Twenty One

***Ruby***

"What?"
I scoffed. Where does he think he is? A set for a Telenovela series?
"What kind of request is that? Why would-"
This time, I stopped Abby from displaying the anger she had within her.

"Well..." Mr. Bounce made sure to lock his eyes with Jake's who was presently clenching hard, the arm of the chair he was seated in.
"What do you say? Would you be stupid enough to go to jail? Do you perhaps have certain principles that-"

" I'll do it. "

" What? Jake, no. " I found myself blurting out, my feet already a step closer to his seat.

"You will?" My ears picked up Celery's mocking chuckle and my fists came back.

Jake's jaw seemed to dance a bit, his tight hold on the arm of the chair brought out a clear outline of his veins. He actually seemed like a very different person at that moment.
"I will do as you say under a condition," his thick voice continued.

"Oh..." Mr. Bounce was no doubt amused.
" This is interesting."
The man then assumed a serious posture, one a businessman would strike with a potential huge investor.
"What is this condition?"

"Bryan has to get down on his knees in front of Ruby and apologize for what he has done. Then..." A pregnant pause followed for some seconds before Jake picked up from where he stopped.
"Then... I'll do as you say."

A loud cackle filled the air and for a second, I actually thought a chicken had found its way in to witness the incredulous scene in the room.

I wish.

It was Mr. Bounce's form of giving off a laughter filled with disbelief. Still looking entertained, he adjusted in his seat again, his hand cushioning his chin as his elbow found the firmness of the table below, making me aware of how clean his cream-toned skin was.

If only we were all not a kind of situation, I would have loved to ask for his skin routine. Random pimples creating spots on my face have annoyed me enough.

"Jake Glacier..." the older man muttered, his lips now wearing a small smile. A dangerous smile.
"Do you know why I want to make sure you apologize to Bryan?" Jake blinked.
" Because I want you to learn something. I need you to realize there are some things you'll do that you'll not get away with. But, here you are, giving me conditions. Do you realize I can put you in jail right now? "

" Do you know why I want to make sure Bryan apologizes to Ruby? " Jake straightened his back as he reformed Mr. Bounce's earlier question and threw it back at him effortlessly.
"Because he has done something wrong, that to, to my friend. If he can't apologize for his wrongdoing, then, I'll take that as an invitation to design his face with my fists once more."

I must say... Jake does really look and sound like a totally different person. He was calmly audacious both in words and actions.

And there is the fact that he actually punched Bryan Lockwood.

Since I have known him, despite having the ability to, he has never for once landed his fist on a person.

"You are being uselessly bold Jake," Mr. Bounce said, his head swinging left to right to pass the message that he found Jake pitiful.
"Like I said, I have the ability to put you in jail and-"

"If I end up in jail, I'll take Bryan with me." Mr. Bounce narrowed his eyes. " He is being investigated for murder, isn't he? All I need to do is hasten that investigation and before we all know it, he will be picking up soap bars in the prison bathroom."

" What the-"

" If you know what is good for you Mr. Bounce," Jake continued. " Leave the kids to handle their issues, be the adult you are and watch how things unfold. And if you refuse to sit back... Well..."
Jake's eyes seemed to darken with an emotion I couldn't decipher. "I guess I'll have to drag you down as well."

" Are you threatening Mr. Bounce right now?" Macho mustache man asked and Jake calmly directed his head towards the man who flinched a little, I had to wonder if that dark look was still on Jake's face.

"Are you even a police officer?"

" What sort of question is that? Are you out of your mind?"

" I can't help but wonder if Mr. Bounce here hired you because you definitely aren't part of the team investigating Maddison's death ."

" What on earth do you know?" The man's chin lifted as he asked his question with an accusing tone.

No reply came from Jake who was still surprising me with his behaviour. A look towards Abby and I could she was feeling the same way.
Okay, maybe not the exact same way.
Her lips were gapped slightly, her eyes looked so dreamy, it seemed like her affection was finally showing.

Shaking my head amusedly, I turned back towards Jake who was back to facing Celery's father.

"Are we done here?"

"Wait-" The man stopped Jake who was about to get up with a single wave of his hand.
"You..." His head then snapped towards me and my eyes wandered around for a while in confusion.

"Me?" I finally asked, a finger of mine placed on my chest.

"You look familiar. I have been trying to place where I have seen you..." His index finger played in the air as he took a trip down remembrance lane.

"She is Ruby Powers, dad," Celery assisted her father with his struggles.


"Ahh, Dominic's daughter."

"Oh my God dad, do you know her father?" Celery's excitement bored me.

" Ruby Powers..." Her father repeated, ignoring her. "Dominic Powers daughter... How convenient."
He gave off a loud exhale and the next thing, he was up on his feet and boring his gaze into Jake again.
"Jake Glacier, I am not done with you. You like it or not, you'll pay for what you did to Bryan."

"Well, like I told you. Do it at your own risk."

