Eric
445 Words
Eric stepped back into his cell. The door shut behind him. The quiet hit immediately.
He didn’t hesitate. His hand reached for the sketchbook, like it always did.
The surrounding walls were already covered. Not with marks. Not with time.
With her.
Drawings lined every inch of concrete. Ruby as a baby in her mother’s arms. Ruby laughing between her parents. Ruby reaching for something just out of frame. Moments he wasn’t supposed to remember. Moments he had no right to keep.
But he had.
And now,
There was a new one.
Ruby behind glass. Eyes filled with anger, pain, and confusion.
He exhaled slowly, dragging a hand down his face.
Those eyes…
They followed him.
Into sleep.
Into silence.
Into every moment he tried not to think about her.
He had protected her. From a distance. From the shadows. From things she would never understand.
But this,
This wasn’t the same.
Seeing her yesterday…
Something had shifted.
When she first sat across from him, distracted, annoyed, unaware, he had almost smiled.
But then she looked at him.
Really looked.
And for just a second,
Something had flickered in her expression. Not recognition. Something else.
His jaw tightened.
He shouldn’t have noticed. Shouldn’t have cared.
But he had.
And it stayed with him.
The sound of her voice. The way it cracked when she said why. The way she believed, completely, that he had taken everything from her. That had been the hardest part.
Not the accusation. But the certainty behind it.
He had seen that look before.
In courtroom sketches.
Head down.
Silent.
Unmoving.
He had let them draw him that way.
Let them believe it.
Because the truth,
The truth would have gotten her killed.
His fingers tightened around the pencil.
The sketchbook flipped open and his hand moved.
Not thinking.
Not planning.
Just drawing.
Her again.
But this time,
Different.
Softer.
The moment she smiled. Just barely. Like she didn’t mean to.
He captured it. Line by line.
The curve of her lips. The fall of her hair. The light that flickered in her eyes, before she shut it down.
When he finished, he didn’t move. Just stared.
Two days.
That was all that was left.
Two days until he walked out of this place.
Two days until everything changed.
His gaze softened as he lifted his hand. His fingers hovered, just above the drawing.
Not touching and Not allowed.
Not yet,
“Two days, Ruby,” he said quietly.
His voice didn’t waver.
“I’ll find you.”
“And I’ll keep you safe.”
His words were just a whisper on his lips.
“Even if you hate me.”
- Writer
