New on the block

Nothing Left

Warning: minor depictions of violence/ triggering events

Ruby's POV:
"Are you kidding me!" I scream at Monse. "It'll be fine I swear." She tells me but I can tell she's scared. "Why'd you say yes?" I ask. "I love him." She says. "Yeah but are you willing to ruin your life for him?" I ask her and she just looks down at her hands. "He isn't the same guy you fell for." I inform her. "He's changed but we all have." It's been a hard year for everyone but Monse's clinging to the hope that any part of him is still there. "Come with me." I stand up and walk outside. We walk a few blocks and we stop at an alley, all the other Freeridge sounds are being drowned out by screams. "Why are we here?" She asks. "He told me to keep you away from here." I whisper and she looks worried. "Check it out for yourself." I nod in the direction of the screams. She peaks past the wall and sees a guy getting jumped. "This happens all the time, it sucks but they know what they're getting themselves into." She convinces herself. "Keep looking." I say sadly. I can tell the second she sees Cesar, her face changed completely. "That kid that they're beating the life out of is thirteen, he's getting jumped out." I admit to her. "Cesar wouldn't do that." She shakes her head. "He was that kid once but he forgot how bad it felt when he was trapped. How do you know he's not going to trap you?" I ask her. "The guys probably made him." Monse states. Suddenly the screams stop and everything's silent. There's a few footsteps and then we hear two cars drive away. She runs into the alley and I'm finally realizing she's crazy. I look over and she's on the floor checking on the kid. I walk towards her and that's when I see all the blood on the floor. It feels like we're right back at Olivia's quinces. "I'm calling an ambulance." I tell her. "No, he'll be ok." She winces when she looks at him.

Monse's POV:
"No matter what happens he's dead." I tell Ruby. He calls 911 but I continue to plead. "Cesar isn't a bad guy but if they found out what he did no one's going to care about that! If he goes to jail he won't get out." I whisper so the operator doesn't hear me. "You think he wants to get out?" Ruby asks. I look up from the boy who's barely breathing. I didn't know his name and even if I knew him I don't think I'd be able to tell. "Why the hell are you here?" A voice yells from behind me. I look behind me and the first thing I see are bloody converse, I look up slowly and there he is. Cesar's standing behind me with his knuckles bruised and bleeding. "You need to get out of here." Ruby tells Cesar when he hangs up. "I'm not going anywhere." Cesar says. "If they get here and see you like that you're going to go to jail." I tell him as I look at the boy. "When you leave, come over we have to talk about this." He says before he runs off. "He isn't like this." I whisper to the boy. I can see him trying to open his eyes but they're swollen. "Your dad's on his way." Ruby says. "I can't just leave him." I shake my head. "You're not doing anything to help." Ruby states. "I at least need to know he's going to be ok." I say. "Are you kidding? You're in a pool of his blood right now and you think he's going to be ok?! He will never be ok!" Ruby screams. My dad gets here and I can hear sirens. My dad gets out of his car and thanks Ruby for texting him but he doesn't even look at me. When the police and ambulance come it all feels like I'm not even there. They wrap me in a blanket and talk to me about what I saw but what am I supposed to say. "I think she's had enough trauma for one night can I take my daughter home now?" My dad asks the police. "We have a good idea on who did this, we suggest leaving for a few days until we dog the arrest, we wouldn't want a nice girl like yourself getting caught in the crossfire." The officer tells me with a smile. "Don't do that." I shake my head and he looks confused. "Don't smile at me like you're protecting me. You're going to arrest the first gang member you see and you know it." I state. "Monse that's enough!" My dad says strictly. I get in the car and the ride home feels like hours. "You're spending some time with your mom and do not think you have a say in this. You're leaving tomorrow when it's safe we'll see what happens next." He says. "Dad, it was Cesar... I'm safe." I tell him. "You think that means you're safe?" He yells. We pull into the driveway and he runs his hands over his face. "Go pack now, you leave in a few hours." He says. I want to put up a fight but it's pointless. He's stressed about this just as much as I am.

**** 5am the next morning****

I look around one final time but he's not here. I step onto the bus and I look out the window. He's running over frantically. "Monse!" I hear him scream. I can't decide if I should get off the bus. He keeps screaming my name and I start to get off the bus. No sooner than my foot touches the last step to get off an officer comes out of nowhere and tackles him. Everyone starts screaming and gasping and I just watch as they press him against the floor and cuff him. The pull him up and I can see the pain in his face. "Stop you're hurting him!" I cry. I look at the officer and it's the same one who told me to leave. They start dragging him away and I freeze for a moment. I run in front of Cesar and I grab his face. I kiss him as deeply as I can and I try to make it last as long as possible. Another officer pulls me off of him and I watch them throw him into a car. It's not a police car and I just assume they're undercover. I sit back on the bus and a stranger sits next to me. "So, what'd my son do?" The women asks as we drive away.