Little Red

Ruby

She strikes me across my face, making me stumble back in the small room. The LEDs were red, lighting the area. I held my cheek as I looked at my grandma. The woman had curls in her silver hair as she stood in front of me. She flipped the switch of my main light, making me get a better look at her and my room that was covered in posters and drawings.

Sinking my teeth into my lip, I stood in front of her. The same thing over and over again. "What did I do this time," I hissed, holding back all my anger. "What did you do? What didn't you do!?" She snapped, looking ready to lung at me at any moment. She was ready, more than ready to 'put me in my place'.

"I get a call from the school, and I'm told that a boy was sent to the hospital for a broken nose." 𝐻𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑛𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒. "He cornered me in the hallway and tried to assault me!" I shot back, my voice rising just a bit. Her face, if it wasn't red before, it was as red as my lights now. She pulled her hand back again and hit me on the other side of my face. I faltered a little bit, but other that I was fine and still standing.

"That's not what the school told me." She moved closer to me, forcing me to back away. My heart pound in my body. The feeling was so intense, I thought my heart would burst in my chest. "They say he asked for a pencil, and you just punched him and then threatened to do the same to his friends."

𝑂ℎ, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑡! I held my tongue as I let her shout at me. What really happened was this, I was getting my stuff from my locker at the end of the school day. The boys of the football team corned me. The leader of the group pinned me to the locker and tried to kiss me. Key word is tried. I was able to pull my hand out and decked him in his face.

Dick head was a bloody nose mess with tears in his eyes. Imagine that, getting ready to force yourself onto someone who was shorter than you and they just deck you in the face. And this wasn't the first time I messed with them, they know how I am, they're just stupid enough to fucking think I'm playing hard to get.

"And even if what you say is true," 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠. "You probably liked it." I stare at her, frozen by what she said. 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡? 𝐿𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑡! 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝐼 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡!? 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡? Her glare was hard, she was ready to slap me again. "Your just like your mother. A whore that'll open her legs for anyone."

"Don't you fucking-" I was cut off as she slapped me one last time. This one was a bit stronger then the last two. I bumped into my desk, art supplies rolled onto the floor, I was holding tears back. The last thing this bitch needed to see was me crying, having the satisfaction of knowing her words hurt me wasn't something she was going to get.

I looked down, my eyes zoning in on the sneakers I wore today. "She wasn't a whore. She never was. You know that." She scoffed, not even bothering to even sound apologetic. But why would she, she never did before, why would she now. "Ha, as if she wasn't. Your father says that she wasn't but I know the truth. And she was, the only reason why she got with your father was because of you." She hissed out the last part, as if it was difficult to acknowledge me.

I hear her footsteps move to my bedroom door. "You stay in here for the rest of the day. If I see you out of this room, I'll lock you out of my house." With that, my bedroom door slams shut. A chocking sob racks out of me, but I quickly cover my mouth.

𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑟𝑦, 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑦 𝑅𝑢𝑏𝑦. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐷𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑐𝑟𝑦.

I scolded myself as I took deep breaths, blinking back unshed tears. My cheeks stung, one side more than the other.

Slowly, I lowered myself to the carpet floor. Clenching the fibers in my free hand. This was just what I needed, a crazy woman yelling at me for no reason and a damn cry fest.

I bite into my lip hard, trying to distract my brain from the sadness and angry to the pain I was creating for myself.

Slowly, I stopped feeling the tears prickle in the back of my eyes. So, I stand and wipe my face. Black massacre and eyeshadow were on the back of my hand. I sighed, looking up to my ceiling. The mirror was right beside me, I didn't have to look to see what I looked like. Make up smudged, cheeks red and puff from almost crying and getting slapped 3 times.

"It's never a dull day in this house," I hissed to myself under my breath. My eyes go to the bag that was slumped in front of the closet. I had thrown it there when I walked past the doorway of my room.

Making my way over to the bag, I tossed it over my shoulder. There was no way I was staying in this house a second longer. I had homework but other then that, there was nothing for me to do. It was either stay here or go out into the woods.

With my phone in my pocket, school bag on my shoulder, and headphones around my neck, lifted my window up and popped the screen out. My bag went first then myself. I landed in the unkept bushes, the dried sharp twigs pricked and poked my skin through my jeans and hoodie. Rolling over, I landed on the ground, the earth in my nose.

Dusting myself off, I take my bag and head out into the thick woods of her property.

