House of Eros [M/M]

00 - Prologue - Ruby's Point Of View.

The cold bit at my fingers as I rushed to the store. Nana was dying and there was nothing I could do for her. My magic was not powerful enough to help her. The store was like a beacon in the dark, yet the sign glowed and gave me less than hope. It said closed. The twenty-four-hour store was across town, and it was snowy and very dangerous. She really needed that medicine, though. Giving my head a shake, I ran. I would get her the medicine and save her. She would live, she had to. She was the only one I had left. I slipped several times, running down the sidewalk. I needed to help her in the worst way.

I nearly slid out into traffic, but it was like an invisible force held me back. I thanked nothing that was there and ran again. I ran out of breath not much longer after that and limped to the store. The lady at the counter rang up my nana's medicine after I grabbed it. It was expensive but nothing was out of reach if it meant saving her, shit I would even sell my soul to save her, maybe. Darting out into the street, I slipped again, this time barely making it to safety from an oncoming car. I needed to be way more careful or both of us would die tonight.

My nana was everything to me. She had taught me magic; she was an older witch who had finally reached her end; she was like a dying star, or so she said. As a male, I wasn't supposed to know magic or be able to use it, but I totally could and she saw it as a sign better times were coming and I was special. But clearly not enough to save her. My mother had abandoned me when she knew I had the family curse, or rather, the gift. My father, he was probably not even aware I was a thing. So that left only sweet nana.

As my foot touched the pavement, it slid and so did I, right into oncoming traffic. My body hurt everywhere when the bright lights and the metal frame of the car hit me. I saw him before anyone else. His red hair and ruby coloured eyes stood out and made him very exotic. Never had I seen red eyes before. Maybe he was a god of death or something like that.

"Save my nana!"

"You can see me?"

"Yes, please save her. She is dying!"

"But so are you, and I can only help you."

"Then save me so I can save her..."

"Okay, but when you're twenty-two, I'll come back for my end of our deal."

I felt something flow into my mouth and I felt warmth and fuzzy inside me. But not death. This couldn't be death, right? He saved me, or so he said. I felt like I was floating and I could hear voices and feel hands on my skin as I continued to float around in the empty space. If this was heaven, it was lonely and cold. Not how I had always imagined it.

Opening my eyes sometime later, I was in the hospital. The doctors checked me over and told me about my head injury.

"Social workers are waiting outside the door to speak to you regarding your accident."

I nodded, and the doctor left and two social workers came into the room. They introduced themselves and opened their books to write down the information I gave them.

"We sent a worker around to your home when the hospital couldn't get a hold of your guardian, your Nana, right?" The blond hair worker said, and closed her book, looking at me with sadness in her eyes, and I knew My Nana she was gone. I had been too late to save her. Her words about my Nana felt empty and I couldn't take it.

It was all too much.

Although therapy helped me cope with the pain of losing my Nana, the void in my heart remained. I couldn't shake off the guilt of not being able to save her. The magic that she had taught me seemed useless and powerless in the face of her impending demise.

As the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months, I found solace in the support of my foster family. They genuinely cared about me and tried their best to make me feel at home. However, the pain of losing my Nana still lingered, and I often found myself lost in a sea of emptiness.

Despite the progress I made in therapy, the weight of grief kept pulling me down. It was as if a part of me had been taken away forever. I yearned for the comfort of my Nana's presence, her gentle touch, and her wise words. But she was gone, and I had to learn to live without her.

As time went on, I opened up more to my foster family. They listened patiently as I poured out my heart, sharing memories of my Nana and the struggles I faced without her. They became my pillars of support, offering guidance and understanding during my darkest moments. But it wouldn't last. After all, they were only temporary.

Slowly but surely, I healed. The pain didn't disappear entirely, but I learned to carry it with me, allowing it to shape me into a stronger person. The therapy sessions became a lifeline, helping me navigate through the complex emotions that grief brought.

There were good days and bad days, moments of laughter and moments of tears. But through it all, I held onto the memories of my Nana, cherishing the time we had together and the lessons she taught me.

As I approached my eighteenth birthday, the days seemed quicker than before. I counted down the days until then. Just two days into after my eighteenth birthday, I left the foster family, a note taking the place of the words I should have said to them in person. They had done enough for me to grow up into an adult in the nearly two years with them. Of course, that time wasn't all bad, and I was thankful for them, but I knew it was time for me to go home. Back to my nana's. Back to my magic that I had left behind.

Practicing my gift of magic slowed down my aging. I sat back and watched years gone by, memories of the past missing. I held onto the ones of my grandmother, hoping they would always remain. Time passed around me until, in the blink of an eye, nearly forty years passed. Physically, though, I was hardly even into my twenties.