Seventy Five

***Ruby***

“Did you hear, Bryan has been arrested? Even Mr. Grassi! I wonder what’s the deal with this school.” My ears caught the loud whispering from one of the girls who were in front of me as I dragged my feet sadly out of the last class for the day.

Well, it wasn’t exactly the last period in school, but for me, who was already tired of the talks about Mr. Klaus resigning and how they miss him, I was already done with school for the day, I just wanted to go stay in a lonely place.

All I want to do now is stare into the air and pray fervently for Adonis’s return.

I might seem hopeless for banking on the idea that Adonis is still alive. Given the fact that it has been almost two weeks since the incident and no traces of him being has been found, my prayers seem useless.

But, at the same time, traces of him being dead was yet to be found. Unlike others, evidence in form of pieces of burnt body parts belonging to Adonis have not been found.

Yes, they are yet to fully get rid of the rubble, but the site was almost cleared, it is highly unlikely that a person’s body is either burnt or trapped underneath it. Trust me, I checked.
For two days, I sneaked out of the house and went to check what I could while making sure the cops on duty didn’t sniff me out.

I didn’t see anything that could point out Adonis state of existence. All I have gotten so far are speculations made by the students where they assume he resigned and left for greener pastures.

I let out a deep sigh as I watched the people that flooded the corridors walk into their respective classes. I, on the other hand, made for the rooftop.

Once on the rooftop, I pocketed my hands into the jacket I was putting on. It was the very one Adonis gave me when my period decided to surprise me after I thought it had ended. Any opportunity to put it on, I don’t hesitate to.
It makes me feel like he is still with me.

As I stood on the cemented floor and looked into the space ahead, I closed my eyes and let the faint scent of his cologne hit my sense of smell.
I then let my imagination run.

In that imagination, he would suddenly walk up to me at that moment. A gentle tap on my shoulder, I turn my head and there he will be, looking gorgeous as ever. I will compliment his smile before I jump into his chest for a long hug while I lament how much I have missed him.

I let out a shuddering sigh as my imagination had me wanting that very situation to come to pass.

As I opened my eyes, I felt a tap on my right shoulder and my heart skipped a beat or two. With mix of emotions within me, I looked towards that direction.

“Jake,” I breathed out.

“You look like you were expecting someone else,” he said as he leveled his stance beside me, his hands behind him.

“I was expecting someone else,” I said bluntly.

Jake sighed. “They are yet to find him.”

“Time is running so fast and before you know it, our fears could become true,” I replied Jake while I bit into the flesh of my lower lip subconsciously.

“I know you don’t share the same fears the rest of us have. You strongly believe he is out there.”

“If he is really out there,” I sighed again, “why is he hiding from me? I really can’t take this anymore. Every time I wake up, I do so with a heavy heart that feels beyond broken. I want to cry but I can’t, because nothing is certain. So, if he is really out there for whatever reason, I really need him to show up. I-”
My voice cracked as my overwhelming emotions came rushing again. I ducked my head slightly, my eyes stared at the boots I had on as I made my hands dance inside the pockets they were in.
My shoulders slumped greatly as another sigh left my lips.
“I just want him to be alive. I want to see that he is really alive, that’s all.”

Jake uttered no words. All he did was pull me into his side. His hand kept patting my shoulder as I stared at the ground even more.

After a number of minutes, Jake said, “I also hope he is alive. And if he is, even if he doesn’t show up now, he will definitely come back to you. I am no judge of relationships, but I know something real yet unexplainable was what you two had and if I were him, I would definitely come back to you no matter what.”

”I know you are just trying to console me, you also think he might be dead,” I blurted.

“I’m actually trying hard to avoid believing the evidences the circumstances are tendering in front of us, so yes, I am really hoping that he is alive. And, I really don’t think I can handle seeing you sad, it will break my heart.”

His last statement made me realize something.
So, I looked up at Jake, a small smile on my face and said, “I haven’t thanked you for what you did back there.”

He waved off my statement. “Pfftt… you don’t have to thank me.”

I reached for the side of his face and the faint sound of his breath hitching reached my ears. I ignored it and said with a soft voice, “Thank you, Jake. Thank you for being there to save me.”

“I-It was nothing. I was just protecting my friend.”

Within me, I appreciated him for one more thing- his ability to stay as my friend even when it meant whatever romantic feeling he had towards me had to be killed. He is such a strong man for being there for me even when I am less likely to acknowledge all he does for me.

“How did you know I was kidnapped though? Were you following me?”

“Uh…”

”There you are, I have been searching for you,” Abby’s voice announced her entry into the space and the manner with which Jake instantly dropped his arm around my shoulder didn’t escape me. As we turned and watched Abby approach us, I stole a glance in his direction, I noticed how restless his eyes were.

