Sky Full Of Stars: Ruby Redfort One Shots

It's in your eyes

Hey guys. This is part 2 but from Bradley's pov. Enjoy x

I knew I recognised him as soon as we walked in. He had an at about him which could only be felt around a specific person. You know the type. Ruggedly handsome, dark hair, light eyes, clearly had some sort of reputation. But I just couldn't put my finger on where I knew him from. Hitch. That's what Ruby said his name was. Told her only his mother called him anything different. But I didn't believe it. He didn't look like someone who's friends all referenced by such a nickname. He had such a warm interior to contrast his exterior. Although he looked rather tense and striking in that dark suit he wore, there was such a relief in his eyes when he saw Ruby. He seemed gentle and misunderstood almost maybe even to her. But it was when he saw me that I knew that we must have been more than just colleagues. His face contorted into an expression of shock. But no complete shock. There was a powerful emotion behind that and I couldn't identity yet.
"Bradley?" He asked, his voice weak and higher than it had been a few seconds prior. "Bradley Baker, is that you?"
There was that name again. So familiar yet almost as if I had never heard it as well.
I shrugged at 'Hitch' not quite sure what to say.
"Actually I have no idea," I said, trying to sound calmer than I felt.
"You're not dead?" Asked Hitch.
He stumbled over his words and, by the look on Ruby's face, I could tell that this was not a common occurrence. But could you blame him? If I am this 'Bradley Baker' then I've been dead for a long time so coming face to face with is something, I suppose, he never thought he would do again.

We all sat down and Ruby explain how she had found me. 'Hitch' was very quiet. It seemed as though he couldn't quite organise his thoughts. I knew I recognised his face, but his energy? No, I didn't remember it. I guess eleven years is bound to change a person.

But then she walked in.

Now her, I was certain I had seen before. Her eyes were the kind that you could never forget. The deep brown colour so familiar yet so distant. So this was 'LB'. She looked very striking. Her pale features contrasting greatly with the scarlet stain on her lips. And then she told us her name. 'Loveday Byrd'. Distinct to say the least. But it suited her in a way. She had an sense of delicacy and elegance behind the  depth of her voice and her stern expression. I knew her. I knew I did. But it was a different type of recognition than that of when I saw Hitch. Him I recognised as if he was someone I had seen once and recognised his face, his name, his voice. But with her, it was as if she was from a past life of mine. Like neither Bradley Baker nor Morgan Loveday had met her. There was just something about the way she looked at me that pulled me in. It wasn't a look of shock, in fact there was hardly any emotion in her eyes at all. This was the woman who killed me? I just couldn't fit it together. She didn't look like she could have harmed a fly. She was incredibly petite and small that I couldn't believe she had any knowledge of violence. But the exposed patches of her skin told me different. Faint scars littered her hands and much more prominent ones lay across her collarbones. She had clearly been through hell and back. Hitch too. His left cheek detailed faint scratches but it was the scar through his eye that caught my attention. Without really studying him the way I had been doing, no one would notice it. A long pink mark reaching from just above his eyebrow down to his cheek. Yes, these two really had seen it all. They both looked extremely young compared to how old Ruby had told me they were. There was childlike innocence in Hitch's face. Innocence I would soon learn that detailed a childhood destroyed by abuse and cruelty. In fact, both of their faces portrayed sadness. But not from the moment. From memories that would forever haunt them both.

Loveday conducted a sort of debriefing while I sat in silence, not really knowing how to react to her presence. But soon, Ruby and Hitch decided to head home, leaving her and I alone. Once they were gone, I began speaking as normally as possible.
"So, what's Spectrum like these days?" I asked.
She half smiled.
"Different," she said. Her voice was softer somehow.
"How so?" I inquired.
"Well," she began. "It was quiet for a long time without you. Until Redfort showed up,"
I laughed and she smiled weakly.
"That loud am I?" I asked.
"No not really. Everyone was just in shock. And in a way, you weren't the only one we lost that day," her face grew sad again at the memory.
"What do you mean?" I asked, tilting to see her.
"Well, Hitch, first of all. He's not been the same since," she sighed.
"So we're me and him close or.." I asked.
"Close?" She scoffed. "I mean, you two were practically brothers. You went everywhere together. He lost a part of himself when he lost you,"
"Wow," I said slowly. "So he wasn't always so... I don't know, grumpy looking?" I asked. 
"Oh gosh no," she continued. "Hitch was the happiest person I had ever met. There was no anger nor hatred in that boys heart. He lived the way we all wish we could. Freely,"
"Really? He seems like he's got a lot of trauma going on even beyond me," I said, raising my eyebrows.
"That's the thing," she said. "He does. Hitch had, by far, the hardest life out of all of us but it wasn't until he lost you that he closed up, well, completely"
I sighed and nodded.
"And you?" I asked.
"I've always been this way I guess," she said.
"I don't believe you," I smiled.
She smiled.
"I don't blame you," she half laughed. "I've been the best I could have been, thank you,"
"Good," I smiled.

And so we talked. And we talked. And then we talked some more. In the end, I ended up getting the bus back to Twinford with her so we could continue talking. When we arrived at her house, she let me in and told me that I could sleep in my old room if I wanted. We said goodnight even though I really didn't want to part from her. I went into the room which I guessed must have been mine and pulled out some clothes from the closet. I guess she kept them all these years. That made me smile. Once changed, I tried to sleep but somehow the bed felt empty. So I quietly crept into the room I saw her go into to see her half asleep in her bed. She smiled at me and beckoned me over so I crawled in next to her and held her close to me. The next thing I knew it was early in the morning and she was gone. She left me a not on the kitchen table explaining things.

Dear Bradley,
I have had to go into Spectrum. STAY HERE! I swear if you leave I will set my very fluffy golden retriever on you!
X
Loveday

I smiled. I found the dog about ten minutes later. Her name was Barley as if stated on her collar and I spent the majority of my day cuddling her while watching terrible television. A day well spent if you ask me. And then at a very late hour, Loveday came back.

"Hi," she said softly.
"Hey Byrdie,"

Hey guys. I am so sorry about how long I haven't posted for. I've been having a mental health break. But I hope you liked this chapter. Please let me know if there is anything else you want me to write about. Stay safe and I hope you're all ok xxx