Eli's P.O.V
She leaves after half of the movie, saying she has to get ready for school. I hope she doesn't get bullied.
Ruby's P.O.V
After leaving, I go downstairs for breakfast. I just have to wait for my mother to be home before the plan actually starts. The cameras in place, mostly everything is sorta going fine right now. Time for school.
~lunch time at school~
I hide myself in my hoodie and start walking to the bathroom. I stare at the ground as I walk, not noticing Broden Lepzer walking straight towards me. He grabs my hood and throws it so it dangles behind me, I am no longer in hiding. He puts his giant hand on top of my head, gripping my -at the moment- extremely frizzy hair. He starts pulling me towards the janitor's closet and I gasp and struggle, trying to get him to let go. He doesn't budge.
He opens up the door and throws me in. He walks in before closing the door. What did I do to this guy? Through the slits in the door bringing small amounts of light into the room, I can see him smirk mischievously. He balls his fist at his side and swings it at my face. I somehow dodge it, and he gets angry. He swings his fist again but at my temple this time. He doesn't miss. I'm too scared to scream.
Once I'm laying down on my side, he kicks me in the stomach and leaves me there to cough. I sober up, and sit up into my original position. I glare at him. He turns his eyes towards me and smirks again. I'm still trying my hardest to hide my fear. He reaches into the back pocket of his jeans and pulls out a small navy blue pocketknife.
I open my mouth to scream but he quickly covers my mouth with his hand and pulls a scarf -that I failed to notice- out of his sweatshirt pocket. I try pushing him away, but it's useless. He quickly ties the scarf around my mouth and grabs a zip-tie out of his front jeans pocket before grabbing my wrists in a quick motion and pulling so tight that it hurts.
I start feeling hot tears start bubbling at the corners of my eyes but I refuse to let them fall. I try squirming away from him but end up backing into a corner. I'm such an idiot.
He opens up the pocketknife and starts slowly walking towards me with it clutched tightly in his hand. I keep trying to squirm away, and attempt kicking him but fail miserably.
He puts his hand (that isn't holding the knife) on my left shoulder and spins me around so that I can no longer see his dark outline. I'm shaking by now.
Then I feel it. A sharp pain in my back. I feel him sliding the blade down, cutting along the way, and start feeling the blood drip slowly down my back. I can't do anything about this. I start seeing more and more black adding to the pitch darkness of this room. I end up not seeing anything.
🌼🌼🌼
I wake up in a dark room. My back still races with pain, but I don't feel any other presence. I immediately remember what happened and try scooting over to the door. I stop every five inches because of the pain but eventually make it to the door. I look to my right and see a puddle of blood where I used to lay.
I start kicking at the door with as much force as I can muster and try screaming through the scarf that sits over top of my mouth. I scream for help as loud as I can. It takes a minute of me kicking and screaming for someone to finally hear it. They open the door up quickly and I look at them pleadingly. It's a guy. He looks to be maybe a freshman and he still didn't hit his growth spurt yet.
His eyes widen before he says, "Be right back." He runs off to get a teacher and I wait as I try getting used to the pain currently soaring through my back. It feels like he put a large 'L' shaped cut in my back probably for Lepzer -his last name.
The guy finally makes it back a minute later with a teacher that I recognize as my 10th grade math teacher. His eyes widen also and he tells the freshman to go into his classroom and call the nurse, apparently not noticing that I'm actually bleeding, a lot.
My old math teacher unties the scarf that was around my mouth, "What happened to you?" He asks. My hands are currently zip-tied in front of me and I motion to him with my tied hands. "Oh yeah." He says. Turning his head to his classroom, he says, "Jackson, get me a pair of scissors too please."
Well now I know that the kid who possibly saved my life is a 10th grader named Jackson. Good to know. "Y-you r-remember Broden Lepzer?" I shakily ask him. He nods. "This was him. A-and I really w-wish that nurse would hurry c-cause my back is dying."
He stands up, "What happened to your-" he pauses. He stares at my back with wide eyes. By now the back is cut so that Broden could get a clear view when he went to cut me and the cut is still bleeding -I think.
🌼🌼🌼
I'm now in a hospital bed. Jackson came back and got the scissors and my old math teach cut my hands free. Then the nurse came and called 9-1-1 for me so an ambulance came and took me to the hospital. I am informed that my dad should be here soon. I told them not to call my mother. The nurse told me I could leave with my dad when he arrives. They already patched up my back and gave me a brace so that I can walk without failing to stand and walk straight.
My dad arrives around five minutes later. "Ruby?" He says, peeking around the door as he opens it. "How are you doing honey? Ready to go?"
