Ruby ~Joshler~

1.8

Ruby hopped from square to square on the floor, careful not to step on any cracks or lines. Each square was bright white with weird patterns inside them. This kind of reminded her of the ones in the bathroom at home. 

As the little girl looked on to the next square, she noticed there was a pair of feet standing in the way. Ruby gazed up and found there was a man in a long, white robe standing in front of a desk. He was holding a clip board, talking to a lady on the other side. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it sounded like important adult stuff. 

Ruby took a moment to look around at her surroundings. It was only now that she realized there were people everywhere. All hurrying to their own destination. There were strange sounds all around as well. Weird beeping noises and other sounds, she could not quite recognize. 

"Ruby." 

The girls head spun in the direction of her dad. He was sitting on the other side of the room, where there was a big TV. Ruby wasn't interested what was on. She only liked cartoons are children's shows. 

"Come here please." At first, she hesitated. "Please. I don't want anyone tripping over you." 

Ruby obligated and started hopping back from each square she was on before. When she finally made it back to her dad, he scooped her up and placed her on his lap. 

"No!" Ruby shouted, melting down from his arms. 

"Ruby, please-" 

"No!" Once she on the floor. She pointed to the empty chair next to her dad. He glanced over at the other person sitting on the other side of the chair. It was an older woman, who seemed  to be coughing her lungs out. 

"Why don't you sit with me?" He urged her closer, but she only grunted in frustration. 

"I wan' my own!" Ruby's volume was starting to grab the attention of surrounding people and even some staff. 

"Ok, ok." Josh stood up and slid over to the empty seat. Ruby smiled and took her dad's now empty chair. 

Josh sighed and rubbed his face. It was late and he was tired. Ruby, on the other hand, was full of energy and he didn't understand why, but it didn't really matter at the moment. 

"Dada," Josh looked down at his daughter with tired eyes. "When do we see Tyla?" 

Josh cracked a half smile. "Uh-" 

"Joshua?" 

Both Ruby and Josh looked up at the same time. A man in green scrubs held a clipboard and looked around the waiting room. 

"Come on. We're going to see Tyler now." Ruby smiled happily as she bounced off the chair and reached her her dad's hand. 

"That's me." Josh approached the nurse. "We're here for Tyler." 

"Of course. Right this way." 

Josh and Ruby entered through a set of double doors where there were less people and doors everywhere. It was a bit creepy how empty it all was. 

As they passed by a metal door, there was a loud moan of agony from inside. Ruby whimpered and moved closer to her dad. 

"It's okay Ruby almost there." 

The pair followed the nurse for a bit until they got to a wooden door at the end of a hall. 

"Tyler just woke up, so be patient with him. I also must warn you, the sight isn't pretty. His body as suffered greatly." 

It turns out, Josh was a bit late when he found Tyler in the bathroom. He had taken two full bottles of pills before Josh found him, but told nobody and by the time Josh had brought him to the hospital, Tyler was in critical condition. They were forced to pump his stomach as quickly as possible and now he was being pumped full new medicines to counteract the ones he took. 

Ruby clutched to her dads leg as they slowly entered the room. It was dark, the only light coming from the machines surrounding a bed. The room was filled with sounds of machines as well and all of it was a lot for Ruby to take in. 

Tyler turned his head toward the pair and smiled sadly. "Hey." 

Josh moved closer to the bed, leaving Ruby by the door. She was too afraid to move any closer. 

"Hey." Josh responded, kneeling next to the bed. "How are you doing?" 

Tyler chuckled sadly. "Well," He lifted his arms, tubes moving along with them. "My body is struggling to stay alive, so-" 

Josh hung his head. "Tyler, I am so so sorry." He reached up and grabbed the boys cold hand. Tyler inhaled sharply at the sudden warmth. 

"Don't be.  This isn't your fault." 

Josh sighed heavily. "But it is. I should've told you how I felt before." 

"What-" 

Josh kept going. "Tyler, when I met you, I fell in love with you. You saved my daughter, and you saved me. I was spiraling and the only purpose I had, was to be a father to Ruby, but things changed when you entered my life. I suddenly had a purpose. I wanted to make you happy, I wanted to give you anything I could."

"Josh, I-" 

"Ever since the divorce, my life has been gray. I tried dating, getting out into the world, but I didn't want any of those people." Josh chuckled. Ruby was now standing quietly by the bed, observing Tyler. "You brought the colors back into my life. I've been happier and I realized you were the one I wanted. And I know this isn't about me, but I need you in my life." 

The room fell silent. Even the mechanical sounds around the room seemed to disappear. Tyler stared quietly at their hands on the bed. Ruby was silent as well, which was very rare. A lot was on their minds. Tyler's, the most. 

The boy hadn't thought about it much, but deep down he knew the answer. He had known since the beginning, deciding to just ignore it this whole time. 

"I love you too Josh." 

Small update (Just ignore this.)

Hey. I'm real sorry for the lack of updates recently. Things are just getting really hard at the moment. I recently got out of an abusive relationship and he's been threatening my family and now they hate me. My biological father is replacing me and my mental state is just dropping. 
Anyway, I will try to update as much as I can, but as I mentioned, I have a lot on my plate right now. Please bear with me. 

<3