Ruby

"Ruby... Please get up."

It made no sense to me. Who would wish Diane so much ill that they'd go as far as separating her arms from her body in a brutal way? And her eyes...

Within me was the urge to throw up coupled with the extreme sadness growing inside of me and that was not a great thing.

Maybe, it would be safer to get up as Abby suggested, I might see less of the gruesome sight.

Well...

I didn't see less of it. Even though I tried to look away, I kept seeing those bloodshot eyes which said a lot about the pain she must have been in.

"Ruby, we need to leave." Abby pulled at my arm but I refused to budge.

" I can't just leave. She's-" I swallowed hard as the whole thing crushed me with greater intensity. "She's my mother..." I whispered into the tense air.

" That's why you have to leave. This is not a helpful sight. You need to go somewhere else. "

" But what if she has no one to claim her? " I retorted. "What if she just ends up at some place because I couldn't stay with her till the end? "

Abby's hold on my hand relaxed and she began to shake her head slightly, her legs moving backward. "Don't do that, Ruby."

"Do what?" I finally had the strength to back the deadly scene which the medics and police were now taking care of.

"Don't blame yourself for this."

"I am doing no such thing. "

" You are doing exactly that. We need to leave." She pulled at my arm again to no avail.

" Let's go somewhere else, call your parents and let them deal with this."

" No. I can't leave her alone. I-" My throat began to dry and for a minute the pitiful murmurings around me faded. When Abby nudged me out of it I continued, "I pushed her away when she was alive, Abby. I-"

Hot tears stung my eyes instantly but I blinked them away.

" Ruby... please let's go."

"I was so harsh to her and I-" The image of her terror-filled eyes flashed through my mind and I felt so crushed, I almost fell onto the ground again.

"Please, Ruby. Don't let guilt get to you. None of this is your fault." Abby watched me with worry.

"I know. I know it's not my fault. It's just-"

The memory where Diane kept asking for a reunion played in my head and I felt so burdened, even the firm hold of the sides of my head could not push the crushing force away.

"I could have done things differently," I said with a sigh. "I could have said I forgave her for abandoning me. I could have-"

My eyes which were roaming the tarred floor as I talked on captured a small hard paper that had blood staining a great deal of the black colour that characterised it.

"Ruby?" Abby called with more worry.

The paper was just behind the legs of a man whose arms wore folded as he watched the police take care of the issue while asking questions for their investigation.

Ignoring the voice that was telling me to not reach for the paper, I bent to take it and a closer look at the paper exposed an almost perfectly calligraphed letter 'X' which sat in the center of the hard paper while it was adorned by dry blood.

Something told me to turn the paper, so as I stood upright, I did as my mind instructed and a little note was there, waiting to be read.

′The girl is next, Adonis.′

That was all it said with a crookedly drawn smiley face at the end.

I was about to toss the paper somewhere when it clicked.

The name...

Adonis.

Only one person in my life bears that name. And that made me further confused. What could these X people want with Diane and why on earth would Adonis's name be written on a card painted with blood?

"Who on earth is Adonis?" Abby's voice startled me out of my thoughts. She stood right behind me and studied the card in my hand. Then, after a deep gust of air was released through her lips, she said, "Listen, Ruby, you need to throw that away." Abby's voice became sterner as she talked.

"What if it proves to be a vital piece of evidence?"

My head shifted in the direction we were just coming from and even though the house where the party was being held was quite distant, I could still hear the noise.

"Before it becomes evidence, I need to use it," I completed my words, a touch of solemnity in my voice.

" Wait, what?"

" Abby, I need to go back to the party. I need to find someone. In the meantime, please call my mother and tell her about this accident."

" But-" I was already running toward the opposite way before she could complete her sentence.

My feet bare- because I tossed my shoes aside at a point- my hands feeling sweaty, I secured the paper in my hand and ran as fast as I could.

I knew it was very likely that Mr. Klaus was gone, but I still ran towards the house anyway. The urge to clear up the rising speculations within me couldn't permit me to wait till Monday. The urge within me failed to respect the boundary Mr. Klaus created. All I wanted was to understand what exactly was happening.

I needed to know why my birth mother was found mutilated on the bare street of a suburban area.

The party abode soon came into sight. And as I ran some more, my eyes caught a familiar image standing right in front of the house. It was him alright.

Adonis Klaus.

He looked lost in thought and it didn't seem like the lighted cigar in his hand was getting enough of his attention.

Taking some seconds to catch my breath, I trained my eyes on him to ensure he didn't suddenly vanish. Soon, I was taking bold steps toward him.