Walking, the sun was close to setting, the last of summer being shown in the bright fiery ball in the sky and the heat it made. I thought that nature would calm me, but it just seemed to make it worse.

I fished for my phone, my notifications were full of game reminders and Instagram notifications, but not a single thing from a friend or family member. Funny because the only family I had was in the house I just left and the other was all the way across the country busy with work.

I went to my messages to find the group chat I made with my friends, I hope that they texted me and I just didn't see it.

I looked at the chat that had 5 other people in it and the last time it was used was in the summer, once. Cherry, my bestie, asked us if we were still coming to her house for the BBQ her dad was making. I was happy to have been asked and felt welcomed to be included. I know the other don't like me for how I dresses but Cherry wanted me there anyways. So, I went.

I wasn't going to miss out on the free food, and I really liked her dog. It's cute in a big scary way. Getting off the chat, I went to my music and played the last thing that was on. The muffs on the device soon covered my ears and I was alone with my thoughts, music, and feelings.

I walked; the branches snapped under my feet and small rocks pushed into the sole of my shoe.

Some light pushed through the branches, lighting my way as forest seemed to get thicker and darker as I made my way in.

They twisted and turned, getting bigger and the bark was thick and rough. Like gashes were forming how much they've grown in size. It was like their own skin was struggling to take the growth. It was funny because I felt the same way.

You'll always outgrow something. Shoes, clothes, people, or yourself. Something will struggle to control you, but I wasn't like that. Nothing was struggling to control me, everything was in control. My clothes, shoes, Grandma, my friends, the school. They were in control more then I was.

I shake my head, not wanting to go down that rabbit hole again. I looked around the area of where I stood and recognized it. I looked at the black ribbon that sat on a nail in the trunk of a tree. A smile tugged at my lips as I moved closer to the base of it. Squatting down, I moved the leaves and sticks. I sat my stuff down then myself. My body ached as I finally relaxed on the tree.

𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ.

I rested my head on the wood and just stopped. Nothing of my body moved, it was as if nature put a spell on me. I let the warm weather heat my bones. It was the only warmth I've gotten since school. I wiped my face, probably smudging more of my already ruined makeup. 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑'𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑝 𝑜𝑓𝑓. 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝐼 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑜𝑢𝑡. Pulling my legs up, my eyes slowly got heavy. The stress of the week was taking a toll on my body and that fight just took out the rest of the juice I had left.

My lids grew heavy; I struggled to keep them open. And I still had some homework to do, which is annoying since it's only the first week of school. I cracked my eye open and looked at the bag at my side, resting on the tree. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝐹𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑤. Sighing, I accepted my faith and let my eyes close, it would be a little bit of rest if not much.

↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ

The sounds of the owls wooing in the air stir me awake. The air was still warm but not burning like it was this afternoon. It was a little cool in the night air. My body ached as I pushed myself up from the mossy area. I must have fallen over in my slumber. I moved my hand over the area looking for my headphones. They probably fell off in my sleep. It was a little hard to see in the pitch dark, but it was fine. It took some time, but I finally found them again. They were beside my bag.

I put them around my neck and threw my bag over my shoulder. With all my things gathered, I start off in the direction of where I came from, I think. Some of the light from the moon lit the way, just a little. It was enough to keep me from fumbling over myself like a fool.

Taking turns and twists, I seemed to fall deeper into the forest then out. Maybe I was going the wrong way or maybe it was the right one. I didn't think too hard about it and just kept moving. It was nice out and nothing was bound to happen. The worst thing to happen is like.... stumble upon a murder. I snorted, laughing at the idea. A murder? As if something like that would happen. Not in this little nowhere town.

Trying to hold back my laughter, I see light bounce off the trees and grass. I stopped in my tracks as I heard movement. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑔? I shrugged and made my way to it. It might be college students or maybe a family? Maybe I could ask them which direction they came from, or I hitch a ride back to grandmas. I would call someone, but the signal out here was really trashy.

As I got to the edge of the tree line of where the light was, I stopped in my tracks, dread filled my body, as I covered my mouth.

2 people dressed in black: hoodie, pants, and shoes. One of them was taller than the other, that one was holding a lantern, casting an orange light, their back were to me. The other had a gun, pointing at a woman. She was on her knees complete naked. I was too far from them to really make out what was on her, but there was multiply cuts along her skin. Deep and long, all very noticeable and scabbed over. I hoped that I had walked on to a private shooting set and not what it really was.

