Joseph bolted down the garden path like an Olympic champion at the start run, his red North Face tee clung to his abs and chest. Ruby quickened her pace to an all-out sprint and was reverse running.
Having pulled his earphones, Ruby yelled while the sound of panting followed, "Hellooo? You said we'd be jogging. But, we are practically running."
He didn't reply and she knew it all too well, for Joseph was that kind of man who opened his mouth rarely and expected the other person to make out whatever answer he or she wanted through his static facial expression.
He sucked in a sharp breath through his nostrils and continued running. Shaking her head, she plugged his earphones into one of her ears and regretted wearing them all together ─ the instrumental notes blasted like jumbo bombs during warfare. That could potentially damage her hearing ability.
"Ugh! Drum kicks ─ how can one start a day with that?"
Joseph snatched and shoved them inside his tracks side pocket wordlessly. She rolled her eyes at that.
"Like seriously, it's has been more than forty-five minutes, and I don't understand why are we running like this? Who jogs at 4 am wearing a ball cap and sunglasses, please tell me?" She pulled the black shades to the edge of her nose.
"I'm being careful so that no one registers your face. Put them on," he finally uttered.
She annoyingly went on, "You don't fear the CCTV team that could capture us and publish our picture on the front page of the newspaper. With the headline: Early birds catching the worms. Another one: A suspicious couple caught by the police in the predawn hours ─ jogging or robbing? Take your pick! We are looking like thieves! At least we should slow down so that we don't disturb the sleeping Seattle," Ruby suggested, panting as she turned around.
"If that's the case ─ then you are giving them an open invitation. Can you not give a rest to your rant and rave here?" he sneered, throwing a pointed glance at her.
"And can you not answer my queries nicely, like without shouting, cursing at me, and making me look like the culprit? It can't be called a day in Mr. Holden's life until he picks a fight with me."
A minute of no impulsive based sound being produced by either of them apart from the heavy groans streaming out of her mouth out of lack of breath passed away. Her throat was desiccated just like a pine tree, not blessed with pre-winter watering in the desert territories of the United States.
"Just see how perfect my body is; it's slim and trim. Proudly meeting the gold standard for being beautiful. I admit these days I've put on a little weight. Blame the bacon cheeseburgers that Sarah makes. They are so irresistible. But, but, but, the flesh is on the right parts tho." She winked, slapping her hand on the butt twice.
"Running improves your cardiovascular system irrespective of your body weight. Unfortunately, your impaired brain will not be able to grasp this. And also your educational background doesn't speak much for you, so . . . just follow my lead mutely."
Was that a taunt? Yes, an outright one. He disrespected her again. She had lost count of how many times he had worked his way out by demeaning and degrading her.
She stopped in her tracks and stooped down, sighing. "Joseph! I'm surrendering."
He halted and turned around. "My house is only two blocks away. Get up! It's not your playground."
"My house! literally," Ruby scoffed. Never had she felt so alienated in these years, as she had right now. Still, after living in his house for a period of two weeks ─ two weeks of dusting his drawing room, two weeks of experimenting with the undercooked versus overcooked cereal in the kitchen, and two weeks of watering his plants. Was that not enough for her to be considered an integral part of his home? Even being called a housemaid would also surge relief in her body. But no: His property is his property, none of anybody else's property.
"I can't. My limbs are weak and my feet are shaky. I can't even breathe normally. Joseph, hey, come and check my pulse." She placed her palms flat, stretching her legs wide on the rough pavement- exhaling and inhaling.
"Try moving your legs up and down─"
"Joseph! At least stop giving me verbal bits of advice from there." Ruby's voice echoed in the thin air as she spoke after a brief moment of silence, "Give me a piggyback ride."
Upon hearing, Joseph who was standing at an arm's distance from her now stood at the end of the pathway. "Take your time. I've got to prepare myself for the day, so I'm leaving."
"Joseph! I can barely lift my leg. Please see this . . ." Ruby squinted her one eye, tongue lolling out in the corner, as she dragged her bottom to reach him with fake exhaustion. "You don't want me to be lying here the whole day."
The forced raspy gasps and loud mournful sounds filled the quiet of the morning. Joseph understood the motive behind her overdramatic acting skills.
"You are such a great actor-- my choices never go wrong. So glad to meet you," he responded, self-conceited. Once he set foot, he didn't look back.
"Joseph! You are going! Hey! Come back here! I-I can't─ I can─" Ruby mewled.
The dry leaves shifted luridly causing her head to rotate and eyes to narrow at the source of the sound. She scanned the surroundings and didn't find any clue of anybody in the vicinity ─ even Joseph would have covered a long distance by now.
She shot up, dusting off her trousers and heading toward the heap of leaves.
MEOW!
And the cat growled at her, she squeezed shut her eyes and stood frozen right there for a moment. After sharing a minute of silence with the now-gone cat, Ruby yelled but her voice didn't meet her expectation; she was fear-stricken. Ruby threw her hands on her mouth before running for her life most clumsily. Her feet kissed the ground in the most savage way possible.
Ruby was running at full speed. Her endurance could have impressed Joseph a while ago if only she wanted to show it. Her mind stopped working in contrast to her heart which was about to explode at any minute.
Should we listen to our head or our heart, in an emergency? This question always leads to inner conflict and makes an individual indecisive at the end of the day. But in her case, it was her heart that directed her to his home, for she felt she had a few precious people in her life to care for, including Joseph.
In the meantime, someone gripped her forearm in the dark. She stumbled and saw Joseph grinning at her as she craned her neck. "Great running skills! Chased by the CCTV crew? Oh, by the way, you must have come across a girl who looks exactly like you, coiling on the ground, is she alive?"
"A sassy cat! She attacked me, and her claws grazed across my hand--"
"---lightly," Joseph added smartly, after sparing a glance at her hands which visibly showed faint marks of the attack.
"The scene was scary. For once I thought the cat was trained by you. As spiteful as Joseph. Literally." Ruby tried laughing.
Joseph snorted, "As if you know my history."
"Speaking of history . . . Joseph, may I know what's your relationship with Mrs Warner? Apart from professional capacity. As she said . . . she's your . . . mother. But I know she's not your mother." Ruby hesitated at first but then she assumed everything was normal when she saw him smiling.
"She said that," he repeated, looking up at the morning twilight pensively.
"Do you still think we should deceive her? Like she seems to spray a lot of affection at yo--"
"She's not my mother. I work as her petty assistant and nothing more ─ always present at her beck and call like her servant," he declared.
"Okay . . . I got you. We are doing this."
"You are halfway there Ruby. Now if you back out, I'm going to despise you forever."
"No, that will never happen."
Joseph took a step forward and pressed his palms against her narrow shoulders. "Good. You are learning your script with all your heart, right? I'll take your test someday. A surprise test, it will be."
"Yeah, but please inform me two-three days prior so that I can give the best performance in front of you."
"No problem Ruby, I'll inform you about it." Joseph smiled. A true smile.
Ruby brightened. "Is it possible?" she debated whether to acknowledge the possibility of infatuation or romantic feelings for him, but having witnessed no reciprocation from the other side decided not to. "No, no, no, it can't happen between us. He's old at heart. Old in soul, and old in age as well. His head will turn all white. Probably will walk with a stick in his hands in a few years, while I'll take a good time to reach that stage. Delete the thought of liking him, Ruby. Now!"
Word count - 1531
a/n; a) should Ruby take to him about her feelings?
Or
b) she should not?
(An Odor of Deception bagged First Runner-up in Spring Awards 2020
🎊)