The Traps of the Black Swan

99

Lisa was clutching the duvet so tight his knuckles had paled, the bulge of the nerves on his forehead and arms were too obvious. He was overwhelmed with furiousness, helplessness, remorse, hurt... and many emotions.

All he wanted to do was go and crush each one of them who made her go through so much in such a short amount of time.

He was relieved to know she didn't marry Vance Hays and he got her back. But if she had married Vance hays, wouldn't she have saved from all those tortures? He couldn't bear to listen to half of her experience, but she struggled to live every second.

He felt too selfish for being happy to have her back in his life when she fought each second.

Ruby Jane's hand reached for Lisa's fist wishing to comfort him seeing him tremble but before she could touch him, she remembered what had happened in the police station and her hand jerked back.

'Dirty, dirty... I am all dirty... How could I touch him?...' Her tears which had stopped rolling down a long back, again started as though somebody turned the tap on for her tears.

She got an intense urge to wash, she tried to control her tears but her hands shook violently when the images of the police station continued to fill her mind.

Lisa who was lost in his thoughts due to silence didn't notice her by drowning in his own burning emotions.

Ruby Jane knew she couldn't control it anymore, else she might scratch her skin else she might have an urge to burn or cut off her skin. She tried to run out of the bed to her bathroom but a hand clutched her and pulled her back on the bed.

She yanked her hand out of Lisa's hold in a split second and covered herself with the duvet that was on the bed as she crawled back, "Don't, don't touch me... you, you will become dirty..."

Lisa's hand had frozen in the air. Fourteen more! He remembered Jisoo telling him about the bracelet and there are fourteen more. They knew seven and didn't know seven more

Without a word, he knew who were five members. Chief of police, a captain, another male, and two female officers.

What did they do to Jennie? And who are the other two more?

Prior to that, he needed to calm her down before the memories worsened her panic attack.

"Ruby Jane." He shifted off his emotions and called her name in his deep voice. His tone wasn't gentle or loving but pressing and firm to get her attention from her thoughts.

He didn't want to unstable her breathing and her significant heartbeat raise might not be able to be handled by her heart. So it was required either she speaks them or doesn't think of those dark memories at all.

Ruby Jane gazed into his eyes as soon as his voice sounded. Her quivering body slowly started to calm down looking at his eyes which didn't leave her gaze. Their gazes were fixed on each other without averting away.

Lisa wanted her to collect herself and say what she was feeling unlike running away from it. So he waited without moving his gaze away. He needed her, not her face or body so he didn't need to see anywhere else but her eyes to calm her down.

However, while Ruby Jane's blurry vision due to tears slowly cleared, the memories she had a second back were replaced with herself. She was little, probably fourteen years old. She was running behind her mother's car who forgot to wait for her to pick her up, as always.

No, Jennie, she knew her mother didn't care to pick her up, she was there to pick her younger brother only. Yet Jennie never gave up to go behind the car hoping one day they would notice her.