I stared helplessly at the gravestone.
"Y-y-you r-r-rose f-from the dead?" I heard Ethan ask, before he fainted. Luckily, Dakota caught him and placed him gently on the ground.
The girl frowned in confusion. She seemed scared and kept her distance. I didn't like her being afraid.
"Who are you people?" She wondered softly. "Why am I here?"
Dakota stared at the girl slack-jawed, so I decided to speak up.
"It's complicated," I chuckled nervously. "We come in peace, I swear."
She shook her head quickly and took another step back. "You white folks never come in peace."
"But we do!" Dakota argued. I raised my hand telling her to stop.
I tried taking a few steps towards her, but she took a few back. She looked like a mouse cornered by a cat. I really didn't like her being scared of me.
"It's the 21st century - I know it sounds crazy, but come with us and we'll explain everything to you," I told her, surprising myself by how calm I sounded.
"We can't take her with us," Dakota muttered. "What are you gonna do? Let her live in your dorm forever?"
I sighed. "We'll think about that later - she doesn't have anyone. We can't leave her here. And it's our fault that she's here in the first place. So wake Ethan up and let's get fucking going."
Dakota nodded, kneeling down to Ethan and slapping him across the face.
Ruth watched in fear.
I tried to give her a reassuring smile.
And then, I caught her smiling a little back and the world belonged to me.
"Now what?" Dakota watched me pace around, as she sat on Ethan's bed. Ethan still wasn't quite awake yet. I had carried him all the way to the fucking dorm. So much for a partynight.
Ruth had hunkered down on the chair.
She was beautiful, to put it lightly.
"You could hide her in your dorm for now - she'll feel more comfortable with you, since you're both girls," I suggested after a while.
Dakota scoffed. "How am I gonna explain that to my roommate Lucy?"
"Good point, she looks like a snitch."
Dakota rolled her eyes. "Besides, it was Ethan's stupid invention..."
"That's not what you said when you two were bickering over that shit," I told her in a sing song manner.
"Whatever, I'm tired - I'm going to bed," She said with a yawn. Then she looked at her snoring brother. "Hopefully this big baby will rise back from the dead too."
She walked over to the door, wishing me and Ruth a goodnight.
I stared dumbfounded at Dakota. "What? You're just gonna leave me here and sleep after this batshit insane night like nothing happened?"
She just shrugged. "I can't think straight when I'm tired."
"Fine, traitor," I answered grumpily.
She crossed her arms and smirked. "Oh come one, like it's anything new to the great Cory Parks to be left alone with a pretty girl in his dorm..."
"You make a lot of good points today - keep it up," I winked at her, which she replied to with an eyeroll, before leaving the room.
The door closed and I turned around to Ruth.
"So..." I scratched the back of my neck. "Ask me anything you want. I'm gonna try to answer all your questions, sounds good?"
She nodded shyly.
"Oh, you can sleep on my bed tonight. I'm just gonna... make myself comfortable on the floor."
"How did I end up here?" She threw in.
"Good question!" I nodded, pointing at her. "That snoring guy right there invented a 'life-serum' and he intended to bring Elvis Presley back to life, but then an accident occurred and, well, you were there," I explained. "Don't worry, I was an accident too."
She started laughing, and it instantly brought a smile to my lips.
"Who's Elvis Presley?" She then wondered.
Before I could answer however, Ethan suddenly rose up from the bed. "What happens after you die? Is there an afterlife? I don't believe in an afterlife, tell me!" He said excitedly.
"Ethan, you shithead - you scared Ruth!" I fired back. "Were you awake the whole time? I fucking carried you the whole way! You're gonna regret pulling that shit on me!"
I hated seeing her scared. I didn't want this girl to be scared of anything. I also hated carrying guys around for no other reason than them being lazy, whiny bitches.
Ethan grinned nervously. "It was nice being carried for a change. Reminded me of my childhood."
Furrowing my eyebrows, I threw a pillow at him. He caught it and his grin gained confidence.
"I... cannot remember anything."
My gaze shifted to Ruth.
Her hands were resting on her lap. She made herself so small and her voice was barely audible - swallowed up by silence.
She shook her head, gazing at her dangling legs, which reminded me that she was pretty short. Maybe that and the fact that she had no one and came from another time made me feel so protective over her. This world had done enough to her - she had died, for fuck's sake.
"I cannot remember anyone from my past life or the reason for my death," She told us, looking up briefly.
The room was drowned in silence for a few seconds.
"So you can't tell us what happens after you die?" Ethan pressed.
She shook her head. "No, but I can tell you all about life." Her face was streaked with sorrow when Ruth said that.
I didn't like that look. It bothered me.
"We could still go to that party," I suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
"Count me out," Ethan yawned. "I'm exhausted."
"From what?" I challenged. "Letting your lazy ass get carried by me?"
Ruth laughed a bit at that. At least one good thing that came with carrying Ethan all the way to our dorm.
"I would like to sleep as well," She then said. "But I'm afraid I don't have a night-gown..."
Ethan got up from his bed, walking over to his closet. "That's alright, I can give you somethi --"
"Here!" I cut him off, throwing a random shirt of mine, which was lying on my bed, to Ruth.
Ethan watched me with a weirded-out look, as I jumped up from my bed and rummaged around my closet. Ruth had gotten up and walked over to me. "Here you go," I smiled, handing her one of my boxer-shorts. "I hope this is okay..." I felt my ears burn.
She gave me a grateful smile. "Thank you, this is fine."
I could imagine Ethan staring at me.
"The bathroom is over there," I told her, pointing at the door.
She nodded. Ethan waited for her to close the door, then he said, "You got the hots for her!" Like he had discovered something life-changing, which he actually did with that life-serum.
"The hots. No one says that anymore," I gave back, pulling my shirt over my head to change into another one. "Stop staring at me like that, dude."
"You can't even see me staring."
"But you are," I claimed.
"True," Ethan admitted. "Could she actually compete with Lillith?" I could hear him smirk.
I shrugged. "I dunno. I mean she's cute." It was the understatement of the century. She was a reminder of everything beautiful I had seen in life.
"Well," He said, plopping smugly down on his bed. "You have all your life to express your gratitude to me."
Just then, Ruth walked out of the bathroom. She looked better in my sloppy clothes than anyone could look in the tightest dress. I wouldn't mind seeing her in that for the rest of my life.
We ended up watching videos of Elvis on my bed, while Ethan was snoring away. I can't imagine how crazy this all must have been to her. Laptops, the internet. But she enjoyed it quite a lot, so it was all good.
She showed me her favorite songs and I showed her mine.
We talked the night away, and both fell asleep on my bed. She had told me about segregation, the struggles she had gone through in her day to day life. All the discrimination and violence and shit. It made me beyond angry. In that moment I swore to myself to protect her with my life.
When I woke up in the middle of the night with the laptop on my leg and Ruth laying on my arm, I couldn't help but smile drowsily, before dozing off again. She was kicking in her sleep, but I didn't mind.
I would protect her with everything I have.