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"I can't stop thinking that we're going to get in trouble," Ruby said. She stared out at the calm, glass-smooth water of the lake by which they sat. "Or that someone is going to find us."
They spent the hours leading up to their wake-up call in the bed as each desperately fought the hangovers that stalked them from hours in the club and their resulting dehydration. When the call came, they had groggily gotten dressed, packed up, and gone back to the car. They drove long hours and stopped only in drive-thrus and gas station bathrooms until nightfall, when Ruby convinced Lee to stop and admire the water.
Lee kissed the back of Ruby's head and draped her arm across Ruby's stomach. "Stop worrying so much." Her voice lowered, and she laid her cheek against Ruby's chest. "We have managed to get halfway across the country without being caught. No one is looking for us now."
"I know," Ruby whispered, and rubbed her fingers across Lee's hands. "I just need some closure. You know?"
Lee nodded, and clasped her hands over Ruby's thin fingers. "We will get our closure one day. For now, we just need to enjoy being free of the abuse, the pain, and the threats."
Ruby closed her eyes, safe in Lee's embrace, and tried to keep her thoughts away from the puddles of blood left pooling beneath more than one body. She told herself that it was self-defense, and no one in the world would blame a woman in danger for defending herself.
"Besides," Lee said, her voice softening with sleep, "there's nothing we can do about it. What's done is done. Sometimes you have to stay the course until another sign forces you to change directions."
Ruby pretended she didn't hear her, and soon Lee's breath came steadily and deeply. She was asleep. Ruby stared out past the water at the thicket of eternally green trees, and wondered what was happening back in her big house, and if anyone suspected yet that she had been party to the attempted murder of her husband, and had run away with the woman who had plunged the knife into his back. She doubted the second part, but the first certainly sounded like a textbook leap - not difficult for any civilian or police officer to make.
"I can't change how I feel," she whispered.
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LEE SLUNK THROUGH THE lobby of the quaint apartment building, her eyes on the tidy carpet. She raised her eyes as she reached the elevator and pushed the arrow pointing up. She leaned her weight and the heft of her backpack on one leg, hooked her thumbs in her pockets, and tapped a beat on her jeans with her fingertips.
"Evening, stranger," a woman's voice rasped from beside her. She jumped and the woman chuckled. "I'm sorry, stud. I didn't mean to scare you."
Lee flicked her eyes to the side and took in the sight. The woman was tall, at least a foot taller than her, with long, muscular legs wrapped in navy yoga pants. She wore a white tank top and sports bra, with a thin, gray hooded jacket on top that did little to conceal her chest. Lee bit her lip and met the woman's eyes.
"What brings you here?" The woman took a step toward her.
Lee swallowed through a dry patch in her throat and licked her lips. "House-sitting for friends." She glanced back at the elevator as its doors opened. "After you."
The woman walked in first, turned as Lee joined her, and pushed the button for the sixth floor. The doors closed and the woman eyed Lee. Lee pretended not to notice for a few floors, then turned her head to look the woman in the face.
"It's awfully nice of you to housesit for your friends. Do they live on the sixth floor?"
Lee's mouth twisted into a crooked grin. "No. I thought I would invite myself to your apartment for a drink." Lee stepped closer to her, close enough that she could smell the mixture of deodorant, sweat, and hormones that the stranger projected, and looked up at her through a fringe of freshly cut and straightened hair.
The attractive stranger stepped closer and pushed the hair out of her eyes. Lee's tongue darted out again to moisten dry lips, and the girl caught it with her mouth. She pushed Lee against the side of the elevator, and Lee wrapped her arms around her waist and drove her tongue deep into the warm, moist confines of her mouth.
A ding signaled that they had reached the sixth floor, and the two tumbled out, nearly falling over in a tangle of body parts. Lee pulled away, breathless, and the woman fought with her gym bag for her keys, and led Lee down the hallway to the third apartment on the left. She unlocked the door and pulled Lee by the collar of her shirt into the apartment. Lee closed the door with her foot and dropped her bag before the woman could latch on to her again.
