Hostage

Bonus Chapter III

"I'm kidding, Kent." He said dryly and then shot a quick glance at me. "Knock yourself out." He told me. I bit down on lower lip, letting out an exasperated sigh as I sat down beside him and then rubbed my palms together. I turned to look at him.

"How are you feeling?" I asked softly. He turned to face me slowly, a sad smile spreading across his features.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked after a few seconds. "That I'm okay?" He said, dropping his eyebrows. "Or that I'm not?" He asked. I pursed my lip, my eyes intently watching him. His eyes were red and puffy, showing that he had rubbed them one too many times and his face was swollen. He didn't look like the Jason that I knew. He didn't seem like the Jason who teased me in school. Like the Jason who painted me two weeks ago.

This boy sitting right in front of me was sad and vulnerable and the mere sight of Jason Monroe being like this broke my heart to pieces. Feeling tears gathering in my eyes, I looked away and then blinked a few times to keep them from pouring down my cheeks.

"I know that my words don't have the ability to change anything, but for what it counts, Jason, I'm really sorry about Andre." I said, turning to face him once more. He flicked his tongue over his lower lip and then let out an exasperated sigh.

"Kent, you said-" He started and then paused, looking away like he was contemplating his next words before he spoke again. "That day at the hospital, you said your brother died." He said softly, his voice breaking. "Tell me what happened." He added, turning to face me once more and I felt a tight squeeze in my chest.

I waited.

I waited for a few seconds.

I waited for him to change his mind. For him to say that I didn't have to talk about it if it would me uncomfortable.

But a second passed, and another.

And he sat a few inches away from me, watching me with expectant eyes. I bit down on my lower lip and then lowered my gaze.

"His name was Noah." I started, my voice barely above whisper level. "He uhm-" My eyebrows creased. "He died in a car accident two years ago. Just a week before semi-finals." I said, my voice breaking. "At that time, I was so angry because he said he wouldn't be able to make it for the competition. He never missed any of my competitions so when he said he couldn't make it because of some fraternity bullshit, I was furious." I told him, tears filling my eyes.

It hurt.

It was painful to revisit the memory of  Noah's death.

I hadn't talked about it in years.

"But, if I had known that the journey back to New York City would cost him his life, then I wouldn't have been a bitch about it." I breathed before I flicked my tongue over my lower lip. "But I didn't. I didn't know and I acted like the brat that I was. I said that he was selfish, and inconsiderate, and that he didn't care about me." I said, a sad smile spreading across my features as I recollected the memory. "That was the last time I talked to him." I sniffed. "He called after that. Countless times. But I was an idiot and I wanted to make him feel bad." I paused, nearly choking on a sob. "In the end, he did what I wanted. He got tickets back to New York and he had a charm bracelet customized to wish me luck. But Noah, he never made it back home. And he died h-holding on to the jewelry box t-that contained the bracelet." I sniffed, rolling my eyes as I raised my hand to clean my tears away. "The doctor gave the bracelet to me when I went to the hospital to identify the body." I added, my voice thin.

If the story wasn't mine, and it was someone else telling her story to me, I would have wondered how she managed to live with herself.

Because I couldn't.

I couldn't live with it, or with myself.

The fact that I couldn't live with it was the reason why I slit my wrist years ago. The fact that I couldn't live with it was the reason why I had been on the bridge that night.

And I would have tried again if Jason hadn't come into my life in the most irritating manner ever. If he hadn't frustrated me, if he hadn't made me nervous, if he hadn't made me curious about how far he was willing to go to get back at me.

I couldn't even bring myself to look at him when I was done.

I could feel his gaze burning through the side of my face but I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Where's the bracelet now, Ruby?" He asked, his breath rugged. I didn't miss the edge in his voice when he spoke and when I turned to look at him, he was staring back at me, his eyes wide open.

"I lost it." I sniffed.

He pulled his gaze away immediately, his eyebrows furrowed before he turned to face me, opening his mouth to say something when Roxi's voice cut through the silence, interrupting our conversation.

"Jason." She called softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The sermon is about to start." She said and I whirled around quickly, surprised that I hadn't heard her approaching. "I think you should go be with Mum. She isn't holding up so well." She told him, her voice raspy. She sounded different too, almost like she was talking through her nose. She turned to face me and when she offered me a smile, I could see the sadness behind it. She looked just like Jason. Distraught , Defeated.

"Ruby." She called my name softly, placing a hand on my shoulder too. "Thank you so much for coming." She told me as Jason stood up, stealing a quick glance at me as he did.

"I'll see you around, Ruby." He told me before he began to hurry towards the church. I stood up too, tucking a few loose strands of hair as I walked towards the church with Roxi in comfortable silence. I heard her let out an exasperated sigh before she turned to face me.

"Ruby," She started. "I know Jason wouldn't have told you this because he's not the type of person to want to say goodbye, but we're moving to Bel-Air." She said softly, turning to face me. "The principal said he can attend the rest of his classes as a virtual student and it's almost as effective as sitting in a classroom." She told me and I felt my feet come to a sudden halt.

My breath hitched.

It shouldn't have mattered if Jason was leaving. It wasn't supposed to matter. But a part of me thought that he would always be around to tease me. A part of me wanted him to always be there to tease me.

Shaking my head to discard the thought, I took a step forward, and then another.

"I want you to have the chance to say goodbye." She told me as we walked into the church. "I'll see you later, Ruby." She told me and I watched her increase her pace until she reached the front row, taking her place in between her brother, Keenan and her husband, Will.

I drew in a deep breath as I settled beside mother and from the corner of my eyes, I saw her shoot me a sharp look before she leaned closer to me.

"For Christ's sake Ruby, why did you spend so much time outside?" She whispered. "And what in God's name happened to your eyeliner?" She frowned . I let out an exasperated sigh.

"I bumped into Roxi on my way here, mother." I said calmly, feeling thankful when the priest finally began to speak.

I stole a quick glance at Jason and then tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear.

Maybe it was best not to say bye.

Cause sometimes, not saying goodbye could mean it wasn't over yet.
Not saying goodbye could mean that our paths would cross again.

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If you enjoy mystery or triller stories with a little bit of romance, then Please check out my new story; The Bridge in between. You can find it in my author profile. It's a good read, I promise.

Love, Chay.