Twelve

***Ruby***

" So..." The man dipped the lollipop into his mouth as he studied the pictures closely. "You are saying..." A pop sound followed and I grinded my lips after. "You are saying this is not you?"

"That's what I am saying."

"But this is your face," he stated the obvious and then looked up at Abby and I. "What exactly is the matter? Did someone leak your nudes? Did you send them to someone? You can tell me. I know teens do crazy things sometimes."

Too tired to raise my voice, I sighed, then gently replied, "I have never sent anyone my nudes and not for once have I uploaded a picture of myself on the internet."

" She doesn't even take normal pictures," Abby added to buttress my point.

" Exactly. This is clearly a case of cyber bullying."

"And who would want to bully you by uploading what happens to be fake pictures of you?" Only one person came to mind. The man lowered his eyes and watched my expression closely. "You know who it is, don't you?"

"I have a guess." His brows arched as he waited for my response. "So uh... Bryan Lockwood found out I was the one that tipped you guys about what I saw and he uh... he sort of threatened me?"

"Threatened you..." The officer rested his elbows on the leather covered desk and urged me to continue.

Feeling Abby's piercing gaze on my skin was one thing and recalling the moment Bryan caged me with his warning was another. I guess I really shouldn't have ignored the situation. "Actually..." I gulped hard. "He thinks because of what I did, he'll be going to jail soon. He seemed so angry at me and he said I was going to be punished for what I did."

"He used the word *punish?*" I nodded and followed the man's movement as he picked a notepad and jotted a few things down. With more seriousness now evident on his face, he asked, "What else did he mention? Did he talk about Maddison's death?"

" Well..." I wore a frown as I remembered how he seemed to acknowledge the fact that he killed her. I couldn't help but feel sickened by the scene. And I just had to wonder again why on earth I didn't take his threat serious in the first place. "He might have given a hint that he did it. It wasn't so certain what he was trying to say. But if I could interprete it my way, I would say he was indirectly telling me that he killed her."

A few more jots and the officer was looking my way again. "You should have said something Ruby."

I sighed. "I regret not taking him seriously."

"Hmm." His shirt felxed against his biceps as he crossed his arms and sat back into his chair. As his dark eyes squinted as though he was calculating facts, I was trying hard to not look towards Abby's direction. The way her eyes bored into me was enough to assure me that keeping the Bryan situation from her is a topic that would definitely be addressed. "Ms. Powers, my team will look into this and while we are at it, we will ensure Lockwood doesn't get to harass you or pull stunts worse than this."
His head pointed at my phone on the desk which would reveal my supposed nudes if unlocked.

It's sadly funny now that I think of it. A girl who doesn't know what she looks like naked has her supposed nudes being circulated around the school. How shitty.

"Can we leave now?" Abby asked, penetrating my scorning thoughts.

"Yes please, go back to your classes, we have everything under control." He gave a nod as Abby and I got up and once we were past the door that served as a separation between the room and the corridor, Abby cleared her throat and I knew the time had come.

"So..." I was backing her but I could totally see her arms being crossed. "Is Bryan Lockwood the reason you look like you want to audition for a zombie role?"

The corners of my mouth formed a dome shape. " I am sure I don't look so terrible," I said almost quietly.

"You certainly don't look like yourself." I heard her heavy steps approaching and soon, she was in front of me, her arms still crossed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know." My face felt squeezed as I looked to the side. "I didn't see a reason to."

"Aren't we friends?"

" Of course we are." Why would she ask such a question.

" Then why didn't you say anything? If you can't tell Jake and I the things that scare you as you tell us the things that make you happy, we really shouldn't be friends then." I don't know why that made me feel heavy inside. I can't really imagine life without my two friends. They're all I have had ever since our family moved back to New York.
"And for goodness sake..." Her hands flew into the air. " We are talking about Bryan Lockwood. The very guy we warned you about. And now he is after you because..." She wore a frown.

