All Over Again

| Chapter Forty-Four |

"Ruth," a voice whispered into Ruth's ear, followed by a firm hand nudging her shoulder gently. "Ruth, I have to go."

Ruth's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She slowly nudged her sore neck over towards the voice, her eyes too heavy to open just yet. "Mmmm?"

"I have to get going." The voice took on a tone familiar to her now, one that she could recognize as clearly as her own. It belonged to the man who had just taken her for the past night, both body and soul. The man who held her for hours and whispered how much he cared for her until they had finally fallen asleep.

"Wait," Ruth murmured thickly, squinting her eyes through the haze of exhaustion clouding her vision. "Raffo, why—"

Raffo's fingers found her cheek and he soothed his knuckle down her jaw. A tiny part of her relaxed at the touch, though she still blinked and peeked up into his sugary brown eyes. His smile was small but warm in the morning light.

"I have to work today," he whispered, his voice hushed. "I'd stay with you all day if I could, but I need to get ready."

She pouted at that, but knew he had to go. He needed the money to help get his family out of their situation and she couldn't very well hog him all day. "I understand."

Raffo's deep chuckle vibrated through the thin cotton of the worn-out t-shirt she had hastily thrown on after round three. He brushed one of the curls she forgot to tuck away into a headscarf from her cheek and replaced the hair with his lips instead. Her sigh was soft, her fingers curling against the side of his face as she held him to her.

"I love you," he said, kissing the corner of her lips. Ruth's body warmed at the phrase and she couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her tired cheeks. She was radiating light from every corner of her body and she didn't care one bit.

"I love you," Ruth said. Raffo folded the blanket back around her and helped adjust her sore body against her pillows before finally stepping away. "Call me later if you can."

"I will," he promised, and shortly left after closing her bedroom door.

*****

Harsh whispers of questionable conspiracies floated into Ruth's subconscious and unfortunately succeeded in waking her up a second time. The voices were muffled somehow, as if the people talking were hidden behind a door. They were faint and buzzing with something that borderlines panic, and it was enough to make Ruth groan and peek open a groggy eye. Silence quickly followed.

"I know you're there," Ruth grumbled, wiping away the sleep from her eyes. "Just come in."

There was another minute of silence before the door knob finally jiggled and her cousins came walking into her bedroom. They were both dressed and refreshed from wherever they had spent the previous night and walked with stiff legs, but that wasn't what struck Ruth as odd. No, it was the excitement in smiles that didn't completely reach the dwell of sadness lingering in their eyes. It was the way Jana looped her arm through Terry's despite never being able to stand her.

And when Ruth sat up as quick as her tender body would allow her to in alarm, her cellphone began to ring.

She glanced down at the caller I.D. on the front of her screen and almost choked on the spit in the back of her throat mid-panic. Her gaze flew back up to the girls in alarm, but they only stayed silent and nodded to the ringing phone, lips sealed. If Ruth wasn't in such a frenzy, she'd find Jana's free arm behind her back and lack of eye contact suspicious.

"What's this about?" Ruth hissed, grabbing her phone off its charger.

Jana bit her lip and Terry's hazel eyes just told her to answer the damn phone already before Shantelle loses her shit on all of them. Neither expressions as very comforting, but she couldn't let the call ring on forever. So, with her heart in her throat and her stomach at her feet, Ruth slid her thumb over the screen and answered the call.