~Chapter 3~
1123 Words
"You again?" Ruth says as she looks into the dark face of the man from the plane. "How did you find me?"
He shrugs nonchalantly.
"I wasn't following you, if that's what you think. This happens to be the way to my home. What are you doing here?"
She glares at him, somehow suspicious of him. His eyes glints in the dark, but she cannot tell what he is thinking.
She worries he might think she lied about coming to school and believe she has nowhere to go, coming into a foreign country to live on the streets. The thought is, of course, unreasonable, but she has always had a knack for overthinking things.
"I was robbed just now. You can laugh if you want," she tells him, leaning her cheek on her knee and staring at his face, her blond hair covering most of her face.
What causes him to bite back a laugh is not because she has been robbed, but because she is expecting him to laugh about it. Somehow, he finds that to be funny.
Seeing the amusement in his eyes, Ruth feels tears gather at the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall. He actually wants to laugh at her misfortune!
But she will not allow herself to cry in front of him. He might think she is pathetic. A lot is going on in her brain and she feels alone in the world, but she will not allow anyone, especially this creepy stranger, to see how vulnerable she is.
"How were you robbed? criminals only target locals here."
She keeps her silence. How is she supposed to answer that silly question? he has heard that she has been robbed but acting as though he doesn't believe her.
Realizing that she must be suffering inside, Brian sobers up and softens his voice.
"Do not worry about a single thing. Help me carry one of these bags."
Ruth glances sharply at him.
"Why? what do you want to do?"
"Take you home with me. I will be damned if I will allow you to spend the night on the streets."
"Actually, I was planning..."
He grabs her wrist, pulling her to a standing position. Surprised and infuriated, she slaps his hand away from her wrist.
"Let go of me. What is wrong with you?"
"Look, there aren't many werewolves in this country, unlike where you come from. And I am not one to let a fellow werewolf suffer when I am perfectly capable of helping."
Ruth stands there, unsure what to do. Should she trust the stranger?
"Are we going or not? time is getting wasted here, you know. Well, if you don't want to go with me, I will leave you. But just so you know, there are murderers out here, who will spend the entire night having their way with your body before snuffing it out of you and depositing your body in the ocean for the fish to finish off whatever is left of you."
Okay. That sounds scary. She looks around the place, as though expecting to see armed murderers hiding in the shadows of the buildings.
She has to go with him. After what has happened to her, she is now wary of everyone in the city, but she figures it if better to go with him than to wander around on her own.
She grabs one of the two bags he is carrying.
"Who do you live with?" She wants to hear that he is married. She would feel safer that way. "Are you married?"
He begins to walk, gesturing for her to follow him.
"No. I am not married." I will soon though. I will get married to you, he thinks.
"You live alone?"
"No. I don't live alone."
She huffs in exasperation.
"Who do you live with?" she asks again.
"You are going to see. Right now, focus on walking because the house is a bit far away. Oh, thank goodness," he adds as he looks behind him at the headlights of an approaching taxi.
"Thank goodness for what?" she frowns and stops when he does.
"Let's get the taxi."
"I've no money."
"Don't worry. I will pay for you. When you have money you'll pay me back." He grins at her.
She sighs, wondering how she has been reduced to this.
She is quiet during the entire ride, imagining how it is going to be at the man's house, wondering what will happen to her the next day. She is a bit scared that this taxi driver might rob them too. But Brian's presence puts the fear at bay. He is a big man, and a werewolf. She notices this driver is a human, which would make things easier for them if he tried anything funny.
They keep going until she can no longer stay awake. She drifts off to sleep.
She is so tired that she doesn't notice even when the taxi stops moving, and Brian has to carry her into the house.
She feels so good in his arms, and he stares sorrowfully at her peaceful sleeping face as he takes her in, wishing he could hold her when she was awake and for other reasons other than helping her into the house.
"Brian, you were sent on a business trip, not to marry. You went and got yourself a wife?" Mr Nik, the housekeeper, teases as he sees Brian Collins enter the living room.
"She is not my..." he pauses and stares at Ruth's face, noticing that she has opened her eyes. He sets her down on her feet.
The old Mr Nik turns serious when the young woman's gaze settles on him.
"Hi. Do not mind my silly comments. My name is Ahmad Nik, the house keeper. You are welcome here."
Ruth beams at the friendly old man.
"Thank you. You can call me Ruth."
"Is Adam at home?" Brian asks.
"Yes, and he is going to maul you to death when he hears you refer to him by his first name."
Ruth looks between the men, curious about the Adam man. She figures he must be the owner of the house, and the two men she is looking at are both his servants.
But it confuses her that there is no female in sight. Is there only men in the house?
"Let me show you to your room. I will introduce you to Adam in the morning..."
A new voice enters the room now.
"You will kneel outside all night for calling me that. And who is that girl you have brought with you?"
Brian fails to conceal his fear upon hearing the voice, as though aware that he is in for a tough time.
- Writer
