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( 11 一 EAST RIVER. )
Ruby had woken right as the boys argument about keeping Betty reached its peak. Unfortunately, she had thought they were talking about her and she started marching right towards Clara, intent on dragging her away before anyone got hurt.
Ruby's hand had just wrapped around Clara's arm when Liam started talking. "Hey, hey, hey. We said the same thing to Clara. We still want you. We wanted you yesterday, we want you today and we'll want you tomorrow," Liam said. Clara smiled at that, quite touched by his words. Apparently, it had touched Ruby as well because she promptly burst into tears.
Both the boys turned to Clara, having no clue what to do. "Fucks sake,' She grumbled.
"Hey Rubes, it's okay. Everything is fine," Clara said in soothing tones while brushing the hair out of her face, careful to avoid the fresh stitches. Eventually Ruby's breathing slowed and the tears stopped.
"Ruby, I just need to talk with you for a second," Clara said, pulling Ruby away from the boys to have some privacy.
"What is it?" Ruby asked.
"I can't erase Lady Jane's memories and only manipulating them isn't reliable enough. You need to be the one to do it," Clara explained. Ruby looked at her alarmed.
"Clara I can't control it, I won't be able to," she said frantically.
"I'll be there the whole time, I'll coach you through it I promise. But Ruby, we need to do this, there's no other option," Clara told her. Ruby nodded, understanding that unless they wanted to do something beyond extreme, Ruby would have to step up.
"Okay, I can do it."
❊❊❊
It took just over five minutes for Clara to coach Ruby through compelling both Lady Jane and her companion. Ruby sent them off walking into the forest, most likely never to be heard from again.
Everyone piled into Betty one last time as Liam drove them as close to Lake Prince as possible. Eventually, as more cars started appearing on the highway Liam had to turn off.
All the bags were packed, all that was left to do was build up the courage to leave. Betty had been the closest thing to a home they'd had all had in a long time. It was painful to say goodbye to her.
At one point Zu ran off into the surrounding woods, Liam running after her, telling her it would all be alright. She soon returned, once hand gripping Liam and the other holding a bundle of yellow flowers. She carefully placed them under the windscreen wipers before walking over to Clara. Clara lifted her arm, tucking Zu safely into her side.
"Come on guys," Liam said, taking the first steps towards Lake Prince.
