Not Another Broken Doll

Chapter 9

“I insist” Chris said adamantly.

“I don’t need a babysitter” Ruth replied flustered.

“I’m still walking you home” he answered as she unlocked her bicycle. “And that’s the end of it.”

“Fine! But don’t make this a habit of yours!” Ruth was annoyed, but at the same time she knew that any other girl in their right mind would have found that quite sweet. That thought only made her even more annoyed.

Chris tried to make small talk while he pushed her bicycle, for the whole half hour it took them from the café to her house. Ruth could tell he had realised she was annoyed, and he was trying to change the air between them. He was really making an effort, which was something Ruth found ridiculous and started giggling at his persistence.

“This is me” she said as they approached her building. She looked up and she could see Ingrid looking surprised from the living room window, making exactly zero effort to hide her presence from her. “I’d better get going, I have stuff to mark.”

“Yeah” Chris started, not really wanting to say anything else.

“I’ll see you on Monday, then” she said, and gave him a cordial smile. She started making her way in when Chris called out to her.

“Hey, Ruth. You…”

“Yes?” She asked turning around, expecting a ridiculous comment at this point.

“Just call me if you need to talk. About anything” He said, serious. “Or if you just need an i***t to distract you when you’re annoyed. I think I’m good at that.”

Ruth smiled and went in.

From the window, Ingrid watched Chris wait until Ruth was inside the building. She didn’t even pretend she was hiding.

“So that’s the culinary prodigy?” She asked as she heard Ruth enter the apartment “He’s hot! Why didn’t you mention that?”

“He’s also a guy who saw me almost kick the living crap out of a P.I. today” Ruth said casually as she walked into the kitchen for a drink of water.

“He found you.” That was a statement, not a question. Ingrid knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

“He can burn in hell for all I care” Ruth shrugged her shoulders while filling a glass at the sink. Ingrid looked at her.

“Do we need to inform Alaistar?”

“I’ve already texted him. He’ll pick the camera up from Chris’ café in the morning” Ruth said. She was getting bored of this. It had been the same thing for the past six months. One P.I. would show up, and then they would be stupid enough to try to surprise her, then she would scare them away and confiscate all material and give it to Alaistar. The one today had been Perfect i***t number 4.

“I don’t get it, are you not afraid he will find you?” Ingrid asked.

“He already knows where I am, Ingrid. But he is too afraid to come for me. That, or he’s too afraid to leave the rathole in which he’s hiding” Ruth said, no emotion in her body left “and honestly, I don’t care anymore. Retribution is the only thing he will get if he ever has the guts to stand in front of me.”

Ingrid noticed she was grabbing her stomach. She had learned to stay at a safe distance from her when she was in this state. Ruth had made a good job keeping this from that Chris’ eyes, but she knew that she was boiling inside at the memory of what had happened. She knew Alaistar would stop her from doing anything too stupid, but that was a matter of timing.

Once Ruth went to bed, Ingrid called Alaistar herself.

“She’s in bed now” She explained “I’m fuming. She seemed to have something nice with that guy going on. What do we know about him?”

“He’s alright, Ingrid. Just a few bar brawls a few years ago.” Alaistar’s voice came through her phone “He’s the grandson of Jürgen Krüeger, the old man who owns all those ships up and down the Elba.”

“Get out of here!” she snapped “What the hell is he doing running a café then?”

“All I know is that the old man lost his mind when his son died, and it seems he’s done some damage to the rest of the family. He’s not to be messed about with.”

“Good thing we’re not messing then. Ruth’s safety is paramount. Thanks for checking” Ingrid said.

She found herself staring out of her bedroom’s window into the night. Ingrid wanted Ruth to have a normal life, but she was 24 now and no longer a child. All she could do was hope that Alaistar and his people could keep her safe. She looked at the streetlamp down below and she knew, with absolute certainty, that this was going to work out fine. She said a silent prayer, hoping she was right.