RUBY.
"I need to know everything so we can get to the bottom of this, whoever is behind these pictures needs to pay," Toby said and I nodded. He had managed to calm me down but I was still shaken by the whole thing. I was seated on the couch in our room with a large mug of tea between my hands and a blanket over me. When he held me earlier I was shaking and it wasn't for the temperature of the room but he decided to cover me anyway.
"Aiden invited me to his welcome back party and I accepted his invitation. I almost didn't go because I was feeling guilty for leaving Jeremy at home just to attend a party but then I decided I'd go early and be back before it gets late and coincidentally, It was that night you travelled on business. I went to the location, and it happened to be a club. The place was empty, the party had not started so I decided to have a drink, call Aiden then head home," I pause here because the next few words feel heavy to say."
I had narrated the whole thing with my head down, staring into the mug. The sight of a tea bag floating in hot water was suddenly so interesting. I looked up to see him watching me intently, his expression blank.
I took a deep breath and continued, "having that drink was the last thing I remember, next thing I know I'm waking up naked in a motel." I watched his expression move from blank to angry as I said those words.
"I'm sorry," I said, my eyes looking back into my mug.
"I'm not upset with you, my anger lies with whoever is behind this," he said. He lifted my face till I was staring into his eyes, our lips almost touching. I didn't know when he moved so close to me. "Did they hurt you in any other way? Were you raped?
"No," was the only reply I could muster. The question made me shy.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I went to the doctor," I said.
He expelled a breath, "thank God!" I watched him visibly relax. He stood and picked a pen and a piece of paper from the bedside drawer.
"Write down the name of the club and the name of the motel, I'll send it to me so the investigations can," he said, handing the piece of paper and pen to me. I did as was told and handed the paper back to him.
In the days that followed, I was shocked at the support Toby and Clara offered me. Toby's father and mine on the other hand were different cases. Toby's father thought I had brought disgrace to their family name and a divorce was the remedy but Toby quickly set him straight.
"Ruby is my wife and she is innocent of these vile accusations being thrown at her and even if she wasn't it's my choice to stand behind her or not. I will not be swayed by your opinion or public opinion on what I should do next. She is part of this family so we protect the same way you shielded me from media criticism all the times I fell short of public expectation," he said, shutting his father up.
My father didn't even try to reach out to me even to check how I was doing amid all the internet bullying.
When I finally stopped being so anxious about leaving the house I thought the worst was over but it was only the beginning. I shared how anxious I was to be out in public with Clara so she organised little outings for us. She became like my shield, the way she stared down at anyone who dared to even just look at me in the wrong way was reassuring.
She showed up unannounced on this day and encouraged me to go out on my own.
"I think you're scared to be out alone since what happened," she said.
"I'm not," I denied.
"Then explain why you are always at home."
"I don't have anywhere to go and that's it," I said, she looked at me in a way that said she knew all I was saying was a load of bull.
"Okay, why don't we go to the mall together and then separate at different stores?" We did just that with plans to meet up at this chic smoothie and salad bar. She and Jeremy went in one direction, while I went in the opposite direction.
I finished my shopping and headed to our meeting point. Looking around, Jeremy and Clara hadn't got there yet. I knew how Clara could get when it came to shopping so ordered myself a smoothie. I had slurped down almost half my banana and blended berry smoothie when she walked in pushing Jeremy's stroller. We greeted each other warmly like we didn't just part a few hours ago then she settled down and placed her order.
All the while I listened to her ramble on about her morning, the woman genuinely enjoyed shopping. I half-heartedly listened as she spoke about what she bought for me, and reached for Jeremy's stroller. It felt light as I rolled it over but I didn't put much thought into it, not until I braced myself to lift Jeremy out of the stroller and ended up lifting something way lighter. I was surprisingly calm looking at a plastic doll dressed up in the clothes I had worn for my son this morning.
"Where is Jeremy?" My voice sounded even and calm. This had to be a prank right?
Clara's attention shifted to me and her eyes widened in shock when she noticed what was dangling from my arms, she pushed the stroller closer and looked into it. The look on her face when she saw the empty stroller had fear settle in my belly. She didn't know what was going on and if she didn't know what was going on them who was pranking me or were the both of us being pranked? This was way too serious to be a joke.
I moved from oddly calm to hysterical in seconds. I was out of my seat and by her side, jacking her before she could even guess what I was up to. I squeezed the collar of her shirt around her neck until she was wheezing for breath. I didn't seem to notice that I was choking her as I repeatedly asked where my baby was. The other occupants came to her rescue before our security team. A slow bunch of idiots. I attacked them next.
"My son is missing, where were you when they took him or did you help them?" I beat on their buff chest, all my effort hardly making any effort. Finally, frustrated by my futile efforts I broke down in tears. When they thought the storm was over I sprinted out of the store with a speed I didn't know I possessed. Tears blurred my vision but I went in search of my baby ignoring them as they called out for me.