Blood is Ruby Red Chapter 6

I didn’t go to school the next two days. The school was closed for a few hours on Wednesday morning while police investigated the situation. They weren’t sure whether Jude had been killed, kidnapped or had simply gone missing. They didn’t find his body in school. Nor did they find any evidence of anything, except that he had gone outside at lunchtime and not returned. I decided not to go in the day after that for fear of my own safety.

I had also warned our security team to watch out for Ruby specifically and not let her in at all costs. Although that might have been a huge hint as to what had occurred at school, nothing that I knew of had happened involving Ruby. She was still completely unsuspected and I don’t think Jude’s parents even knew he was dating her anyway.

On the Wednesday I was sitting at home, completely bored. Well, not totally bored. I did have my laptop, phones, iPad and room to keep me occupied. But still, I was alone at home all day. You can’t exactly play with your security guards.

I was sitting on my silky periwinkle-coloured duvet on my king-sized bed with my back against the light blue wall, entertaining myself with my laptop. Since I needed a new flowery skirt for a relative’s garden party coming up, I was searching through several of my favourite online shops trying to find one.

My phone suddenly started buzzing away in my school bag. I froze, deciding what to do. What if it was Ruby? I nervously reached across my bed and anxiously pulled it out of my bag.

I cautiously flipped open the phone, then let out a huge sigh of relief. It was Hans.

“Hey babe,” I answered the call, lying casually across my bed.

“Hey El, how are ya?”

“Not too great. I mean, I’m not ill or anything, but just kind of... worried.”

“Yeah. Everyone at school’s been sorta on edge the whole time. I’ve just arrived home, went to school at twelve. ‘Bout half the school didn’t show up today, everyone’s worried I guess.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Just did babe.”

Hans’ gorgeous chuckle sent tingles down my arms but I wasn’t really in the mood. My situation was too scary.

“No I’m being serious.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What would you do if you knew a secret that you’d been threatened not to tell anyone about, but it was extremely serious?”

“I don’t think some secret ’bout who someone’s got a crush on is extremely serious,” Hans replied disparagingly, assuming that the secret was some girly gossip.

“No, it could potentially send someone to jail.”

“Oh.”

“Exactly.”

“Wait, d’you say you’d been threatened?”

“Uh-huh.”

“By who? I’ll beat up this loser-”

“No. Firstly, I’m not going to say who. Secondly, you’ll be in danger.”

“But I want to protect you...”

“I have at least ten security guards to do that, but thanks babe.”

“Well if you need me, I’ll come over. And is your secret so serious you’d go to the police?”

“Definitely.”

“Well then maybe you should consider tellin’ ‘em. Anyways, you comin’ in tomoz? I’ve really missed ya.”

“You too, but I’m not coming in tomorrow. It’s too dangerous. Maybe on Friday, but I’m still not sure. I’m safer at home.”

In the background I heard someone repeatedly yelling Hans’ name from another room, the tone growing more and more agitated. He sighed reluctantly.

“Okay. Well, I gotta go now babe, hopefully you’ll come in soon. See ya babe.”

“’Kay, bye Hans.”

After hanging up, and staring at the picture of Hans on his contact information page on my phone for a few seconds, I shut my phone and threw it gently back into my school bag. Then I returned to my online skirt search.

On the Friday, I trudged into school with a body guard who refused to be more than two metres away from me. I might as well have had him as a Siamese twin. Surprisingly, it was my parents that had insisted on me having one, not me. But it wasn’t specifically because of Ruby- I was the only one who knew she’d killed Jude- it was because they didn’t want to have to deal with the problem of me being kidnapped or killed.

As I ambled through the school gates, Hans rushed over to me immediately.

“Hey El!”

His irresistible smile faded a little as he noticed my six foot body guard giving him a deadly stare with muscles bulging from folded arms.

“...And you’ve brought a body guard. You’ve kinda ruined the whole blending in plan you were tryin’a do.” And any chance of me kissing you today.

I sighed. “Look, my parents insisted. And although it’s annoying, I’d rather not be killed.”

Hans took another step closer to me. My body guard shook his head.

“If this boy’s going to get this close to you then I’m afraid I’m going to have to search him,” he explained to me in his gruff voice, but still faced Hans.

“He’s not going to...” I stopped, realising that my body guard wouldn’t give in, and glanced back at Hans. “D’you mind?” I asked apologetically.

Hans turned to my body guard and held his arms out. “Search me, big guy. But I ain’t got nothing bad on me.”

My body guard gave me a quizzical look. I briefly explained, whispering in his ear, how when most people here use double negatives, it’s doesn’t make a positive.

“He means he hasn’t got anything dangerous on him.” I translated.

My body guard nodded understandingly. When you’re a guard for a posh family, your grammar has to be perfect too.

Hans grinned awkwardly at me as my body guard searched first him then his bag, winking every so often as I tried to suppress giggles of awkwardness.

When we went to class, Ruby wasn’t there. Apparently, she hadn’t been in school since Tuesday. There were rumours that her parents had refused to let her into school. But I knew they were just rumours. She was probably dead scared that she’d be discovered by the police, or that I’d tell on her. I honestly think she regrets what she did, but that doesn’t mean that she didn’t do it and isn’t still capable of killing someone else.

I received strange looks from people all morning. I tried to always keep a couple of metres away from my body guard, and hang out with other people, but they either had to be searched or he just caught up with me again. I guess I’d rather that than dying though.