Not Your Enemy

Ruby knew that Emmett would not be in class because of the sun that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. You’d have to be psychic to guess it was going to be out. She was glad because one, Emmett would not ask questions about her bruises, and two, she didn’t have to make up excuses to the others about her glasses either.

But as the French class continued, she was more lost in her thoughts than in the lesson Mr. Burnwright was trying to teach. She also felt a hole inside of her, and she knew it was because of the fight she had with Tobi.

But she had every right to be mad, right? One does not slam the door shut on your best friend, your sister. No matter what, you just let them know you’re there for them, and that’s it. She could’ve used Tobi last night, but she wasn’t there. Instead, she just got mad at Ruby.

Another hole formed because Emmett was gone. She knew she would’ve liked to have someone to care. She had a feeling Emmett would’ve cared a lot if he saw the bruises. She knew she had to leave Dalton, but how? He knew where she lived, he knew all the people she knew.

He already threatened her that if he left her, he would hurt everyone she cared about. She only cared about Tobi and her family, and he knew that about her. Ruby would do anything to keep them safe. Even if it meant putting herself in harms way.

Class until lunch was a bore. Lunch… was more than horrible. She sat alone on the table for the first time since elementary school. She always had Tobi. They always talked about everything and nothing. She could really use her friend.

In the middle of lunch, she heard Tobi’s laugh. Her head snapped up and saw that she was sitting with Bella and her friends. Ruby’s heart tugged. How could she just do that?

It took a lot of Ruby not to go over there and tell her a thing or two. She held it in. She loved Tobi like a sister. She would never embarrass her in public. She bottled up her feelings and continued to slowly eat. Her mouth hurt too much. It was from Dalton’s forced kisses and punches.

Ruby couldn’t be more happy when the bell rang. She only had two more classes before school was over. She cringed internally. Dalton would be waiting for her. Suddenly, she wanted to stay in school forever. She thought about running away. No one would care, now that she lost her only friend, Tobi, no one would notice.

She could hitch hike to Los Angeles. She could totally do that.

Ruby went to her locker and got her things for her next class. She closed her locker and headed to her class. She bumped into someone and fell to the floor with someone. Her sun glasses were knocked away in the process.

“Oh shit! Sorry.” Tobi whispered, pulling her hair out of her face and locking eyes with Ruby.

Tobi took some time to examine her bare face and her eyes watered when she saw the damage Dalton had done. Her hate for the boy increased and she reached to touch Ruby’s bruises gingerly. Ruby hissed and swatted her hand away while glaring.

“It’s just a bruise. Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

“Just a bruise?” Tobi whispered while rolling her eyes, “you’re face looks horrible!”

“Well thanks,” Ruby snapped sarcastically, getting up and putting her glasses back on, “you look good too.”

“You know what I mean. How can you let him do this to you?”

“Why are you trying to car now?” Ruby asked, shaking her head in disbelief, “last night I tried to come to you, but you treated me like shit. I guess you and Dalton aren’t so different after all.”

Tobi let her tears fall, “At least I never beat the shit out of you and acted like I loved you. You’re like my fucking sister and I love you, why the hell are you acting like I don’t care?”

“Because last night, after I came to you for help, you slammed a fucking door in my face,” Ruby yelled, drawing some attention from a couple of passing students, “how am I suppose to think you feel about me?”

“Maybe you should try telling me what’s going on right now!”

Ruby shook her head, “When you tell me the truth I’ll tell you. I’m tired of secrets being in our ‘friendship’, it’s driving me up the goddamn wall. But until I can trust you again… you’re dead to me.”

Bad choice of words, Ruby! She told herself after she walked past her only friend, but it was too late. The damage was done. Ruby stopped half way to her class. She just couldn’t do it anymore.

Everything was falling apart. Since when did she let someone beat her? She didn’t let her aunt and uncle, so why did she let Dalton do it? She was weak, that’s why. It was also the reason why she lost the baby, she was too damn weak.

The hallway was empty, but she wasn’t going to go to class. She walked out of the building. She saw some teachers smoking, but she was able to get away without being noticed.

She went through the woods. She would go home, get some things, and leave. It was the only way. The sun that was out helped her get through the woods. She made it to the road that would take her home.

“It’s all right, man,” Emmett told Jasper they were in Jasper’s room and they were sitting on the bed. “Edward and Carlisle were there to stop you.”

“But I could’ve hurt her!” Jasper hissed. “Her blood… it was just--”

“Let me guess, singing?” Emmett joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

Jasper just glared at his brother. “I would hate myself so much if I ever did anything to her.”

“You’d never do that,” Emmett told his brother. Emmett walked out of the bedroom and he heard talking from downstairs.