Very carefully, I stepped closer to see them a bit better in the light. Her mouth was stuffed with a cloth and her eyes covered. Her hands behind her back, but I had a feeling they weren't there willingly. I watched feeling helpless to do anything. My feet were rooted to the ground, making me feel like a tree. But instead of strong and beautiful, all I felt was fear and sickness.

𝐼 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦'𝑟𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒. The one that had a gun pressed it to her head. She whimpers loudly at the contact. Her hair was matted and uneven as if someone used a knife or a pair of scissors to her hair. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑖𝑡'𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑦 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑤𝑖𝑔..... 𝐴 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑤𝑖𝑔..

She started to sob and shake her head slowly; her face was going red from how hard she was crying. The man that had a gun to her head was probably saying somethings to her, asking her things. The more he spoke, the harder she shook. It wasn't just her head; it was her whole body. It wasn't because of the weather, it's still hot out here. I was sweating through my clothes.

She was shaking cause of one of two options. She was a really good actor, and this wasn't a freaky party but a scene for a movie or something or, and I'm really hoping it's the first reason. That the guy was holding a real gun, she was in real danger, that was real blood and they, these people in all black, were real murders. My heart was pounding as my breathing went ragged. No matter how hard I breathed, how much air I was taking in, it wasn't staying. It was just there, and it wasn't doing anything to help me. If it wasn't for the tree I was leaning on, I would've buckled under the weight of my body. 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑅𝑢𝑏𝑦. 𝐼𝑡'𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔. My brain screamed to look away, but my body didn't obey. It was too... intriguing to look away from.

The man moved his hand and cocked the gun, she screamed behind the cloth. "Shut up, bitch!" The one with the gun snapped, tired of her whining. The light shifted quickly and the one with the lantern had moved closer to him. All he did was look at him, maybe, and that was enough to calm him down.

I moved a little closer, trying to get a look of their face. Just a small, tiny look. but the world had other plans, a branch snapped under my foot, making their head snap my way. The girl even zoned in on the sound in my direction. She screamed behind the cloth; the muffled sobs of 'help' was so loud. Too loud.

The one with the gun had a weird black and white mask. The right side was black, left was white. There was a smile and a set of eyes. On the black side the eye and the smile were white. The other side was black. The other one was a skull with a gold matt finish. I could see what they looked like now that I was closer, I could tell the skull was taller than smiles. A few inches or so. "Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me!" Smiles said before pressing the shiny weapon on the side of the poor girl's head. My eyes went wide, realizing what the person was going to do.

I also realized more than one thing. My little idea about this being a scene was idiotic and dumb. If this was a shot for a movie, there would be news about it all over town. Everyone would be talking about it, hell, people would be here to get a look of it. If this was a set, someone would have yelled 'cut' if they noticed me on set. Hell, they would've said something for the fact that, the line that was just said wasn't in the script. I wasn't in the script.

I stepped out form the trees, dropping my bag. "Wait!" I lunged forward and trying to stop what was happening. And in my head, I wasn't convinced that it was a real murder. They were actors. It was all a set.

A gun shot rang out and the girl was on the ground.... dead. I held my breathe. I looked at the girl and waited. Even though I knew the truth, the actual truth. My mind screamed that it was an act. She wasn't really dead. That the blood was fake, and the gun was fake. The sound was fake. It was all an act.

The man looked back and nudged her and laughed. Not a chuckle or a giggle. But a full-blown laugh. Like this, a girl dead on the ground, was funny, downright fucking hilarious. "You got her blood on me." When the one holding the lantern said that my brain finally let it all click.

𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑...... 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑..... 𝐷𝐸𝐴𝐷! 𝑺𝑯𝑬'𝑺 𝑭𝑼𝑪𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑫𝑬𝑨𝑫!

I covered my mouth as I tried to keep from hurling. The one that just shot her, bent over her corpse and took off the gag and blindfold off her eyes. I was happy that I was far away because if I saw her eyes, the lifeless look in them, I would have broken.

They grabbed her arm and dragged her like a rag doll to a makeshift grave behind them. I don't know how I didn't notice, but I do now, and he just dropped her in there. I could've sworn I heard something break.

Smiles looked at me after dropping her and made his way over to me. Every single alarm went off and, finally after an eternity, my feet unrooted from the ground and moved back the way I came. I left my bag and ran. Ran as fast as my legs could take me.