The woman slid onto the sofa and pulled Lee between her splayed legs. "I want you so much."
Lee ran her hands up the woman's sides and pulled off her shirt, then her bra, in quick succession. She stopped for a moment to take in the sight of this strange woman lying half naked underneath her, at the dark skin flushed with wanton blood pumping through her veins, and let out a little groan.
The woman moaned back, then cried out as Lee made her way down from her mouth to the vivid, throbbing center of her. She bucked as Lee's fingers slid inside her, and her tongue danced just above, driving her in waves into ecstasy.
Sated, the stranger fell back against her couch cushions. Lee stood, topless, and walked over to her backpack. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, which she held up for the woman to see.
"Mind if I smoke?"
The woman sat up and pulled her crossed legs to her chest. "If you’ll share.”
Lee walked over and tapped out two cigarettes; she handed one to her spontaneous lover, and lit the end. Satisfied the woman was handled, she lit her own and drew the smoke deeply into her lungs, the unfamiliar flavor of gym bunny on her lips.
"Do you do this a lot?" The woman grabbed an ash tray from the coffee table and balanced it between them on a cushion that had seen better days.
"No," Lee said. "I was in a pretty serious relationship." She watched the smoke billow up above them in languid waves.
"What happened?" the woman asked, her lip curving into a pout.
"I screwed it all up." Lee stubbed out her cigarette and pushed to her feet. "Where's your bathroom?"
"The door on the right," the woman said as Lee pulled her shirt back on, then walked back over to the door and grabbed her backpack. "Are you leaving?" she asked, fear and loneliness creeping into her deep voice.
"I'm on my period," Lee lied.
"No wonder you kept your pants on.”
In the bathroom, Lee leaned against the locked door and muffled a sob with one hand. She dropped her backpack, turned on the tap and splashed cold water on her face until her tears receded. She stared at herself in the mirror, and all she saw was a hollow shell of a person, not fit for human company. As she dried her hands and face, she made the decision to leave. She tossed on her shirt, opened the window, and peered down below it. The fire escape greeted her, and she groaned in relief. She slipped her feet out just as the woman called out to her.
Sharp, rusted metal punctured her hand and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. The taste of blood in her mouth, she skulked across and down three floors before she stopped. She spotted a heavy-duty air conditioning unit, climbed up on the railing and reached out, but the smooth metal slid across the very tips of her fingers. She put her legs down on a two-inch-wide strip of metal on the outside of the fire escape; her hands held her steady against the weight of her heavy bag.
She spat blood and it fell three floors onto the concrete with an inaudible splat. Her eyes lingered on the spot, invisible in the darkness, and wondered how big of a splash she would make if she sailed off the side of the building. She focused her eyes back on the air conditioner, gulped down a deep breath, loosened her grip on the railing and jumped.
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LEE BOLTED ONTO HER feet from the mossy grass in front of the lake at the sound of the scream that ripped from her throat. Ruby crawled backwards on her hands away from the noise, wakened from her own deep sleep. Their eyes met, and they fell into heaps where they landed.
“Christ, you scared the hell out of me,” Ruby said. She dusted her hands on her slacks and left trails of moist earth on the smooth fabric.
Lee pushed her hands through her hair, and dropped her forehead onto her knees. “I’m sorry. I had a nightmare.”
Ruby stood and bridged the gap, then squatted down in front of her. She laid her hands-on Lee’s shaky shoulders, and Lee glanced up at her through hair tangled with grass and leaves. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lee mumbled into her jeans. She wiped her eyes on her knees and wrapped her arms more tightly around her shins.
Ruby chewed the inside of her mouth for a moment, then sat down and crossed her legs in front of Lee. She slid her hands down from Lee’s shoulders to her forearms, and laid her own forehead on Lee’s crossed hands. “I’m not going anywhere. When you want to talk, I’ll be here to listen.”
