Steven Grant

45: Ruby is back

// Ruby's POV//

A few weeks ago I had graduated and turned 18 years old.

Every woman in our family has been endowed with a supernatural gift for some reason.  Each of us had a different destiny and a different path to face. 

I suspected all of this ran through our family for centuries.  It probably came from our mother's side.  Because Jo and I didn't have the same father.

For a while, I controlled everything from a distance. It made everything a little less conspicuous, and most importantly, I couldn't leave until I graduated.

Now that I wasn't tied down to anything, I took a year off to get away from home. A whole year in which no one will ask questions or suspect anything.

Above all, I always wanted to meet my sister's friends.  At least in person, because I basically already knew all of them. 

They were all somehow under my control.  I'm really into drama and they're all my puppets.

They are all the main actors in my own drama series and they don't know anything about it.

From time to time this drama series mixes with a little bit of a thriller.

I know how silly that sounds, but it's the truth.

I think the best job I've done so far was getting Jake to almost kill my sister. Unfortunately only almost. But I was so close.

Jake sometimes came across as really menacing and super tough , but he was just a wimp. And he was a hopeless romantic as well.

That's why he would never have hurt my sister on his own. He loved her.

I entered his head when he was at his weakest. At the exact moment his heart was broken. And that was when Jo dumped him for Marc.

In the moments when he allowed himself to be vulnerable , it was easiest to control him.

I wouldn't say I was the villain in all of this.  I just provided the missing drama. Because like I said, I was a big fan of drama.

I was of course not responsible for everything that happened in the life of this group of friends. Some things they had themselves to blame for.

The good thing is: nobody knew about any of this and nobody suspected anything.

This was my game and I won it every time. I did not come to leave again, but to stay. And while I am here, nobody will be safe. Absolutely no one.

Anyone not aware of my plans was at risk of being used as a puppet in this game. And as far as I'm concerned, nobody knew about anything.

Nobody but Jake. And he won't say anything. I will take care of that.

And while I was still clearing the last things out of the boxes that were scattered all over my new apartment, there was a knock on the door.

I hadn't expected any visitors, nor did I feel like talking to anyone.

Nevertheless, I opened the door.  And as if I had lured him here by thinking about him , Jake Lockley stood in front of me.

„So you really moved here. Which means I'm not going crazy after all." He said while entering my apartment.

„Come on in" I replied in a sarcastic yet annoyed way, to let him know that his presence was unwanted.

But he didn't seem to care. Maybe he ignored it because he just didn't take me seriously. He had never taken me seriously, although he had every reason to.

It was probably one of those situations where he didn't take me seriously just because I was still a kid in his eyes. 

But he knew what I was capable of.  He just didn't want to admit to himself that an 18-year-old girl was stronger than him.

„What do you want Jake? „ I asked him while I pushed aside the boxes that were in the way.

„I want you to leave me alone. I know what you're doing and you need to stop this Ruby. This is about my reputation. You're ruining my reputation. And above all, you're destroying the trust that Jo has in me."

„She stopped trusting you long ago Jake."

„And whose fault is that? Yours."

„Yes, but nobody knows about that. And nobody will ever know about it."

„They don't know yet but they will know very soon because I'm going to tell everyone about that little game you're playing. „

„Too bad nobody will believe you. But good luck. It will bring me great joy to watch you fail."

„Ruby, all I'm asking is that you stop. You had your fun. What else do you want?"

„This game goes by my rules and I decide when to stop."

He said nothing more and I took his silence as my victory.

There it was again. His vulnerability. And on top of that his desperation.

I walked towards him until the gap between my face and his face was very narrow. And even if I had no bad intentions, he always took this as a threat.

„You're scared of me, aren't you? „ I asked him.

He couldn't escape from me. He could have taken a step back. He could have just left. But he didn't.

„You're basically still a child Ruby."

„And yet you are scared of me. I'm only an 18 year old girl who just graduated and is believed to have absolutely no life experience. And maybe that's true. But I've got you under my control. And you're scared of me."

And still he didn't move a step away from me. I didn't even force him to stay. He did it himself.

„Not only you are afraid of me, but you also feel a strong connection to me. And I'm not even controlling you to feel this way. You just do. It only proves that I don't even have to get inside your head to have complete control over you, Jake." I continued and couldn't help but smile a little maliciously.

„Everything I do, you make me do, Ruby. „ He replied and still didn't take his eyes off me.

„No, not this time. You are here because you want to be. Not because I made you do it. You could go but you choose to stay."

And I wasn't even lying, because everything that was happening right now didn't happen against his will.

Not this time. He might be trying to talk himself out of it. But he wanted all of this by himself. There was no mind control involved.

He knew that all this went against his morals. 

It went against everything he stood for.  Of course he didn't want anything from a girl who was far too young for him.

But on the other hand, he had also been dating my sister.  He wasn't a saint. That's why he didn't have to start pretending to be one now.

„Just as no one will ever find out who and how I really am, no one will ever find about you and me either.  I promise."

„Yeah, but I don't trust you." He replied.

„Have I ever lied to you? The answer is: no, I haven't."

And before he could say anything else, I kissed him.  Winning over Jake wasn't my plan for the night, but now it seemed like the best idea to me.

He finally gave in and returned the kiss.  Which  wasn't that surprising because I knew how badly he wanted it.