“He has a right to know what Dalton did to Ruby,” Alice hissed at Edward. “She needs him!”

“If we tell him, he’ll go running out, and Jasper almost lost control, Emmett will go insane if he sees how badly--” Edward stopped talking when he heard Emmett’s thoughts.

“What are you talking about?” Emmett walked down the stairs.

Alice and Edward looked at each other apprehensively.

He looked over to Edward for support. “Come one, Ed, she’s my singer, I have every right to know,” he looked at Edward with a look that made Edward’s dead heart tug.

“You have to promise me that after you know, you’ll listen to us,” he warned him. “The sun is out, and we can not be exposed.”

“I promise,” Emmett lied.

Edward frowned because he knew he was lying. Emmett rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay, fine, check with Alice, I won’t do anything.”

Edward looked at Alice, and she nodded.

“Alice just had a vision of Ruby running away.”

Emmett’s body twitched to move, but he had to keep his promise.

“Where is she going?” his voice was low and menacing.

“Los Angeles,” Alice answered. “We’re going after her after the sun goes down, Emmett.”

“Why is she doing it?” he asked. “Everything was fine.”

Alice bit her lower lip.

“Alice, please,” Emmett pleaded, “tell me.”

“Dalton… hit her,” she confessed. “She has a black eye and busted lip. She also got into a fight with Tobi, and you being gone was just the icing on the cake.”

Emmett tried to get past them, but Edward tackled him to the floor.

“You promised!” Edward hissed. “After sunset!”

Ruby wasn’t surprised to find her aunt and uncle passed out in the living room. She headed upstairs and went to her room. She found a duffle bag from when she tried out for soccer her Freshman year, but she didn’t even go to the first practice. She shoved clothes inside of the duffle bag, along with shoes, and underwear.

She took her charger and some money she had stashed. It was money Dalton gave her. She would take a bus, hopefully, all the way to Los Angeles. She just hoped she had enough money.

She got out of the house. She looked over to Tobi’s. There were no cars. Saline was at work, and the twins were at school.

Tobi had no idea how lucky she was to have people that cared. Sure Hannah was being a bitch, but Ruby knew Hannah cared for Tobi. Saline really loved Tobi like a daughter.

Tobi needed to get over being adopted. Ruby would give anything to have a mother like Saline, even if it was an adoptive mother.

Ruby counted her money before getting in line. She was at the Greyhound bus stop that was just outside of Forks. It wasn’t that far.

“Twenty… twenty-five,” she counted and then cursed. “Fuck… not enough.”

She pushed her glasses back on and got in line. She hoped she could smile her way for a ticket. Her smile appeared when she was up next.

“One for Los Angeles,” she said.

“That will be seventy,” the old woman said. She was probably in her mid fifties and her name tag said Claire.

Ruby pretended to be worried as she looked through her bag.

“Oh, man… I only have twenty-five.”

Claire raised an eyebrow. “Look, kid, if you don’t have the money, step aside.”

“I know this looks bad, but I really need that ticket. My sister is having her baby in Los Angeles, and I need to get there as soon as possible!” she lied.

“In a bus? It’ll take you days to get there, if it was so important, you would be taking an airplane.”

“Please, I just--”

“If you don’t have the money, move aside,” Claire hissed.

Ruby glared at the woman and stepped aside.

“Fucking bitch,” she muttered.

It was time for Plan B. Hitch hike. She shoved her money in her pocket.

At three o’clock her phone went off. She checked. It was Dalton. She bit her lower lip and pressed ‘Reject’. She turned off her phone.

She continued to walk. She really had no idea where she was going to.

She looked down at her feet as she walked. The music played loudly in her ears. She looked up after about an hour, and she saw a sign that said Welcome to La Push.

“Well, shit,” she cursed.

She continued to walk. She had nowhere else to go. She could ask someone to give her a ride to the city. She knew there was a homeless shelter in Port Angeles, she could spend the night there.

La Push was worse than Forks, and not because of the people, but because of the small amount of people it had. There was actually less people than in Forks. She cursed yet again when it started to rain. It poured down hard.

“Stupid bi-polar weather,” she muttered to herself.

She saw a diner. Since it was the only one in town, it was pretty full. She rushed to the diner and got inside. Barely anyone noticed her. She was glad for that. She went to an empty booth and took out her phone and checked her voicemails.

It was mostly threats from Dalton, except for the last one.

“Ruby, it’s Emmett, call me back… as soon as you get this,” he went on to say his number. “I know you need someone, and I’m here. I’ll protect you, I swear. Okay… bye.”

She closed her phone and sighed. Should she call? He said he would be there for her. She could ask him for money, but she wondered if he would give it to her.