"Abby?" The look on her face scared me. She looked like someone who was about to get a seizure. "What is wrong?"

As her eyes dimmed, her legs moved slowly against the tiles and she asked, "Was he the reason you didn't attend your English class?" My eyes darted towards the floor. "I can't believe you kept this from us. What if something worse than uploading the nudes happened?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale. On releasing, I felt a kind of relief but I instantly felt tired and a bit sleepy. "Abby?"

"Yes?" She took a concerned step closer.

Smacking my lips hard, I said, "I need to go to the sickbay."

"Why?" She held my shoulders. "Do you feel sick? Have you eaten today?"

" Can you just take me there?" Her phone beeped.

" It's time for my art class. I'll take you to the sickbay and come check on you after my class, okay?" I nodded and accepted her arm to support me.

~

Thirty minutes passed and I was still staring at the white ceiling of the sickbay like there were some interesting constellations on it. It was just really weird. The moment I laid my back on the bed, sleep just flew away and that had me feeling more tired.

As I closed my eyes for the umpteenth time, I heard the door slide open. And since the nurse had said, she wouldn't be around until after an hour, I had to guess it was Abby.

"Abby?" I called out and reached for the curtain that kept me out of sight. "I'm here." There was no response and my mind just went straight to Bryan's warning. Without delay, I abandoned my intention to push the curtain aside.
What if it was him?
I wondered and I soon started to scour my immediate area for any potential weapon I could use to disable him. "Abby?" I called again and slowly sat up while stylishly reaching for a used syringe in a basin next to my bed.

While trying to keep still as possible, I listened carefully and I discovered I could actually hear the footsteps of the person on the other side. So, I followed that lead and I soon learnt that the steps were now approaching my bed. Readying myself for attack, I gripped the syringe hard and awaited the swinging apart of the curtain.

The footsteps became louder as it moved closer and my heart could not help but pound more than it should. When the much awaited curtain swinging came, I noticed a masculine hand on the side of the material and in reaction, I raised my hand with the entire strength I had left, more than ready to stab even the most discrete parts of the human body.

"Motherfu-" My arm stopped mid air as the swear word also got stuck in my throat.

"What are you doing?" My eyes darted between the pointed item in my hand and the quizzing eye I almost punctured with used syringe. "Were you going to stab me with that?" Mr. English teacher asked and I relaxed my arm.

"Why were you so quiet? I thought you were an intruder."

"Yeah..." His eyes amusedly scanned the room. " Because this place happens to be your fortress." He pushed the curtain away some more and looked down at me interestingly, his eyes not failing to twinkle in a way that got my attention. "What are you doing here?"

My lips scrunched as I looked up at him. I couldn't afford to waste my energy by asking him why he was asking, so I said, "I need to sleep."

"Hmm." He wore that thinking face again and I must say, he actually looks cute while assuming that pose. I wonder what he looks like when he's doing other things.

What? What am I thinking? Ugh!
The lack of sleep must be getting to me.

"I have just the solution to your issue." He smiled at me before digging into his bag. As he brought out what seemed to be a juice pack, my interest was pricked. "This helps me when I have issues sleeping." A small pop sound followed as he punctured the top with the white straw attached.

As he extended the pack to me, I wore suspicion instantly and he chuckled. Then, he pushed the juice towards me again. While watching his face to check for anything funny, I collected the juice. And as the liquid hit my tongue and went down my system, I strangely felt calm.

Do sleep inducing liquids work that fast? "Uh..." I didn't even know his name and I collected some unknown juice from him.

I heard him take a step closer. "Adonis. The name is Adonis."

My nose scrunched in amusement. His name is Adonis? How interesting.
"Wh-" I began to feel light and it felt like I could float in the air. Does that even make sense?

Have I been drugged?

I was about to ask that question when my eyes began to struggle to stay open. Soon, my back was resting fully on the bed and my arms were hugging my body and I delved into a world of sleep I never knew existed.