Chapter 8

"Bitch...! Why won't you listen to my words? Drop that child or I'll kill you?"

"Just kill me! Kill...!"

"I've had enough of you, bastard...!"

"Please, help me...! Please free me from this misery!"

Ruby gasped, she coughed as the trauma attack made her feel suffocated. Unconsciously, both hands grabbed her neck. This was the third time the nightmare had struck.

She tried to take a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before finally exhaling slowly.

"It hurts-" the pain was still there. I don't know how many times she has let her body become the target of violence from that man and strangely, it is difficult for her to escape her grip even though it has been four months since it all ended.

She lifted her head from the pillow after seeing the light coming in through the cracks in her bedroom window. Today she is determined to return to Henderson, her hometown, where she grew up and grew to become the leader of a gang of children in the city.

She opened her cell phone, 20 missed calls came in from her mother and dozens of messages with the same tone.

'You can't go. I won't let you go!'

The messages sent by his mother all had the same tone, a prohibition that he was not allowed to return to her hometown.

"Sorry, mom. I'll still go home. I miss my childhood and want my old life back."

***

Henderson, Nevada

April 25, 2024

"Are you sure you want to come down here, Miss?" Asked the taxi driver. Ruby looked out the window to make sure that she had gotten off right in front of her old house that she left 10 years ago.

An old house that looked neglected, she used to live in that house with his parents and older sister until they finally decided to move to Alberta.

"Yes, just stop here, sir!" She said. The taxi driver stopped the taxi and Ruby immediately opened the door.

As she had expected, this house had not been maintained at all since they left to avoid debt collectors who continued to chase her father.

"Is there anything else left behind, Miss?"

"I think that's all, thank you so much."

"Okay, then excuse me. See you?"

Ruby smiled as the taxi driver left. The streets in this area look quiet, especially in the house section. She still remembers that behind her house there was a lake where she and her four childhood friends often swam when summer arrived. Instead of swimming in the swimming pool at super rich Henry's house, they prefer to swim in the lake.

Two middle-aged women walked towards him, they seemed to just want to pass by, but the way they looked at hwr while whispering made him immediately realize that they were talking about her.

"You gossip-" she immediately muttered under her breath just as the two women passed by, hoping they could hear her sarcasm.

The two women glared sarcastically when they realized that they were being directly insulted, they hurriedly left and it made her want to laugh.

It turns out that the atmosphere of this city and this residential area is still the same as when she last left 10 years ago. He pulled her suitcase towards the house which looked quite scary and stood in front of the door to check whether the door of this house was locked or not.

"It's not locked, it turns out dad never remembered to lock the door before leaving." She said as she pulled the doorknob.

There was a loud creaking sound when the door was forced open. Because it has not been maintained, the condition of this door has become difficult to open. Three mice jumped up and ran out of the house, making him immediately scream.

"Mice...!" Ruby screamed not because she was afraid of mice, but because she was shocked.

"Hahaha..." There was laughter from behind. She immediately turned het head to see which boy dared to laugh at her.

"Who's that laughing?" She said annoyed. But the naughty children immediately ran before she could catch them.

This was a new problem considering she had to clean this place extra. A house that is dirty, full of dust and rickety is not a suitable place to live. But this is her house, more precisely her father's house. Apart from that, this house has never been sold, therefore this house is still her property.

"You naughty kids, I almost died." She stepped carefully only to hear the floor creak. She thought about changing her mind and looking for another house to rent, but her remaining savings meant she had to downsize.

"Who's there?" Someone called het. This time it wasn't a child's voice. But the voice of an adult woman. Panicking, she immediately looked for a place to hide.

She saw a door leading to the basement of her house which was in the kitchen. She hid in there like a rat caught living in the house illegally.

"Geez, what am I doing? Why do I have to hide like a thief in my own house?" She thought. Now she had to endure the darkness and the damp smell that filled the basement.

She heard the sound of someone's footsteps and she was sure that the woman who called her was looking for her. However, because she felt bad, she decided to come out of het hiding place and reveal her form.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Who are you?" Asked the woman. Ruby was surprised because this woman's face was very familiar to her.

"Aunty Erika?"

"Do you know my name?"

"I'm Ruby! Ruby Cohen. Pierre's best friend."

"Ruby? Oh my God, are you Ruby?" The woman was shocked after finding out who the young woman was who had secretly entered and hidden in this empty house.

"I'm sorry, aunty. I really didn't mean to-"

"Why are you sneaking around like that? Oh my God, you should be able to come as usual."

"I saw this house was empty and abandoned. So, if I just walked in it would definitely be very strange."

"Oh my God, you're so beautiful. You've really changed, Ruby." Mrs Erika continued to chuckle in amazement. She couldn't believe that Ruby, the naughty girl who always looked like a boy, had turned into a very beautiful and feminine woman.

Ruby laughed awkwardly, honestly she wanted to ask about Pierre. But she wasn't ready to know anything about one of her childhood friends.

"Pierre will be coming home the day after tomorrow, have you two arranged to meet?"

"Pierre? He doesn't live here anymore?"

"He's based in New York now, he's so busy."

"So, has Pierre joined the football club?" Ruby tried to guess, because as far as she knew the last time they met 10 years ago, Pierre got a recommendation from one of the famous football clubs and that had been his dream since childhood.

"Actually, it's a secret, but since you're his childhood friend, I'll tell you."

"R-really?"

"Now Pierre has become a FBI agent."

***