𝑴𝒚 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 | 𝟏𝟖+

~ safe house ~

Ruby's perspective

It's been a week since the news report.

I haven't spoken to Ethan since then. I can see the pain in his expression every time he looks at me. He took us to a safe house that his friend organised. Said friend should be coming over soon to check in on us. He says we'll get supplies together and move soon too.

"Won't you say something?" He asks while kneeling in front of me. He rests his chin on my thigh and looks up to me with a sparkle in his eye. "Please?" His lips brush my thigh, his hands crawling between my calves to spread them open as his mouth moves up. "Love? Just one word is enough." He pleads.

"Hate."

"Anything but that word?"

"Anger."

He squeezes his eyes shut and nibbles on the inside of his cheek. "I'm sorry, love," he sucks in a deep breath before his eyes open. "I love you, I was selfish... but I love you,"

"You ruined my life," I spit.

"I- I didn't mean to, I..."

"If I don't get arrested, I'll lose my dream job, I'll have to retrain and find somewhere that takes people with criminal records which I promise won't be anymore good,"

"I'm sorry," he says through gritted teeth. "I never meant for any of this to happen,"

I stare down at him for a moment, my mind races as millions of cuss words and screams threaten to burst out of me. "When I first met you, you asked if I believed you were a bad person." I start. "I'm starting to believe you are."

His eyes grow wide as agony flashes through him. He springs up, hand covering his face as he turns his back towards me. "You don't mean that. You're upset."

I furrow my brows. "You hurt people... you kill people... you hurt me."

His hand falls as an eerie silence consumes the room. "You-" His voice cracks and my heart strings tug. "You don't mean that." He whispers mainly to himself before walking into the next room.

I sigh, laying back on my bed. I stare at the towering trees out the dusty window, small cracks crawl around the edges like the spider webs on the lamps. The walls are made of large wooden trunks and reed rope hold some parts together. Shabby, but homey.

I switch off the main light leaving a small flickering candle on the bedside table. I tug the itchy woollen blanket up to my cheek and cradle myself. 'It's going to be okay.' I tell myself. 'You're going to work this out. You always do.'

I squeeze my eyes shut and will the tears away. But, a small whimper escapes my lips and that's enough to send Ethan running in.

"Ruby?" He calls out in barley a whisper. "Are you okay baby?"

I ignore him and pretend I'm asleep. His footsteps grow closer and the bed dips as he joins me. He sprays across the frame and pulls me against his chest. "I'm here for you, not matter how much you hate me."

He places a kiss on my forehead and his warmth radiates over my body. I ease into his grasp and his muscles relax. "I hate you," I whisper as I lean into him. "So much."

I feel him smile against me. "I love you," he replies, "so much."

Slowly, as he hums soft melodies and whispers sweet nothings, I drift off to sleep.

My eyes twitch as hot beams of sun seep in through the curtain. I gulp in the crisp morning air as birds chirp around me. "Morning love," Ethan whispers besides me.

"When's your friend coming?"

"Soon,"

"How are we going to fix this?"

He falters for a moment. I flip over in search of his eyes. "I don't know."

My gaze travels his outline, from his jaw to his golden eyes. His hair falls messily over his face and stands up in funny places. "Ethan," I whisper.

"Yes love?"

"I want my life back,"

His expression softens as he leans in, placing a kiss on my cheek. "I know baby, I'm sorry,"

"What are we going to do?"

"Look... I know you're worried about your job, but I need to find my sister..." I open my mouth then close it. After a moment, I nod. "Jason will be here soon, he'll help us work this out,"

After a moment of silence I bring my hand to his face and caress his cheek. "Maybe one day we can run away with your sister, somewhere far away like Germany, and hide from the authority. We could make fake identities and we'll all live together, hm?"

His lips are tugged into a broad smile. "That sounds amazing. I'd be... Alex Walker and Erin would be Julia,"

"I'd be... Octavia Harte," I say with a giggle.

"We could be something ordinary like accountants... And get married," he whispers the last part with flush spreading across his cheeks.

"Ruby Woods," I say under my breath. His eyes shoot open. He pushes me onto my back, crawling on top of me and pinning my arms above my head.

"Say that again,"

My mouth gapes open. "W- what are you-"

"Say. That. Again." His eyes grow dark as he leans his forehead against mine.

"R- Ruby Woods,"

He groans as he moves his face onto my shoulder. "Again," he says faintly.

"Ruby Woods," I mumble.

He takes a fold of my skin between his teeth, leaving his mark. "Again,"

"Ethan, what-"

"Please."

"Ruby and Ethan Woods,"

And with that, he goes wild.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I'm starting this again (continuing it) and it will include some scenes from my spicy short stories book (which I will re-publish later)!