Ulysses Paradox (a Will Lenney fanfiction.)

chapter thirteen

Will gave his name to the bouncer outside the door and introduced Ruby as his plus one. Ruby took her coat off again as they walked through the door and Will reached to take it from her without thinking.

"Here, I can keep this safe for you." He said.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Ruby replied. She let him take it and then she melted into the crowd and was gone.

Will stood there and found himself back in the space in his head that was filled with frustration and jealousy, and decided to go sit and another table and drink some more.

Several women were dancing together near the edge of the dance floor and Will held the neck of his beer bottle and tried to seem interested. The shorter one caught his eye and threw him a cheeky smile, and Will felt the muscles in his face tug the corners of his lips up, but it didn't feel like a real smile at all. She didn't seem to mind. After a few moments of whispering with her friends, she walked over.

"Hey, you're kind of cute," She told him. She was drunk and her eyes were shiny and he didn't really want to talk to her, but Ruby was nowhere in sight and he liked this attention.

Almost an hour had passed and Ruby hadn't seen Will anywhere. She'd gone back near the front door to try and find him, but he seemed to have gone off somewhere. Disappointed, Ruby circled back to Will's group of friends. They were kind and welcoming, and a woman named Becky had introduced herself early into the night and tried to keep her involved in the conversation and dancing, but Ruby felt embarrassed that they needed to make such obvious concessions for her. When conversation turned to some overarching drama that had happened in the past few years, Ruby saw the chance to excuse herself and headed to the bathroom.

The dark hallway smelled like stale beer and cigarettes, and several people were loitering near the bathroom doors. She pushed her way into the dimly lit women's restroom and found Will making out with someone she didn't recognize.

Ruby froze in the door, embarrassed to have walked in on anyone, and doubly so to know the person. He didn't seem to have noticed the door opening, but the woman he was kissing did and she startled and pulled herself away.

"Pardon me." Ruby said, and walked back out.

She had chosen to bring a small purse with her, and was grateful as she walked out the door of the club. The sky was still clear and her teeth chattered together as she scrolled through her phone and listened to the dial tone. Audre picked up.

"Hey lady," she was still chipper and awake, which made Ruby feel better. "What's up?"

Ruby stared down the road. She couldn't find words to fill her mouth.

"You there?" Audre asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here." She said. "I don't know. I just needed to get out of the club. I'm at a party."

"Okay, are you safe there? Are you with someone?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm alright. I'm with Will."

"Oh." Audre obviously didn't know how to comment and Ruby felt bad because she hadn't explained herself to anyone. Audre had never liked Jake. She was a kind, honest person.

"I saw him kissing a girl in the bathroom." Ruby said, as if that explained anything.

"Oh, that's just weird. I don't know him well enough to feel comfortable knowing he's a slag. Are you doing okay? Do you need a cab?"

"My coat is still inside." She thanks Audre for picking up and let her know she'd be alright. She had other friends there, she'd just been a little freaked out. After promising to text Audre on her way home, they hung up and Ruby leaned against the freezing brick wall of the club. The bouncer asked if she needed anything and she shook her head. He told her he would be right inside the door if she changed her mind. The door creaked open and let music flood into the street for a moment as he went inside, and someone else caught onto the door as it was closing.