"to live for the hope of it all,"
August Taylor Swift
RUTH
The injury on my left shoulder stung, reminding me of the scratches and bruises embedded into my skin as I threw my chemistry book beside me. I sat on a wooden bench in the park that I usually walked to for no other reason than to study. That was all I had time for if I wanted to get out of this town.
Study, pass my units, brace myself for the last year of college, pass those exams and get a nice stable job away from here.
I could do it. I just needed enough motivation, which I lacked most of the time.
Sighing deeply, I ran my hands through my brown curls and rested my elbows on my knees. The pressure was too much, but I didn't need my parents to see that. My father wouldn't care. He hadn't cared about much since last year's incident. My mother, on the other hand, couldn't handle anything else to worry about. She needed so desperately to get away from my father, and once I had tickets out of here, I'd bring her with me.
Go for a walk again, you'll feel better, I thought.
Deciding I should use a break from looking at science words, I closed the textbook, tucked it beneath my arm, and got up from my seat. My eyes caught onto the familiar faces of people around me, some mothers watching over their children and other people taking a jog through the park.
But there was someone else. A man I didn't recognise, standing at the edge of the park, on the outskirts of the woods. He was tall and built, his arms crossed against his chest as he watched.
He was staring at me, wasn't he? I couldn't exactly tell. My vision wasn't 20/20. I contemplated squinting my eyes at him to figure out if he was intending to grab my attention or ignoring the slight dread his presence brought me and dashing back home.
When another figure emerged from behind him, I made a move to get out of there. My legs were full of adrenaline as I made a beeline for the footpath that led me straight home. Of course, I kept my pace slow enough not to draw attention to my growing panic.
They were both definitely looking at me. I knew this because when I turned my head back to see if I'd left anything behind on the seat, both people were closer, harsh eyes following my movements.
I wondered if anyone else was catching onto what was happening. If I was kidnapped, would these people be able to get a clear description of these men? I didn't like to think about that.
A vibration sound from my pocket almost made me freeze, but I was glad when I realised someone was calling my phone, and if something did happen to me, I'd have someone to give clues about my abductors.
...I was in way over my head. This study stress wasn't doing me any good. I was definitely going crazy with this much overthinking.
"Hello?" I answered my phone and picked up my pace.
"Hey, Ruth," I recognised Zeke's deep voice from the other end of the line.
"Zeke! How are you? I haven't heard from you in a while." A small smile replaced my confused frown at the sound of my friend's voice.
Zeke had known me since we were in middle school. He moved to another town to attend a different high school, and we hadn't seen each other since then. We kept up, though. Weekly. Sometimes monthly. We weren't as close as we used to be, and I always understood that. Distance broke people apart sometimes, no hard feelings. It was just the way it was.
"I'm good," His voice was cheery. "Just checking in to see how you're going with your studies. I remember you telling me you had exams around this time, right?"
"Yeah, I have a few next week, actually," I said, turning my head around to get a quick look at the two men who seemingly had disappeared.
"Well, I wish you all the best and hope you absolutely ace them," Zeke sounded like he was smiling.
"Thank you," I attempted to make my voice sound less panicky as I turned to face the front again.
A few minutes passed, and we were still stuck on the small talk, so I decided to wrap up.
"We should definitely catch up after my exams. I think it'll be good for me to take a trip anyway," I suggested.
My house was coming into view before me, and I held back the biggest sigh of relief. It was situated in a quiet neighbourhood, where the houses nearby were fairly separated by white fences, each property differing in house structure and size, but all retaining well-kept green grass and front lawn bushes.
"Good idea," Zeke spoke up happily. "Good luck with your exams. I know you're going to ace them all. We'll speak soon, okay?"
"Okay," I tried to keep a smile on my face so that I didn't sound too sceptical of my surroundings. "Bye!"
He was cut off by my thumb when I hung up on him and inspected the man on my front porch speaking to my mother. The stranger was tall, had broad shoulders and a small smile on his face. I turned to look at my mother, only to see she was mirroring the same smile as she angled her head to glance up at the man.
Who the hell was he? And why did they seem comfortable around each other? She would've told me if she made a new friend. A new male friend.
"...thank you again, really. I'll let you know if it reoccurs," My mother spoke to him with the accent she had kept since she moved here from Spain.
"Do you promise?" The man's voice was barely loud enough to hear, but I could tell it was deep.
"Yes," My mother chuckled, and I knew it was my cue to intervene.
I dashed up the front steps and stopped behind the man. I waited for him to turn around, and, when he did, my eyebrows shot upward. He was huge. Bulky. His wide face was sharply structured, matching the same menacing aura his large body radiated.
"Uh, hello," I nodded to him before moving away from him to get to my mother. "Mum," I made it a point to emphasise who I was in front of the man.
"Ruth," My mother's full lips quirked upward as she smiled at me awkwardly. "This is my friend, Allen."
I nodded to acknowledge him and focused on my mum again. Her face flushed with more colour than usual, and I wasn't sure it was because of the warm weather. She smiled at Allen once more before excusing us. He was backing away slowly down the porch steps before we were even inside our house.
"You didn't tell me you made a new friend," I whispered to my mother because I knew my dad was somewhere inside, waiting to stir some trouble.
"I didn't even know he was a friend until this morning. He's one of the town plumbers," She shrugged and shut the door behind us, locking it. "He noticed how distressed I was around your father and made sure everything was okay. He said if I ever felt uncomfortable or frightened, I should call him."
I pondered on the thought of my mother calling up a stranger when being around her husband was too unnerving, and I knew I would never find love. My parents used to have it, but ever since the incident happened, something switched in my father's brain, and he wasn't the man he used to be. I never wanted to risk getting into a relationship for that reason.
People were mostly unstable. Their emotions, feelings and the way they handled situations will always differ, and I didn't think I was right for marriage. It wasn't an idea that ever crossed my mind anymore.
Jerome had stabbed that idea out of my brain when he broke my best friend's heart, and when the aftermath of the situation turned my dad into just my father, the idea disintegrated into thin air.
"Okay," I replied simply and sent my mum a small smile. "Just be careful. Always be careful."
"I will, Ruth," She reached out to cup the side of my face for a few seconds. "Now go study. Someday you'll be grateful you had all this time to educate yourself so that you can make a better living than this."
My heart ached at her words as I nodded and made my way up the stairs. I couldn't wait for that moment to happen - the feeling of freedom that would greet me when I got a job out of town.
I quickened my pace to avoid my father's existence and walked down the narrow hall. My room was at the back of the top floor, its window facing the woods behind the house. I was glad about that. The view always seemed to give me a sense of peace.
But the view of the two men in my bedroom made me go completely still as a cold shiver of terror crawled up my spine.
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a/n: wow, I feel like this is so much better than the kidnap cliche trope lmao
it's a bonus that I feel like my writing style has improved
I don't have a definite update schedule for this as my other series is a priority to finish first (I only have one and a half books to complete from the Written Love Series) but then I will be entirely focused on this one !!
thank you for reading <3
ALSO if you're a rereader, don't comment spoilers :)