I nod. "I'm fine dad. We can go now." I say to him. I get up and leave with him.
🌼🌼🌼
We got home now. I currently have my back brace on (with cushioning) so that I don't possibly just collapse on the ground as I walk. "Hey dad?" I ask him as we walk up to the front door.
"Yeah?" He answers me.
"Can you call the school and ask if they expelled Broden Lepzer yet?" I ask. Why wouldn't they expell him? I'm going crazy.
"Sure." He says before unlocking the door and walking in.
"I'm gonna go work on a school project." I say. "Text me if you need me." I then walk off to my room, shut and lock the door, then prepare to tell Eli about what happened today. "Eli. Eli, are you there?" I ask the mirror. To anyone else, I must sound like a literal psycho.
The mirror changes. But Eli isn't sitting on the couch looking at me like normal. He's laying on the floor unconscious. I leap through the mirror and kneel beside him. Shaking his shoulder, I say, "Eli, wake up. Please." I check his pulse. I feel nothing. I know he had a pulse before when I would sit with him and watch movies. I felt his heart beating. Why would someone who is dead have a pulse? And why don't I feel it now? "What do I do." I say, my voice getting weaker as my question sounds more like a statement. "I know what I must do." I say. I sprint out of the mirror, and get my door open as quick as I can.
I sprint again down the stairs and race to the kitchen. My dad is sitting by the counter. "Dad. Follow me, quickly, hurry." I say, grabbing him by the wrist. I run up the stairs with him trailing behind. I push the door open and put one foot through the mirror. "Come on. Quick." I plead. I step through and he follows.
His eyes widen. He looks at me before stepping through the mirror going over to Eli and flipping him over so that he's laying on his back. He starts giving Eli CPR. He took classes on this kind of thing. "Dad. I'll explain everything once he starts breathing again. Trust me." I say. I now have tears slowly falling from the corners of my eyes. I go closer. "Come on, you got this. You gotta wake up. I can't live without you. Dead or alive. Please." I whisper. Thankfully my dad doesn't hear me. "Dad, you can't call 9-1-1. It doesn't work here. I didn't know what else to do."
It must be a miracle because I hear coughing from near my dad. He's breathing. I rush over to him and sit him up and hug him with all my might as my dad backs away. "Thank you for breathing again." I whisper in his ear. "I'll be right back. I got my dad to give you CPR. I gotta explain this to him. Then you are explaining." I turn my head and motion for my dad to leave and mouth 'be right there'. He leaves and I place a tender kiss on Eli's cheek before helping him onto the couch. "I'll be back. Promise." I say quickly before backing away slowly.
I turn around and walk back through the mirror. I look at my dad, "living room." I say. "He can still hear us. Not even that it matters. But yeah." I say, lightly pushing him out the door. We walk down the stairs and sit on the couch. "No. I don't think that he's actually still alive. But that mirror takes me to him. I'm sure it's real. So thank you. I usually just hang with him and watch movies. There's an endless amount in the movie case dad. It's amazing. And awesome food too. So what do you think?" I say. I find myself nervous for his answer.
"I think it's amazing that you can interact with him by going through a mirror. No, I'm not gonna tell anyone. That could lead to chaos. I'm gonna keep letting you go there because it makes you feel safe and I trust him." He says. I smile. Yay. He's letting me keep doing this!
"I knew I could always count on you dad." I say. "Can I go back right now? He has some explaining to do." I ask and he nods. I hug him, "love you, daddy." I say and get off the couch to go back upstairs. "Please text me when mom gets home just for a heads up. I can't let her know too." I say and walk upstairs. I walk into my room and shut and I lock it. I go back to the mirror and walk right through. "I'm back." I say, smiling. "I feel like my dad needed to know. What about you?"
He looks up at me. "I trust your dad. He obviously let you back up to me. So yeah I think it needed done." He says coolly. He's hiding something.
"So. Explaining time. I also have explaining to do. But you are doing it first." I state.
He raises his eyebrows at me, then starts talking, "I was walking back to the couch to watch a movie after looking at the sky, and I felt really dizzy, then just collapsed. That's all I remember. Honest." He says. I feel like he's leaving something out, but push it away.
"Okay my turn." I say. I walk over to him. "Why do you think I'm home from school a bit early?" I ask.
"Did you get sick?" He asks confusingly.
