𝑴𝒚 𝑪𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 | 𝟏𝟖+

~ Ruby's house ~

Ruby's perspective

Erin sits on my sofa. Her frail body is coated in a light cream fabric and she holds a book. Her fingers are pale, long and bony. Her cheeks are weak, caving in on themselves.

I sigh as I make my way to the kitchen. "I'm making macaroni and cheese, want some?"

"Sure," she mumbles.

I bring over our bowls and place them on the counter. The sofa dips under my weight as I join her. "You must have a lot of questions," I start, "like why I called the cops."

She flinches slightly, but her eyes stay glued to the floor. "Why did you?"

"I knew it wouldn't work, so I found a way to help him in my own way."

Her face scrunches up, "you betrayed him!" She snaps, her eyes finally meeting mine. "He's in jail now!"

"Erin, he was going to jail no matter we did."

"But he-"

"He would've been killed or given a life sentence, if it weren't for my actions."

She falters for a moment. "How... long?"

"5 years."

She lets out a deep breath before her gaze returns to the floor. "He'll be hurt,"

"I know. But my main focus is caring for you right now, is there anything you need to say? Feel free to yell or throw a pillow around, let it all out."

Tears prick her eyes and soon waterfalls run down her pale cheeks. "Who are you?"

I give her a faint smile. "My name is Ruby Winters, I'm Ethan's psychologist and... partner in crime I guess,"

"Do you... love my brother?"

I pause. "I do,"

"And he loves you?"

I let out a strangled laugh, "I hope so, but I doubt he does anymore,"

She turns to me, her lips tugged up in a slight smile. "My brother doesn't fall in love easy," she starts, "and his love isn't... normal."

I nibble my lower lip, awaiting her next words.

"He'll never let you go, and if you try to run away he'll hunt you down and capture you."

"Well that doesn't sound-"

"If he loves you, you better be ready. If he doesn't escape prison, then when he's out he'll come for you and there will be no one in the world who will stop him from finding you."

I furrow my eyebrows, "what are you..."

"I'm telling you now, if you want to leave him, you better run away somewhere he'll never find. And you better make up your mind before he's out, or you'll be trapped forever."

I gulp. "Okay,"

She sighs, her facial expression easing up. She takes the foods onto her lap and flicks through TV channels. She beams while settling on Puss in Boots. "Welp, I hope we get along Ruby."

They're definitely related.

~～~～~

Four years pass by in the flick of an eye. I've decided to stick to private practise recently. I still pay visits to some old clients in prisons, for example Michael. He and I have been working on his aggressive outbursts. It's funny to see the different sides of our world, criminals are usually poor and severely mentally ill while my private clients are rich, often spoilt, teenagers. 

I once had one crying over a broken nail and how traumatic it was for her to go out in public. But the thing is, everyone has different experiences and breaking points, so if her losing a nail ruins her mood then I have to take that seriously and teach her coping mechanisms.

Ruby and I have started getting along, at first she was against the idea of... me. But after telling her about Ethan and I and getting to know each other, she slowly opened up. She's been getting her own therapy and is doing much better, even has some meat on her bones again!

Me on the other hand... I'm a mess right now.

My job is fine, social life is fine... but mentally I'm extremely torn.

I have a year before Ethan returns. I've been putting it off, but I need to make up my mind. Do I want to stay in his life? I mean... he doesn't have anywhere to go, I doubt he'll get a job for a while so I'd have to support him. Should I run away? Should I give him a chance?

Except there are no chances according to Erin. She reminds me almost daily now that if I'm going to run away I need to start preparing. I mean, where would I ever go? Would I need to change my name and everything? I don't even know how to disappear!

Then the other issue is, does he even want to be in my life? He could hate me. I betrayed him.

Fuck, what am I going to do?

~～~～~

Seven months left.

~～~～~

Five months left.

~～~～~

The phone dials once. Twice. Three times.

"Hello?"

The familiar voice makes me smile.

"Hey James, it's Ruby,"

"Oh my God! Hey, how've you been? If he out yet?"

"Yeah I've been alright, you? And no, not yet."

"Good, good, what's up?"

"I need help."

"Oh?"

"I need to disappear."