly murmured.

I watched his toned chest rise and fall heavily in uneven patterns a few times, making me believe he was in pain.

"I want to help, Rueben. Tell me what hurts." As I took a step closer, a crunch of broken glass crackled beneath my feet.

"Everything," He said in a pained whisper.

I inhaled a deep breath and convinced myself that reaching out to touch him wouldn't be the best idea, but an unforeseen urge took over, and my hand rose slowly to his face. My fingers brushed against his cheekbones, and I tried to steady them as they shook gradually.

Eventually, my palm pressed to the side of Rueben's face, and with one touch, the crease between his eyebrows smoothed out.

"Open your eyes," My voice was stronger, more confident.

"I can't," Rueben gritted his teeth.

"Why not?" I tilted my head to the side and took one more step close to Rueben, our chests almost touching.

"You won't like what you'll see."

"I've already seen your eyes," A small smile overtook my concerned frown. "And they're beautiful." I tried to shift the dusky atmosphere.

Rueben sharply inhaled, the crease between his eyebrows returning. I watched as his Adam's apple bobbed before he fully faced me.

His eyes opened, but they didn't look like they belonged to him. They glowed and brightened up the dim room, leaving me speechless as I gazed at them. His glowing gold eyes held me in my spot, and I didn't mind because I didn't want to glance away.

I've figured it out.

My eyes darted to his mouth, only to see it sealed shut. I looked back at Rueben's eyes as they waited for any reaction and when I didn't give him any, he looked at me with so much intensity. Focusing my gaze back onto his mouth, I shifted my hand to his lips, feeling his body freeze under my touch.

Any ounce of courage took over me, and I lifted his top lip with my thumb to reveal his canines which pointed out a lot sharper than what they were meant to be.