Chapter 76
Ruby had gone back to her room after Jaxon left. Her mind drifted to Jaxon but she brushed it off, wanting to go to sleep. Just then, she heard the heavy thud of footsteps outside.
She groaned not wanting to see Jaxon. She didn’t think he would come back so early and was surprised he had come to see her.
With a tired sigh, she dragged herself from the bed and shuffled towards the door that was half broken. It was still hanging on a loose screw.
She opened it, mentally preparing herself for whatever Jaxon wanted to say. Except Jaxon wasn’t there because he hadn’t come back yet.
Ruslan stood in front of her door, looking every bit the intimidating bodyguard he was.
“Is something wrong?” She mumbled as she stared up at him.
“No, nothing. I just wanted to bring you your shopping bags. I hadn’t been able to find the right moment to give them to you but this time seemed fitting.” He explained. That was when her eyes traveled to the multiple white coloured bags at Ruslan’s feet.
She had completely forgotten she had gone shopping because too much had happened in such a short amount of time.
The memory of the shopping itself wasn’t really a pleasant one. She had almost lost her life and someone close had gotten injured.
She wasn’t in the mood for anything, but regardless, she forced a smile then glanced again at the bags. Had she really bought that much?
“Thank you Ruslan, I appreciate it.” She told him sincerely. Ruslan’s lips twisted into a small smile and he dismissed her with a shake of his head.
“Ah, it’s nothing. Just doing what I gotta do.” He responded. She crouched down to gather the bags but Ruslan stopped her with an outstretched arm.
“Let me help you instead.” He suggested.
“Okay.” She didn’t argue with him but instead pushed the door wider and stepped back.
Ruslan didn’t waste time and gathered as many bags as he could in one go, depositing them at the side of her bed. He was able to carry the rest of the shopping bags on a second go.
“Thank you again Ruslan.” She muttered as he turned to face her. Ruslan stared at her for a moment. She wrung her hands suddenly feeling nervous and self conscious.
“Ruslan?” She called.
“How’s Lucas doing?” She asked. That question had been burning at the back of her mind for days. She had wanted to ask after him and see him to thank properly but she knew Jaxon would flip if he found out she had gone.
It would not end well, sometimes she felt his possessiveness was borderline annoying. She knew staying away would be the safest option for everybody.
“He’s doing okay. I’m sure that in a few weeks he will be back to his old self.” Ruslan told her and she nodded. She was glad he was doing okay and that made her feel less guilty.
It hadn’t been her fault that the shooting had occurred but she always remembered that if she hadn’t insisted on going, none of this would have happened.
“That’s good.” She told him.
“I hope I see him without a cast soon.”she added.
“He’s tough, I’m sure he’d make it happen.” Ruslan said with his usual straight face.
“He asked about you, you know.” He muttered and her eyes flew wide open.
“Really?” She chirped.
“Yeah, he wants to make sure you’re okay. You were extremely stressed when you saw him last.” Ruslan said. It touched her that even in his state, Lucas still wanted to check on her and know how she was feeling.
“So, are you okay?” His words were laced with worry as he asked.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You barely eat or talk and I’m worried.” He sighed. Ruby was the loud one but these days, there were barely any sights of her.
“Really sure, I’m fine.” She told him again. She wasn’t fine but she didn’t want to talk about anything and the last thing she wanted was for someone to pity her.
“Alright then, I’ll leave you alone.” Ruslan said to her then left her bedroom.
She glanced at the numerous bags on the ground and went over to check them out. She went through them, staring sadly at the things she had bought for Jaxon.
When she had bought it, she had been really happy and was excited to show them to him but everything went downhill with the shooting and everything else so she hadn’t gotten the chance.
She didn’t know when it happened but silent tears had started rolling down her cheeks. She crumbled to the floor and just let her tears fall.
Her mind suddenly wandered to her parents and she felt like her heart ripped out. She’d loved them. So much and they had left her to fend for herself. She missed them so much.
Goosebumps appeared on her skin as she shivered from the cold. She was only wearing a flimsy singlet with shorts but she couldn’t have been less bothered. Her mind was clouded with memories of her parents and that was all she could feel.
Just then, she had the feeling that someone was watching her. Her vision was blurred from her continuous crying but she turned around anyway and saw Jaxon peering down at her with worry.
“Go away, Jaxon.” She groaned as she looked away from him. He didn’t leave. He crouched down beside her and placed his thick coat around her shoulders to help keep her warm.
She didn’t look at him but stared hard at nothing in particular. She wiped her nose with the back of her hand mentally cursing herself for looking so pathetic in front of him.
She thought he would make a sarcastic remark and tell her to stand up. She even thought he might get angry and reprimand her since they hadn’t been seeing eye to eye as of late. But he didn’t do any of those.
He just crouched silently at her side. She was about to ask what he wanted when he wrapped his arms around her in a hug.