She opened her phone and decided to call him, but someone sat in front of her. She looked up and glared at Luke. He had a smug look on his face.

“Oh, I think I just hit the jackpot,” he placed an arm on the head of the booth. “Guess who’s been looking all over Forks for you?”

Her body tensed, but she was not going to show it to him. She removed her glasses. His eyes widened.

“Whoa, he did a work of art on you, didn’t he?” he smirked. “You tried to break up with him.”

Ruby looked around the place for some kind of exit. She knew Luke well, almost as long as Dalton. Luke was the one that introduced them because Ruby had met Luke first.

“What do you want, Luke?” she asked. He always wanted something in return.

“Me? Nothing.”

She rolled her eyes and moved out of the booth to leave. He caught her arm. She winced, she already had a bruise there.

“I’m under strict orders of bringing you back to him,” he hissed in her ear.

She pulled on his arm. “Let me go!” she yelled to get attention. “Rape! Rape!”

“Is there a problem?” a guy approached them. He wore shorts, sandals, and a tank top. He had a fit body and short hair.

Luke laughed. “No, just relationship problems, right honey?”

“I’m not your girlfriend! You’re trying to rape me!” she yelled.

Luke’s eyes narrowed at her.

“I think you should leave,” the guy crossed his arms across his chest. Just something about that said power and strength.

Luke looked at the guy for a while and then released Ruby. He leaned into her ear and whispered, “He’s going to be so pissed, Ruby, you’re in big trouble,” he walked away and out of the diner. She saw as he got inside of his car and drove away.

“I’m Sam,” the guy said.

She turned to him. “Ruby.”

“Aren’t you a little young to be out here alone?” he asked her.

“I’m fine, thanks for the help,” she muttered and walked away. He grabbed her arm, but gently.

“You don’t have anywhere to go?” he asked.

She looked at Sam with a curious look. “Why are you helping me?”

“Because if something happened to you, and I could’ve done something, I’d feel guilty.”

“Well, I’m just fine,” she took her arm back. “I have someone who is going to pick me up.”

“Whom?”

“A friend,” she said and took out her phone.

“Is that the same friend that gave you that?” he pointed to her eye.

She shook her head. “Hell no.”

“Why don’t you go to my house and you can call him from there? Your clothes are drenched, and you need warm clothes.”

She gave him an odd look. “I don’t go to the house’s of strangers.”

He smiled. “I’m not going to harm you. My fiancée has some clothes you can use.”

“Oh, you should’ve said that first,” she muttered.

Emmett took several trees down when Alice told him that Ruby’s future disappeared, which meant she was dead. He had done nothing to save her. It was all of his fault. He shouldn’t have listened to his family.

He should’ve gone after her.

She was dead before he could’ve told her how much he loved her. How he loved her laugh, smile, eyes, and her sarcasm. How much he wished he could’ve spent the rest of eternity with her.

“Emmett!” Alice called out. “I’m sorry!”

Emmett took down another one of those huge trees and threw it against others. He fell down to his knees, not because of physical exhaustion, but because of emotional. His heart, his dead heart was more dead than when it was actually dead.

He felt so empty and hallow inside. How he wished he had kissed her. To just feel her warm lips against his, and to hold her and tell her she was beautiful and the one thing he thought about every single day.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He took it out, and his eyes widened when he saw that it was from Ruby’s phone. He quickly answered.

“Hello?”

“Emmett?” it was her. It truly was Ruby. “Uh, I got your message… I need your help.”

His mouth opened and closed like a fish. In a flash, Alice was next to him, unable to believe what was happening.

“Emmett? A-are you there?” she asked when she didn’t hear a single sound.

“Ruby?”

“Yeah… it’s me… look… I really need your help.”

“Wh-where are you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Her light chuckle made his heart sore with happiness. “I’m okay… and I’m in La Push.”

“La Push? How did you get there?”

“Walked.”

“You walked to La Push?”

“I planned on getting all the way to Port Angeles, but… the rain caught up with me, and I met a nice couple that helped me.”

“Who are they?”

“Emily Young and Sam Uley, they’re pretty cool.”

“Can you put Sam on?” Emmett asked.

“Sure, I don’t know the address anyway,” she said and handed over the phone.

“Yes?”

“Sam Uley?” Emmett remembered the last name from one of the shape shifters they made a deal with years ago.

“Yes, you’re a Cullen?”

“I am.”

“Does she know?”

“No, but she’s important to me.”

“To turn? You know--”

“I know the rules, and it’s not to turn… she’s my friend… she’s… my mate.”

There was silence over the other line.

“Sam?” Emmett asked.

“We’ll meet at the border line after sunset.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it… I mean it, don’t ever mention it.”