I could hear it, the sounds of footsteps behind, gaining on me as I ran longer and longer. Faster and faster. My heart beating in my chest, as if it was going to explode at any second.

𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑'𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝐼 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠.

Branches hit my sides and sometimes my face. My sides hurt and I felt like throwing up. Every single thing that's happening was like a nightmare, a horrible one. But the fucked part is, I wasn't going to wake up in my bed. I wouldn't be surrounded by my drawings on my cork board, posters on my walls and LED lights at the top of the walls that glowed red. I wouldn't be yelled at to shut up. I wouldn't be forced to rush and get to the bus stop.

This was real.

I really saw a girl be in trouble. I really saw her get killed. I really saw her be dragged in a grave like a doll. I really saw someone laugh at her dead lifeless body. I really saw.... a murder happened in front of me.

Wet salty tears flowed as I realized that I was next. I was really next, and I would end up like that girl. In a ditch in the forest for some stupid teens to find me and freak out about it. In this quiet, nowhere town. And fucked up part is.... It'll take years for someone to find me because I know that no one would care.

Just as that realization came to life, my phone rang. It was like a beacon to me as I reached inside my hoodie pocket and looked at the caller ID. Cherry. It was Cherry calling me. How could I forget, someone did care and that was Cherry. She would help me.

I answered the call and just like that, I was tackled to the ground. "No!" I screamed, hoping that would tell her I was in distress as my phone was knocked out of my hand. I flipped over and looked at the masked monster. They were heavy and sat on top of me.

"Let me go!" I shouted, he shook his head slowly, with a small laugh. He pulled the gun out and cocked it. He placed the barrel between my eyes, a whimper rolled off my throat. Tears streaming down my face.

"Ruby?" A voice said from my phone, making Smiles look over at it. He cocked his head to the side, then liked back at me. "You wanted to phone a friend, little one," they said with a bit of an accent. They're voice light and warm but made me break out in a cold sweat. He hummed; he pinned each hand under each one of his knees. I tried to pull them out, but he dug them into the ground. "Sorry, can't have you trying to fight me. This here," he nodded to the gun. "Is loaded baby. I don't want to blow your pretty little brains out," he tiled his head. "Yet." He added, making me sob. He put his pointer finger to the lips on his mask, a light little 'shh' came out.

With his free hand, he put my phone on speaker, "Since you made the call, how about you beg for your friends help. See what kind of people they are," he whispered, a chill going down my spine. It was like he was daring me to do it. To call out for help. To plead for them to help me. Most people, I wouldn't have called, let alone asked for help. But Cherry, my best friend, called me. And I knew she could help me.

"Cherry!" I sobbed uncontrollably. "Cherry help me, please! A man is on top of me and he has a gun to my head! Please call the police!" I begged her from on the phone as this man chuckled softly and Cherry said nothing.

She said nothing. She wasn't speaking, breathing, nothing.

Then she said, "So?" Her sweet cheerful voice was filled with annoyance. As if she didn't want to speak to me. I just told her, no, sobbed that I was in danger at this very moment and all she has is 'so'. "Listen, Ruby. I get that you like those horror movies and serial killer documentaries, but this is a little much for a joke and right now, I need to have an important talk with you."

My body went limp as I heard this. A joke. Me sobbing was a joke. Me saying that I was being held down with a gun to my head was a joke. And me saying to get the police was a joke?

"Me and the others have been talking and, well...." She dragged out the 'well' making it sound obnoxious and mean. Like something like stereotypical mean girls do. "We don't want hangout with you anymore. You see, this is the last year of high school, and I'm tired of being the 'best friend' of the school's freak so, to save myself the embarrassment. We're cutting you off. But hey! You invited to my birthday party. Bring me something nice, you known. I'm really tired of all those drawings you give me." And with that, she hung up.

She hung up on me, saying that she didn't want to be my friend anymore. And I'm here, with a man holding back laughter with a gun to my head. What the actual fuck....

"Damn! That's sad!" He barks out, a laugh in his voice. "I almost feel bad for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cloth. "Almost." He placed it to my mouth and nose. I knew what it was, it was obvious. But did I care, not really. I didn't really care if they did kill me. What's the point in stopping them and hoping for something better.

"How about you take a big whiff of this, little one. All your problems will go away." 𝐺𝑜 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦? 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚? 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑒. 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡. I took a deep breath, and I was blacking out already.

𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦, 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡.