The Accent

Ch 22 - From Bad, to Good, to Terrible

Chapter 22 - From Bad, to Good, to Terrible

My day quite literally went from bad, to wonderful, to horrific. 

It started from when I first woke up, I was roused by Ruby playing heavy metal music at 5am. Early mornings have never really bothered me, I can get up, feel rested enough and still be in a generally happy mood as long as I've got a cup of tea.

But being woken up by grown men screaming like they're being murdered at 5am? No, just no, thank you very much.

So yeah that was my morning, not the best way to start the day is it?

I didn't even realise Ruby liked heavy metal music, but at 5am I didn't care if she liked it or not she was turning the fucking thing off or she was putting headphones in. 

Throwing myself from my nice warm bed I ran towards my bedroom door, whipped it open and stormed along the hall to her room. I was glad that Keeley was staying at Harley's tonight otherwise I might have had a brawl on my hands.

Pushing Ruby's door open I used enough force to swing the door straight off it's hinges, inside the room Ruby was jumping around like a lunatic. Head banging, screaming with laughter, arms pummeling an imaginery boxing bag. 

I stood stock still and watched in horror for a few seconds before I came to my senses, stormed over towards her sound system and yanked the plug out. 

The room immediately went silent, my ears were ringing from the leftover percussions of the music. 

"Hey-" Ruby yelled and stopped mid-dance to see that her party had been broken up. 

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" I screamed, "It's 5AM!" 

"Is it?" Ruby giggled, "I just got in." she laughed manically and flung herself on the bed. 

My anxiety went up a notch as she giggled and babbled to the cushion on her bed. Worry gnawed at my stomach as I began to realise that Ruby was not acting like herself, that this could be more than an alochol related issue.

"Rubes," I said softly, trying a different tactic, I approached her slowly like she was a bomb and could go off at any moment. Gently lowering myself next to her I lay down so I could see her eyes, up close I could see the beads of sweat on her forehead and that her breathing was accelerated.

I also noticed that her pupils were practically covering her whole irises.

What I was seeing did nothing to calm or reassure me, Ruby had obviously taken something.

"Sweetie," I gently moved her sweaty hair away from her face, "what did you take?" I asked calmly but firmly. 

"Hmm, just a little pill. To make me stop being sad." She hummed happily, she lifted her hands and started rubbing the soft blanket covering her bed. 

My eyes shuttered closed as she confirmed my suspicions, taking a deep breath in I held it and exhaled through my nose. I knew what I had to do, this wasn't the first time this had happened, Ruby was haunted by a lot of demons. 

"Okay, up a daisy, let's go." I grabbed her hand and hoisted her off the bed, she protested and complained that she didn't want to leave because the bed was pretty and her friend would be left all alone. 

I had no idea what she'd taken or where she'd gotten it from but it seemed like it done the trick of making her 'happy'. 

Guiding Ruby towards my bedroom I switched the lights on as I pushed her toward my bathroom, I left her to stroke the towel as I turned the shower on, putting the pressure on the hardest one it would go to then turning the knob all the way left. To cold.