Forgotten

Chapter 13

"Beautiful afternoon, isn't it?" Joseph said gesturing towards the sky. They were walking aimlessly on the school grounds. Ruth a step behind him. She had a permanent smile on her face, giving automatic replies to his questions. She knew he was making small talk before coming toward the actual reason of this conversation and she had few ideas what that might be.
But before she could learn what it actually was, the clock struck three and she excused herself as quickly as she could and went to the main building for her lecture. She couldn't pay attention no matter how hard she tried.
She had a hunch that this meeting wasn't a coincidence. A dread filled her, as the thought struck her that he knew Willow was staying at her place. But she kept telling herself that this was far fetched as she wasn't even sure that he knew his niece existed.
Biting her lips, dragging her feet on the stone towards her car, the Sun was going down gradually.
As she was about to turn the engine on, her phone started vibrating.
"Hello?"
"Meet me at the cafe." Without waiting for a reply, Kenneth hung up.
She groaned in frustration and threw her phone over her shoulder. She had had enough of his brooding for today. Without giving it a second thought, she started the car and drove to her house all the while hoping it was nothing important. But even if it was, she did have some self respect, she won't keep running whenever and wherever he wanted her to......
Taking of her coat, she looked around the corridor which forked in two ways, one way toward the lounge, open kitchen and the other led towards her study and stairs. It was dark as the night was about to descend. Ruth started slowly toward the lounge. Her sandals making unnaturally loud noise on the wooden floor. She didn't stop in the lounge but continued toward the floor length sliding window which led into the garden. Her mind was blank as she aimlessly paced around, cramming her hands deep in the pockets of her jeans to block the cold.
Ruth didn't want to go inside the house, knowing that she had to face another human being in there. Not feeling at all for any kind of interaction with the living right now, she just stayed outside as the sky above grew darker and colder.
"Ruth?" An unfamiliar voice called hesitantly from behind her. She took a deep breath knowing she couldn't avoid the dreaded anymore. She turned and faced Willow. She looked better when she had first arrived here, as if she had a few square meals. She was dressed in a simple green shirt and wide black trousers, a shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Her eyes still had a dead look but her cheeks were full and a little color had returned but she still looked ghostly pale in the dark.
"Hi."
She nodded but didn't reply. Looking uncertainly at her surroundings as if trying to find something to help her. Ruth, noticing her discomfort she asked.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yes." Willow said in a small voice. She seemed extremely agitated about something. Ruth's whole attention now came to rest on her.
"Let's talk inside." She said steering Willow by her shoulder. When both of them were comfortably seated in front of the fire, Willow started uncertainly,
"I- uh I......" She took a deep breath as Ruth urged her to speak. A type of anxiety was increasing inside her.
"Joseph knows I'm here....... He came to visit me this afternoon.................