Untouchable

Chapter 1

She brushed her hair, counting exactly how many times her hairbrush made it through her hair. It had to be exactly 42 times as that was the answer to the universe, so her hair must be brushed that many times. She then began braiding her hair, one on each side, as her Mum always had. She walked into her kitchen and ate the same breakfast as ever, putting everything exactly where it had to be before heading out to work, everything where it had to be. She pulled into work, parked her car in her spot, as everyone knew that she needed everything to stay the same or give her notice about things changing. She walked into her office and sat down at her computer and began editing the essays of her colleagues. There was a knock on her door, she looked up and spoke quietly, as that was all she could manage,

                “Come in.” Her timid voice managed to say. Her boss, Millie Cooper, walked in and smiled at Ruth.

                “Hello, Ruth.” Millie sat down in front of Ruth’s desk, a smile across her face, aged from the prolonged use of cigarettes. Thankfully for Ruth, today she didn’t smell of the pungent stench of tar.

                “Hello, Millie.” Ruth said, trying to be polite.

                “Someone has come to see you. Is it alright if he comes in?” Millie asked quietly, cautiously, but also politely.

                “Who?” Ruth asked extremely cautiously and quietly.

                “His name is Noah.” Millie understood how Ruth worked. Millie was friends with Ruth’s Mum, Melissa, helping Ruth get a job as an editor in a science section for a newspaper.

                “Noah Hardy?” Ruth asked timidly. Millie nodded.

                “Is that okay if he comes in?” Millie asked incredibly cautiously. She knew that Noah and Ruth hadn’t spoken in nearly 2 years after something happened that Ruth really didn’t understand, but she hoped that Ruth would learn to understand somehow.

                “Yes.” Ruth said in her tiniest whisper. Millie stood up and opened the door, letting the thin figure of Noah in, his face white with fear, his palms sweaty, and hands shaking.

                “Hey, Ruth.” Noah spoke shakily. Ruth smiled a little out of politeness.

                “Hello, Noah Edward Hardy.” Ruth spoke almost in a monotone, but not mockingly so. Noah understood that. The pair had known one another since they were toddlers; the only reason Ruth had trusted him.

                “Are you alright?” Noah asked. Millie stood up.

                “I’ll leave you two to talk.” She said quietly as she shut the door as silently as she could; everyone knew that Ruth couldn’t deal with loud noise.

                “I am alright, yes, thank you, Noah. Are you alright? How come you’re at work?” Ruth was totally confused by Noah’s actions.

                “Abbie said she saw you at her work. I found out you got a job here.” Ruth nodded slowly at the familiar, yet un-familiar, man sat opposite her.

                “Mum said you didn’t want to see me.” Ruth stated.

                “Do you talk to anyone, Ruth?” Noah sighed.

                “I talk to Millie.”

                “I mean people our age, Ruth.”

                “No. I don’t understand people too well. They confuse me.”

                “Do I confuse you?”

                “Sometimes, but you are easier than some people here. You’re not that sarcastic around me. I still don’t get that. And people still try and hug me. I don’t like it.” She shook her head and shook a little at the thought of someone hugging her. Noah looked at her, wanting to stand up and hug her to make her feel better, but he knew it would only end badly. It was what she was like. It had taken him until secondary school to get a hug from her last time.

                “Ruth, would you like to meet up for coffee or something at some point this week?” Noah asked nervously, his voice shaking.

                “Is Saturday alright? I keep an hour open for things like that before I watch TV.” Ruth smiled a little. “Can you come to mine? I still don’t like going out to strange places, and home is better.” She got a sticky note from a drawer and wrote her address and phone number on it. She placed it in front of him, and then he took it, like their old agreement had been when she was having a bad day and touching her would set off a panic attack, even screaming sometimes. He smiled at her.

                “Thank you, Ruth.” He smiled politely, speaking quietly as he read her address. “Is 7pm still the phone call hour?”

                “Yes.” She smiled, blushing and laughing a little.

                “I will call you between 7pm and 8pm one night.” He stood up and walked from Ruth’s office. As he shut the door he let out an enormous sigh, laughing, glad that Abbie had talked him into going to see her. He felt sick from achieving something. But it was blissful for him.