"Mr. Klaus," I announced my arrival with a rather harsh tone, and the nerves in his face lifted in a way that questioned me.

"What are you-?"

I grabbed his hand which was caressing the length of the cigar that filled the air with a different scent and planted the bloodied paper in his palm.

"What is-?" The way his eyes lit with surprise and slight fear confirmed my speculations to my dismay.

Locking his eyes with mine, he asked, "Where did you get this?"

"Turn the paper to the other side," I quietly said and as he did, he let out a very shaky breath. "Mr. Klaus," I started with a low voice, "please tell me the truth. Why is your name written on this paper?"

" Where did you get this paper?" he questioned.

" I freaking found it beside my freaking dead mother!" His eyes widened. "So please," it was taking every strength within me to stop my voice from shivering insanely, "tell me why your name is written there. And, who is next? Who are these people? Who-?"

" Your mother?" Mr. Klaus interrupted my many questions, his voice almost a whisper.

I sighed. " Please... Tell me the truth. You are the Adonis in this note, aren't you? Can you please explain what is going on?"

" Ruby..." His shoulders slumped, his eyes wore extreme tiredness. "You weren't supposed to know about this. About... me."

" Am I-?" I swallowed hard. " Am I the girl in the note? Why am I next? I didn't know you until you came to work in the school."

" Listen, we need to sit down. This is not something I can tell you while you are this dishevelled."

" Don't do that, Adonis." The fierceness of my voice as I used his first name seemed to startle him but that reaction soon got replaced by the earlier tiredness and maybe... sadness. "We are not leaving this spot. I need to-"

"Ruby Celestina Powers!"

" Dad?" I murmured to myself and as I turned, I saw that he was really there. Standing behind me, his hands in his pockets, his entire being exuding gracefulness.

"Isn't it eleven pm yet?" My father asked, his stone face reminding me why he should never be messed with.

"What? No. It's just-"

"Eight-thirty pm," Adonis completed for me as I looked lost for a minute and searched for a means of telling the time.

" And you are?" My father's eyes sternly boiled Mr. Klaus.

" Adonis Klaus." He extended a hand toward my Dad. "I am a friend of your daughter."

"Hmm." I wasn't surprised when Dad ignored Mr. Klaus's request for a handshake. "Let's go, Ruby."

"But..." I still had so many things to ask Mr. Klaus. But, my father was already pulling me towards his waiting car where Abby was already seated in.

I wondered if she called him instead of my mother.

If that was the case... Well, so much for her being scared of my Dad.

"Wait, Dad." I tried to stop my Father's rapid steps when I recalled why that night became unexpectedly sad for me. "There is something-"

"Diane. I know." There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"We need to know why this happened to her," I said and looked back to see that Mr. Klaus was no longer in front of the house.

"I will work on it, Ruby. Don't involve yourself in this. Get in the car." He opened the back seat door and motioned towards the open space.

"Did you call him?" I whispered to Abby who shifted to the other side.

"What am I, nuts? He was driving by when he saw me. When he didn't see you around, he made me direct him to this place. Lord..." She rubbed her arms. " I think I got goosebumps."

Soon, my Dad was in the driver's seat and the car was kicked to life. As motion was engaged and the speed steadily increased, I leaned into the seat and replayed everything.

Apparently, Mr. Klaus has a mysterious side to him and that mysterious side is the reason my birth mother is dead. And yeah, I might be in danger as well.

Can my life ever get stop being dramatic? What is my life supposed to be? A freaking K-drama?

K-dramas are great by the way.

A deep sigh came from me and I momentarily closed my eyes so that I could numb my mind.

"Ruby..." Abby sounded cautious. When I opened my eyes, she was extending a sheet of tissue paper to me. "Your nose is bleeding," she informed me when I arched my brows in confusion.

As I grabbed the paper and proceeded to dab my nose, I felt a little squeeze in my chest. I ignored the feeling because I had been feeling that way since Diane's terrible incident, so I continued with the dabbing.

But the squeeze came again and fiercer. It held my breath for some seconds and that made me hurriedly tap Abby who shifted her attention to me.

"What's wrong, Ruby?"

I made to speak but the breath-holding thing came again and I found myself gasping for breath. It was then it occurred to me. It was just like that night... When I was little...

I felt so helpless, I felt close to... death. And tears could not be helped.

My Dad's and Abby's concerned voices soon became muffled as the sounds of my heavy, struggling breathing took over.

Soon, my eyes began to close. Soon, I felt like I had lost consciousness.