Ransom Drysdale: Manipulation

A Monster, Just Like You

The next morning Hermione woke up to nothing. Ransom wasn't in his room with her, or in the bathroom, so she searched the house, nobody was there. She called him, but there was no answer.

After yesterdays events she didn't want to take any chances. She called again, and again. Still no answer. She couldn't go anywhere because she didn't have her car. She didn't know what to do.

She tried to keep her mind off of it by watching a movie but it didn't work, so she organized his room. And when she was done with that she went to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Hours had past and she was officially going crazy. She decided not to call Ransom anymore after the first ten calls, if he didn't answer those, he wouldn't answer any. She sent a few texts and put her phone down.

Hermione laid back in bed staring at the ceiling waiting for Ransom to come back. The door is finally opened. Ransom walks in and Hermione Jumps out of bed.

"Ransom where the hell were you!?" He puts his phone on his charger and sets his keys on his dresser and steps towards her reaching for her hand but she pulls it away.

"You didn't answer your phone, I was worried. You didn't text me or leave a note, you can't do that."

"I went to see my therapist, you don't wake up this early, I thought I'd be back, my phone died and I didn't have my charger. But I'm back." He reaches for her hand again, but again, she pulls away.

"Hermione what is wrong?" She crosses her arms, tears start too well in her eyes and she shakes her head, trying to shake them away. "You should have told me, I was scared. I didn't know where you were."

Ransom realizes Hermione's fear is more about yesterday than it was about today. If yesterday wouldn't have happened she would've gone right back to sleep, but today, after being kidnapped and Ransom seeming to have disappeared, she was once again terrified.

"Hermione, I am okay." He forces her into a hug and kisses her forehead stroking her hair. "I am fine, you are fine. We will be okay. I know it's not for everyone, and my shrink won't be able to take you because you're my girlfriend but I can get him to find someone you can talk to if you need to. I know yesterday was a lot. That's why I went in this morning. I needed to talk about it. Process it."

"I don't know. I don't really like talking about things. When I'm stressed or upset or really anything, I write. I don't know if I want to talk to anyone Ransom." He lets go of his grip on her and holds her hands nodding slight. Understanding. He knows she writes everything.

She wouldn't be herself if she didn't write. Which led to her unspoken issue. "But I can't write." She adds. The thing that has been gnawing at her for months she finally tells him.

"I haven't been able to write since I finished our book." She said 'our book' and it made him smile slightly, but he had wiped it away when he realized what she was saying. "Like writers block?"

"Yea, kind of. But I even get stuck writing emails. I just can't write. Anything. I want to and I try but, maybe I'm just too in my head. It's stupid. Forget I said anything, I'll figure it out."

She shakes him off and lays in the bed, he sits next to her, her back facing him. She curls herself into a ball and wraps herself in a blanket. "You'll figure it out sweetheart."

He places his hand on her hip as a sign of comfort and she adjust herself so she's a bit closer to him. "I'm just gonna take a nap, I'm tired. I'll try and write something later. Maybe we can go for coffee."

"I thought we had a deal, once a week for coffee and donuts." She let out a little laugh and he smiled, seeing her relax a little. "I forfeit. I need my coffee and donuts and you'll get grumpy without coffee."

"Okay fine." He lays next to her and wraps his arms around her kissing her neck. They fall asleep like that and Hermione is able to let her mind rest. She doesn't think or dream about yesterday or Jace.

Finally telling someone about her writers block, opening up tp Ransom about it, she was able to conjure something up in her sleep. A final book she would write when-if-her and Ransom ever reached the place she needed them to be in to complete their romance novel.

When they woke up they went out for coffee. Hermione decided to order a hot chocolate instead, Ransom got a black decaf coffee, both of them needing hot drinks because of the frigid weather.

Hermione wore one of Ransom's sweatshirts as a dress and her thigh high boots. Ransom his normal jeans and sweater look. They sat at their table drinking their hot drinks together when Ransom heard a familiar voice from behind him and immediately wanted to leave.

"Ransom? Is that you?" Joanie. Having no relation to him anymore since her husband had died but still trying to suck the family dry, using her daughters college-which she had already graduated from-as a pawn for money. "I thought you were in jail! Did you escape? Oh! Who is this? God she's gorgeous."

He turns around to face her with an extremely noticeable irritated look written on his face. "What are you doing here Joanie? Don't you have somebodies tit to suck dry? Or did you run out?"

"Ransom!" Hermione scolded, they say next to each other and her jaw was practically touching the ground at her shock. She had never heard him talk like that.

"It's alright dear, he's said that to me before. What were your exact words? Oh yea, 'Up your ass Joanie. You've had your teeth in this families tit for years. Matter of fact, eat shit.' And then you proceeded to tell your entire family to eat shit. At the grandfather you tried to murder's will reading."

Hermione looked at Ransom in dismay. She knew he was terrible before, and she knew he hated his family. But the way Joanie talked made it all sound worse than it was. She shook it off because she had already known all of this. She held his hand and looked at Joanie.

"That was years ago," Hermione says matter-of-factly, "Ransom's changed a lot. And he didn't escape from prison, he got out from a technicality and good behavior, he served his time. You know I heard you were supposed to be serving some? What happened to that? Did you suck off a judge to get him to drop your case?"

Ransom practically fell out of his chair laughing. He had never heard Hermione talk like that before. "Holy shit." He laughed. He tried to hold it in but he couldn't help it. Her assumption of Joanie was spot on.

"Excuse me." Joanie scoffed and looked at Hermione with daggers. "Who even are you?" She added, now looking up and down at Hermione, judging her. But there wasn't much she could find about her that was imperfect.

"I'm his girlfriend. Who the fuck are you?" It was Ransom's turn to pick his jaw up off the floor. Hermione barely ever cussed. Let alone said fuck. "I-I" Joanie stammered. "Joanie I think you should leave, I've never seen Hermione like this, you better run."

Ransom was so amused he couldn't contain anything. His filter was destroyed. Everything he thought came out of his mouth. Hermione got up and walked to the bathroom leaving Ransom with Joanie.

"Seriously what are you doing here? It obviously wasn't a coincidence and Hermione has had a rough week and you clearly upset her. Was that your intention. You found out I have a wealthy girlfriend and want to beg me for money? Guess what? I don't have any. I have what I saved from work, that's it. Hermione hasn't give me a cent other than what I've earned so you can piss off."

"I talked to your mother, she told me about your girlfriend, I did some research, and she's filthy rich Ransom. And I know you're not broke because of that book that comes out next month she wrote about you. You get fifty percent of all profits."

"Yea I do, and I'm not giving you a 'single red dime' as grandfather used to say. And don't give me that shit about Meg and her school tuition because she is long out of college now."

"You are just as coldhearted as always Ransom. How could a nice girl like Hermione be with you? I will never understand that. Her little outburst just now, she did that because of you, you seemed uncomfortable with me and I had a tone with you and she didn't like it, you're going to turn her into a monster, just like you."