Twelve

Ruby

" So..." The cop seated in front of us dipped the lollipop into his mouth as he studied the pictures closely. "You are saying..." A pop sound followed and I ground my lips. "You are saying this is not you?"

"That's what I am saying."

"But this is your face," he stated the obvious and then looked up at Abby and I. "What exactly is the matter? Did someone leak your nudes? Did you send them to someone? You can tell me. I know teens do crazy things sometimes."

Too tired to raise my voice, I sighed, then gently replied, "I have never sent anyone my nudes and not for once have I uploaded a picture of myself on the internet."

"She doesn't even take normal pictures," Abby added to buttress my point.

" Exactly. This is clearly a case of cyberbullying."

"And who would want to bully you by uploading fake pictures of you?" Only one person came to mind. The man lowered his eyes and watched my expression closely. "You know who it is, don't you?"

"I have a guess." His brows arched as he waited for my response. "So uh... Bryan Lockwood found out I was the one that tipped you guys about what I saw and he uh... he sort of threatened me?"

"Threatened you..." The officer rested his elbows on the leather-covered desk and urged me to continue.

Feeling Abby's piercing gaze on my skin was one thing, recalling the moment Bryan caged me with his warning was another. And it occurred to me that I shouldn't have ignored the situation.

"Actually..." I gulped hard. "He thinks that because of what I did, he'll be going to jail soon. He was so angry at me and said I was going to be punished for what I did."

"He used the word punish?" I nodded and followed the man's movement as he picked up a notepad and jotted a few things down. With more seriousness etched on his face, he asked, "What else did he mention? Did he talk about Maddison's death?"

" Well..." I wore a frown as I remembered how he seemingly acknowledged that he killed her. "He might have given a hint that he did it. It wasn't so certain what he was trying to say. But if I am to interpret it my way, I would say he was indirectly telling me that he killed her."

A few more jots and the officer was looking my way again.

"You should have said something, Ruby," his firm voice advised.

I sighed. "I regret not taking him seriously."

"Hmm." His shirt flexed against his biceps. The man crossed his arms and sat back in his chair. As his dark eyes squinted as though he was calculating facts, I was trying hard to not look towards Abby's direction. The way her eyes bored into me was enough to assure me that keeping the Bryan situation from her is a topic that would definitely be addressed. "Ms. Powers, my team will look into this and while we are at it, we will ensure Lockwood doesn't get to harass you or pull stunts worse than this."

His head pointed at my phone on the desk which would reveal my supposed nudes if unlocked.

It's sadly funny now that I think of it. A girl who doesn't know what she looks like naked has her supposed nudes circulated around the school. How shitty.

"Can we leave now?" Abby asked, penetrating my scorning thoughts.

"Yes, please. Go back to your classes, we have everything under control."

He gave a nod as Abby and I got up and once we were past the door that served as a separation between the room and the corridor, Abby cleared her throat and I knew the time had come.

"So..." I was backing her but I could tell her arms were crossed. "Is Bryan Lockwood the reason you look like you want to audition for a zombie role?"

The corners of my mouth formed a dome shape. " I am sure I don't look so terrible," I said almost quietly.

"You certainly don't look like yourself." I heard her heavy steps approaching and soon, she was in front of me, her arms still crossed. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know." My face felt squeezed as I looked to the side. "I didn't see a reason to."

"Aren't we friends?"

"Of course, we are." Why would she ask such a question?

" Then why didn't you say anything? If you can't tell Jake and me the things that scare you as you tell us the things that make you happy, we really shouldn't be friends." That statement made me feel heavy inside. It is always hard for me to imagine life without my two friends.

"And for goodness sake..." Abby's hands flew into the air as she continued. " We are talking about Bryan Lockwood. The very guy we warned you about.  Now he is after you because..." A deep frown formed on her face and she failed to complete her words.

"Abby?" The look on her face scared me. She looked like someone who was about to get a seizure. "What is wrong?"