Mr. Bounce scoffed. " How uselessly bold."

The chair in which Jake was seated in made a scraping noise as he finally got up and with a single look at Abby and I, the three of us were soon out of the room.

"What on earth was that Jake?" Abby was no longer wearing a look that suggested how in love she was with the tall dude whose hand was caressing the front of his hair which was a delightful mix of the brown and gold.

"Abby. Ruby." His eyes landed on both of us as he said our names. "Let's skip class."

"Where are we going to?" I asked without debating his suggestion.

"The rooftop."

"But-"

He grunted and reached for both our arms and soon, he skillfully sneaked our way to the rooftop.

~

"Before the Maddison's incident, I kept a few bottles of beer up here in case we have a reason to skip to class," Jake said as we climbed the last steps to be encountered before ending up on the rooftop.

"Why beer?" Abby asked.

"Well, I couldn't keep pizza there, could I?"

Abby put her hands into the pockets that decorated the sides of her jeans and surprisingly didn't make a move to kick Jake's calf.


"I've never had beer though," I stated a fact they both knew too well.

" Well..." Jake struggled with the door handle which was the only obstacle at that moment. "I think it's high time you knew how it tastes."

The door came open seconds later and quietly, we landed our feet on the cemented floor that characterized that part of the building.

Police warning tapes also had a feature, sectioning a huge part of the space. Nevertheless, we went past the yellow tapes and Abby and I had our seats on the ground, at a spot that gave us an advantage in case anyone comes up, while Jake went to grab the drinks at a small corner which was actually not so visible.

"So... I am going to ask my earlier question again." Abby started a conversation as she received her uncorked bottle from Jake. "What on earth happened back there?"

He shrugged and handed me a bottle. The glass felt warm against my palm.
"It might have a not-so-good taste since it is not chilled, so I don't expect you to finish it. I might not even finish mine."

" Don't avoid the question Jake," Abby insisted on her earlier query.

" What do you expect me to say?"

" First of, explain how you happened to beat up Bryan Lockwood."

" It just kind of happened," he said, giving a simple shrug as his lips touched the rim of the brown bottle. "I didn't intend to even look his way."

"So what happened?" I asked eagerly.

Jake's eyes landed on mine and I could finally see the friend I was familiar with. "He was badmouthing you. Of course, I could have just ignored him, but he said something that just ticked me off. I-"

" What is that thing?" Abby asked after she took a loud gulp of the liquid.

A look at the bottle in my hand got me wondering if I would even consider taking just a sip.

"I'd rather not say," Jake replied Abby who let out a scoff. " You guys don't have to worry, it's not like something is going to happen to me."

" You could go to jail. If Mr. Bounce makes it happen," I bluntly said.

"And the way I see it..." Abby smacked her lips. " I think he will. You were being so bold, it obviously got on his nerves."

My head replayed how dreamy Abby looked at that moment and my scheming self decided to see if I could ignite something. "Jake was so cool though. He seemed like some kind of bad boy. He was a bit sexy too."

" A bit?" Jake asked, his brows dancing weirdly.

As I let out a low chuckle, Abby said, "I'm just glad you didn't get arrested. Those cops looked like they wouldn't care if the culprit was a baby."

" Same here Jake. Actually... I should thank you for defending me. I think-"

The loud bang of the door cut my words short and the three of us instantly assumed a standing position that was getting ready to run towards a good hiding place.

Joke on us, there was no hiding place.

As we waited for the cause of the bang to emerge, the three of us began to stylishly drag our feet towards each other so we would be clustered.

"Are you sure no one will come up here?" a thick masculine voice asked and like I did, Abby and Jake looked confused.

It was clearly Mr. Bounce's voice. I could never make a mistake. His voice had a bit of croakiness that mixed with the existing thickness making the man sound peculiar.

The person he was with must have given a response with his or her head as the rustling sound that followed drew closer.

With partial curiosity, I assumed a patient posture. I was very much interested in what Mr. Bounce could be doing on the rooftop.

"Oh my," Abby let out a soft proclaim as the scene we were waiting for appeared in front of us.

It was an erotic one, the scene.

A pair of feminine legs wrapped around his waist, the man had his head titled to the side as he claimed the lips of the girl in his arms hungrily and quite noisily. The two were clearly into what they were doing, they had no idea they had already torn the yellow tape effortlessly.

The girl's top was already taken off halfway, so the two had to take a short break from eating each other's face so she could bare her chest for the man who I was beginning to have less respect for.

As the girl's arms came up, Mr. Bounce chuckled and peeled the top off skillfully, the poor piece of clothing finding itself on the ground after.

As the two took a few staggering steps, the girl's face became visible and the reveal caused the bottle in my hand to drop onto the hard ground.

That grabbed the attention of the duo who were about to fuck and when their faces became really visible, my jaws literally dropped.

"Celery?" Abby asked the question on my mind and the girl whose hair was now disheveled got off her supposed father.