Kim glanced at her phone for what felt like the thousandth time. She had invited Ruby for lunch and she didn’t know what was taking so long. Whether they went or not didn’t really matter to her, what mattered was that her plan went the way she wanted it to go.
Her stay at the house had been enjoyable so far but the only thing that pissed her off was that none of it was hers. The house, the cars, the man!
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. All in due time, she told herself. She would make sure of it. Ruby wouldn’t know what hit her and by the time she did, it would already be too late.
She had been lounging on the couch in the living room downstairs for over an hour but it was starting to feel like an eternity. Kim checked her phone again, and this time, she let out an audible sigh. What was taking so long anyway? They were just going for lunch, not some party, she grumbled internally.
She flicked open her phone and dialed Ruby’s number. There was no way she was going up to meet her.
“You’re taking a long time Ruby.” She told her as soon as she heard the click that Ruby had picked up.
“Oh, um, I’m coming downstairs in like ten minutes, promise,” Ruby mumbled and she rolled her eyes.
“Fine.” The line went dead and Kim resumed her waiting game. Just ten more minutes, she told herself. She busied herself with scrolling on her phone till then.
But when it passed fifteen minutes, she had lost all interest in her phone. She wanted to call Ruby again but refrained from it. She didn’t want to appear too pushy just in case since it was just lunch after all.
Kim was still thinking about what to do when she heard a shriek and a loud thud which were followed by Ruby’s wailing.
Finally! She was relieved. She was worried someone else would come downstairs and would slip and fall.
Ruby smiled triumphantly at the thought that everything was happening in her favor. In truth, she hadn’t cared to go to lunch with Ruby.
She had just done it to show that they wanted to have a sister bonding time and to use it as a medium to get Ruby to simply come down the stairs.
She hadn’t poured oil on it for nothing or for someone else to slip on it. And now, it seemed her plan had worked to the T because she heard Ruby’s loud sobbing from where she was.
She rushed to her feet and called out to Ruby.
“Ruby are you all right? I heard a loud thud.” She called out as she walked to the staircase area. It was time for her to play the affectionate sibling who would do anything for her sister.
“I- I’m not okay.” She heard Ruby’s answering whimper.
She got to the stair area and found Ruby at the bottom of the stairs with her leg facing an odd direction.
“Oh my God Ruby, how did this happen?!” She let out as she rushed to Ruby’s side with urgency.
“I fell, down the stairs… I slipped.” Ruby muttered as hot tears rushed down her cheeks. Her face was red and flushed from the pain and she had a hard time breathing properly.
“Where does it hurt?” Kim asked as she placed a ‘soothing’ arm on Ruby’s thigh.
“Um, my waist hurts bad… I fell on it. And my leg too.” She breathed out and Kim glanced down on the leg that was getting swollen quickly.
“I need to call someone to get help,” Kim said as she brought out her phone.
Just then, Ruslan came out from a corner as well and rushed to the both of them. His eyes were wide with worry as he stared at the scene before him. Ruby looked up at him with teary eyes and gritted through the pain.
“Ruslan…” She started to say but he shushed her and stepped closer.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” Kim spoke and Ruslan nodded. She turned her attention back to Ruby whose face had gone impossibly red.
“Can you move at all?” She whispered and Ruby shook her head.
“I don’t think I can walk, or move at all” She stopped and took a deep breath and Kim stretched her hand forward to rub her back.
“My waist and leg are hurting so bad,” Ruby said then shut her eyes tightly. Kim turned back to Ruslan who had stood quietly to watch them.
When she caught his eyes, he nodded and she stepped aside.
Ruslan’s eyes darted to the staircase and noticed it looked sleek, but he didn’t say anything. Maybe they had mopped it recently or something causing it to be slippery.
He gathered Ruby into his arms as gently as he could and began a steady pace to the door.
“I’m coming with you. I just want to make sure that she’s okay.” She told him. He glanced at her before he continued towards the door.
Kim followed behind them and that was when her smile came through. She was damn proud of herself. Who knew she was such an amazing actress?
“I just want to make sure that she’s okay” That was such a lie, she huffed. She honestly didn’t care what happened to Ruby.
She wanted her to be injured enough to not get in her way when it came to Jaxon.
They got in the car and Ruslan carefully placed Ruby in the back seat. Her leg still looked messed up and he was worried something might happen if he put her in front. Kim climbed in beside her and gave her a tearful look.
“It’s going to be okay, you hear,” Kim said then held Ruby’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. Ruby gave her a grateful look then she turned back to Ruslan. She mustered up the strength and said without a pause.
“Ruslan, please call Jaxon.”