"I'll be right back." I say. I walk back through the mirror and out of his sight before sitting on the corner of my bed and taking the back brace off. Hopefully I don't fall over on my way back to him. I sit it on my bed before standing up slowly, making sure I can stand before slowly making my way back through the mirror and over to Eli. He looks at me weirdly. I stand in front of him and turn around so that he's looking at my back. "Lift up the back of my shirt." I say. "Trust me." I feel the back feeling lifted slowly. I feel the bottom of the cut getting colder indicating that he can see part of it now.
The back is my shirt is now up so that the cut is fully in view now. I feel him staring at it. He sets the back of my shirt back at my waist and I carefully turn around but start to collapse. My back isn't able to hold my upper half up anymore so I start falling. Waiting for the impact of the floor, I don't ever feel it. I open my eyes to see him holding me up by waist and I smile. "What happened to you?" He asks worry tracing his words.
"It was Mr. Broden Lepzer. He came back for no reason. Locked me in a closet, and used his pocketknife on my back. Nothing much." I say.
It's his turn to smile. "Oh how I love my brave girl." He says, his smile getting larger as he wraps his arms around my upper back, making sure not to touch the cut. I then wrap my arms around his waist, and rest my head on his chest. Butterflies explode from inside of me.
Eli's P.O.V
I smile at her, but fail to stay away from a single small thought.
I could still lose her before she could lose me.
Ruby's P.O.V
We are now sitting on the couch turning a movie on when my phone pings. I pick it up and look at what's going on. It's a text from dad.
Dad: Your mother just got home. Her car just pulled in.
Me: I'll be on my playing on my phone
I frown at the thought of leaving Eli alone. What if he goes unconscious again? I turn to him. "I gotta go. My mother is home and the plan is now set into action." He frowns and I pull him into a hug. "Yes I'm going to school tomorrow. But don't worry about me, I'm 99% sure Broden has gotten expelled. I'll be okay." I say. I then pull away and stand up. "See you tomorrow?" I ask. He nods. "Bye. I love you."
"Bye. Love you too" he says back.
I turn around and walk out of the mirror to unlock the door to my room. I then sit on my bed and play on my phone, waiting for something eventful to happen.
Ruby's mom's P.O.V
Today at work was not great. Especially cause I didn't even go to work. I went over to my boyfriend's house and we were just hanging out after we went to the store and bought some food and beverages.
I get out of my car and sling my purse over my shoulder, then put on a stern face to hide up what I was doing earlier. I then slide the key into the key hole, and unlock and open the door. I see my husband sitting on a stool in the kitchen, and I imagine Ruby is in her room doing whatever a 17 year old does these days. Who even knows. I'll deal with her later.
I take in this house for once. Small, not my style. I gotta get out of here soon. My boyfriend has been asking to see my house for a while now. If they found out who knows what would happen.
Looking around, I spot something weird in between a vase and a picture frame (with no picture). I then realize that it's a camera. I set my purse down on the couch and try acting natural.
Ruby's P.O.V
I come back out -thankfully not falling- and put my back brace back on. I sit there on my bed and play on my phone for what feels like forever but it's only been fifteen minutes. I am just tapping the screen while the phone sleeps so it looks like I'm doing something. That's when I notice my reflection in it. I start feeling flaws forming in my mind that I haven't realized before.
I turn it on and open camera. I start touching what is believed to be major flaws on my face. My bottom lip is too big, my hair isn't normal, it's parted through the middle and it makes me look like a 40 year old guitar player for a rock band. My eyes are so dark of a blue that it almost looks black. Then the tip of my nose curves up too much and my cheekbones aren't even noticeable.
I end up turning my phone off and looking at the ceiling. I realize I haven't talked to Eli's family in a while. He has a younger sister, Tera, and his parents are kind. I decide that I can't talk to them because I might slip something about the mirror. That wouldn't be very safe. The mirror is supposed to be mine. My dad is the only one allowed to know.
I stare at the ceiling for a little while before I hear my dad, "Ruby, dinner's done!" He yells up to me.
"I'll be down gimme a second." I yell back. I throw my hair up in a messy bun and put a fluffy sweater on over top of my T-shirt to cover my back brace. I frown at my reflection in the mirror but decide to go downstairs anyway. Making my way downstairs, I realize that the plan is set. Good luck me.
I walk into the kitchen and my mother smiles at me. -wait what.- and says, "Hey, honey, how was your day?"
-what the-
"Um, it was fine. And yours?" I say, going along with it.
"Wonderful. Work was okay but that's alright. It's work. How about tomorrow night you and your dad settle on something for dinner? Whatever you feel like." She says, still smiling.
I look at my dad and he shrugs. "Okay, um, sure." I say. *mentally tries waking self up with pillow*
What the flip is wrong with my mother?