My lips wore an amused look as it occurred to me that Jake might not actually be into me anymore. So, to attach an explanation to his brief reaction, he is either frightened by her presence for some reason or he actually likes her.

“What were you guys doing without me?” Abby asked with her mother-like, firm tone as she stood beside me.

“There’s something you guys should know,” Jake uttered a response that didn’t answer Abby’s question.

“Is this about Mr. Grassi?” I didn’t hide my surprise at Abby’s mention of that name. For the past few days, she refused to utter the man’s name whenever the topic of what happened that day came up. “Were you the one that had him arrested?”

”No. That was Adonis’s doing. But,” he hurriedly spoke before I could ask him the question that dropped on my mind, “that’s not what I want to tell you.”

”What then? You have decided to go bald?” Abby asked and I chuckled.

“My father works as a hired assassin and he has been training me to follow in his steps,” Jake dropped that sudden bomb and, while I tried to wrap my head around his words, it made more sense that he was able to handle the gun very well that day.

“So, you kill people?” Abby was the first to talk after minutes of silence.

“I’m not going to become an assassin, that life is not for me.”

“Why bother telling us then?” she asked sternly.

“Because it will explain my recent behaviours and clear whatever doubts you have about me.”

”Well,” I finally spoke, “it does explain how built you look these days. Those biceps are well formed. Have you been training all this while?”

”Yes, my father made it compulsory for every son of his to train till the age of twenty-one. After that, I can decide to stay or leave the business. Anyway, the point is, it explains how I was able to find out about your kidnap. My father worked for Matt Xylem.”

”What?”

Jake nodded, a glint of apology in his eyes as he locked eyes with me. “During their last transaction, while I was trying to cool off my anger regarding Abby’s situation, I overheard Matt Xylem’s plan to get you and exchange you for some crazy amount of money. Of course, I couldn’t sit still after I heard that.

I just had to trail Matt Xylem until he led me to where you were being kept. That’s how I was able to find you.”

”Wow,” was all Abby said and all I could do was allow the strain in my chest grow a bit more.

“Ruby,” Jake reached for my back and patted me slowly as I tried to maintain a solid standing position, “ I am not telling you this to remind you of what happened that day. I just want to let you know that, no matter what happens, I will always be here to protect you. Even you Abby. I am strong enough to keep you both from the evil out there, so don’t hesitate to rest on me. I will do everything within my power to protect you.”

As Abby and I approached Jake for a long hug, my heart squeezed some more.
I found myself replaying moments where Adonis kept reminding me of the fact that he would always protect me. He has indeed protected me but he is nowhere to be seen.

As we dissolved our hug, Abby took a step forward before asking, “Did you guys hear about Bryan?”

“He has been arrested, yeah?” I decided to ignore my aching heart for a while.

“Did you hear that he killed his parents and left them on display in the house?”

”What?”

“Sick, right? He kept taking care of them despite them being dead. That guy is really insane.”

Well, he is insane alright. That would explain how easy it was for him to set people on fire and bulldoze a standing building, demolishing it to crush people who were already struggling with the fire issue.

I have been trying to ignore it, but I know quite well that I heard Bryan’s loud laughter as he ruined the building. That laughter rang in my ears during my struggle to get to a trapped Adonis and I still heard it as my eyes closed.

I really hope he spends a long time rotting in jail.
Actually, I wish he died in the fire too. Over the past days, whenever the thought of Bryan and what he did comes to my mind, I picture myself feeding him some fuel, drenching him with the liquid and setting him on fire as he did to those men.
I would be more satisfied if he died, he deserves it.

“Ruby, how are you feeling?” Abby’s question pushed me out of my murderous thoughts.

I shrugged and replied, “I am trying to be fine.”

“Your Mom just texted me.” I didn’t miss the shiver in her voice. “It is about Mr. Klaus.”

I tried not to show it but my head immediately felt like it had been hit by something. I swallowed hard and asked, “What about Adonis?”

“Huh.. so, they have gotten rid of all the remains of the building and everyone has been accounted for except Mr. Klaus, so the cops believe he is still alive. They will begin a search for him soon.”

“Right?” The question hurriedly rolled off my tongue. “He is definitely out there, he is going to come back alive.”

Jake and Abby smiled as they nodded.

“He will definitely come back,” Abby replied. I opened my arms as she offered to hug me.
Jake joined the embrace as well and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feeling of relief that the news brought to my system.

All I had to do now is anticipate his return and that won’t be hard to do.
As long as he comes back to me, I will continue to wait for him.

*Yes*…
I smiled as I pictured how blissful our reunion would be.
… *I will wait no matter how long it takes*.