As her eyes dimmed, her legs moved slowly against the tiles and she asked, "Was Lockwood the reason you didn't attend your English class?" My eyes darted towards the floor. "I can't believe you kept this from us. What if something worse than uploading the nudes happened?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale. After the release, I felt slight relief but I also felt tired and a bit sleepy.

"Abby?"

"Yes?" She took a concerned step closer.

After smacking my lips hard, I said, "I need to go to the sick bay."

"Why?" She held my shoulders. "Do you feel sick? Have you eaten today?"

" Can you just take me there?" I asked and her phone beeped in response.

"It's time for my art class. I'll take you to the sickbay now. But I will check on you after my class, okay?" I nodded and accepted her arm which was willing to support me.

~

Thirty minutes passed and I was still staring at the white ceiling of the sickbay as if there were interesting constellations on it.

Sleep which found me while I was with Abby had departed from me the moment I lay on the bed. And the worst part, is I feel more tired.

As I closed my eyes for the umpteenth time in an attempt to cajole sleep, the entrance door slid open. And since the nurse had said she wouldn't be around until after an hour, I had to guess it was Abby.

"Abby?" I called out and reached for the curtain that kept me out of sight. "I'm here."

There was no response and my mind went straight to Bryan's warning. Without delay, I abandoned my intention to push the curtain aside.

What if it was him? I wondered and soon began to scour my immediate area for potential weapons I could use to disable him.

"Abby?" I called again and slowly sat up while stylishly reaching for an unused syringe in a basin next to my bed.

While trying to keep still as possible, I listened carefully and discovered that I could hear the footsteps of the person on the other side. So, I followed that lead and soon learnt that the steps were approaching my bed.

Readying myself for the attack, I gripped the end of the syringe hard and waited for the curtain to swing to the side.

The footsteps became louder and my heart could not help but pound more than it should. When the much-awaited curtain-swinging came, I noticed the masculine hand holding the curtain and in reaction, I raised my hand with the strength I had left.

I was more than ready to stab even the most discrete parts of the human body.

"Motherfu-" My arm stopped mid-air and the swear word also got stuck in my throat.

"What are you doing?" My eyes darted between the pointed item in my hand and the quizzing eye I almost punctured with the syringe. "Were you going to stab me with that?" Mr. English teacher asked and I relaxed my arm.

"Why were you so quiet? I thought you were an intruder."

"Yeah..." His eyes amusedly scanned my bed space. "Because this place happens to be your fortress." He pushed the curtain away and looked down at me interestingly, his eyes not failing to twinkle in a way that got my attention.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

My lips scrunched as I looked up at him. I couldn't afford to waste my energy by asking him why he was asking, so I said, "I need to sleep."

"Hmm." He wore that thinking face again and I must say, he actually looks cute while assuming that pose. I wonder what he looks like when he's doing other things.

Wait?

What? What am I thinking? Ugh!

The lack of sleep must be getting to me.

"I have the solution to your issue." He smiled at me before digging into his bag. As he brought out what seemed to be a juice pack, my interest was pricked. "This helps me when I have sleep issues."

A small pop sound followed as he punctured the top with the white straw attached.

When he extended the pack to me, I quickly wore suspicion on my face and he chuckled. Then, he pushed the juice towards me again.

While watching his face to check for any funny business, I collected the juice. And as the liquid hit my tongue and went down my system, I strangely felt calm.

Do sleep-inducing liquids work that fast?

"Uh... Mr...." I don't even know his name yet I collected an unknown juice from him.

I heard him take a step closer.

"Adonis. The name is Adonis."

My nose scrunched in amusement. His name is Adonis? How interesting.

"Wh-" I began to feel light and it felt as though I was floating in the air.

Does that even make sense?

Have I been drugged?

I was about to ask that question out loud when my eyes began to struggle to stay open. Soon, I was fully resting on the bed.

And I delved into a world of sleep I never knew existed.