Ruth Vicissitudes - Episode 10

 

Two days passed and Ruth didn’t hear a word from Ericks nor Josh. She became fed up and decided to go to his room again after the closure of lectures. After she knocked, Josh promptly opened the door;
“Hey, he came back but went out again. i didn’t get to hear where he went to because I was in the shower”
“Again, I never get to meet him when he’s home. What is happening, he is been avoiding me totally” she heaved a sigh of disappointment . She wished she could know more what was happening to Ericks, why he had been avoiding her and not the same Ericks she had known for some months. As adamant as she was, she opted to stay till his return.
“You cant, I said I don’t know where he went to and he may not be back till late in the night. I advice you to come back tomorrow”
“No, I will wait till he returns. Am tired of being kept in the dark, I have been here more times than I can imagine and I leave with the same answer of his being absent. I demand an explanation from him”
“I will give you a call when he gets back, Ericks has been too busy of late trying to pay up the boys that abducted him before the two weeks ultimatum he was given expires”
“Why do I have the feeling that you are hiding something from me Josh? You have known me, tell me if Ericks is right there”
“No, why should I lie to you to cover up Ericks whereabouts”
“Well, because he’s your friend. Ericks, Ericks, I know you are there”, she shouted, pushing the door against Josh’s face to enter the room.
“Stop shouting, keep your voice low please”
“Then let me in or I will continue to scream and everyone would think you are assaulting me” Josh still asserted that Ericks wasn’t there and she continued to scream Ericks name all over again.
“I know you are there, please come out, I need to see you” her sweet voice and words melted Josh’s heart and he allowed her in

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. Ericks couldn’t help it but to creep out of his hiding behind the wardrobe and beckon on the wall.
“Ericks, you have been in there all the time while I was calling you right? Why am I treated this way by you both like am a sort of a donkey? What have I done to deserve this maltreatment?”
“Ruth, I… I… I….” he was too speechless to speak or utter any word of apology. The fact was, he lacked what to tell Ruth, he admitted he made a mistake but the circumstances surrounding him demanded that he distanced himself from Ruth, something she wouldn’t easily understand because he just didn’t know how to tell to convince her.
“Cant you say something? Have you become dump now?”
“Ruth…”
“Don’t Ruth me”, she cuts Josh off.
“I don’t need you to say anything but him” she pointed to Ericks.
“Please, can you go?” he finally said, lacking words to describe his emotions.
“What? Is that all you can say to me, that I should go? I demand an explanation. What happened to you when you were captured? You don’t look the same anymore Ericks since then” .
She was right absolutely, Ericks thought. She deserved an explanation to what was happening around him, he hated to treat the woman she loved the way he did. He suggested he takes her somewhere, some place quiet and secluded, not even the air could be an interference . She agreed reluctantly and Ericks took her to the first place they shared their first kiss, one of their regular spots under a tree. They felt the cool breeze brushing their skins, the screeching sound of the falling leaves  muttering some words they couldn’t decipher as they danced to the breeze. They sat on the grass, Ruth waited upon him to commence;
“Am sorry my love for the way I treated you these past few days. Really, I am”
“Its okay. I know you went through a pretty bad time, I just wanted to be all the time around you, comforting you and giving you a listening ear and a lending hand but you shrugged me off. I don’t want to lose you to the claws of death or the perils of this world”
“I love you so much Ruth, and I will continue to do that even when am gone”
“Why do you speak of death like its near you sweetheart?” he gave a brief pause and stood for a moment, staring at the bright stars in the sky.
“I was threatened by those men that abducted me that if I don’t pay them, everyone I have ever loved would be dead. They have their eyes around me here on campus and everywhere I go”
“Let me help you Ericks, I could get you the money from anywhere and you pay them , you get your normal life back, our lives back”
“No, it goes way beyond that Ruth. I just cant explain”
“Just tell me, I will understand to the best of my ability”
“No you cant am sorry. I cant put you to danger because of me, that’s selfishness. We cant be in a relationship anymore, we cant be seeing each other again. This is the last”
“What are you saying? We can fight this Ericks, don’t give up on us please”
“There is no us anymore Ruth, that’s the reality. I cant have you murdered because of me, cant you understand? These people are dangerous, you don’t know them but I do”
“We can still change things around Ericks. I mean what I said”
“Leave me to face my cross Ruth, you can go and be with whomever that pleases you”
“I don’t want anyone except you. You are my everything, my sunshine and moonlight. I cant exchange you for anyone”
“No, listen. Don’t call me again or text me or come in contact with me. If they see you anywhere close to my cell phone or me, you might be dead. Bye Ruth”, he kissed her one more time and deep before exiting. She called his name but he didn’t turn back, tears began pouring out of her eyes uncontrollably till there was none. She laid on the grass for majority of the night, expecting the worst to happen to her, expecting death to come and embrace her and kiss her good bye. Without Ericks, she had no life and existence. Ericks came back and sat quietly on his bed, Josh who opened the door and saw how he looked knew the worst had happened.
“You did it right?” he asked Ericks who simply nodded to answer.
“You did the right thing, you weren’t meant to be with her, she had a fiancé more powerful, influential and richer than you are and could make you disappear with spark of the fingers”. Ericks didn’t say a word and burst out crying, Josh comforted him but he cried the more, he felt bad breaking up with her and lying to her about the cause of the breakup. He felt guilty, that which he may regret for the rest of his life. He had to do as he was threatened or he would lose his life.