Page 54 of Waiting for Ru
“What sort of things mean I’m not okay?”
“Changes in your behaviour, difficulty in concentrating or in understanding.”
“Why haven’t you said anything?” Ru blurted as Jasim grabbed the door handle.
Jasim turned. Ru was out of bed, wearing a thin blue T-shirt over grey knit shorts. There was another large bruise on his thigh, that looked…What the hell?Had someone stamped on him?
“Why are you getting picked on?”
“Don’t change the subject.” Ru took a step towards him. “Did you read about me online?”
“Yes.”
“I was wondering if maybe you hadn’t.” Ru whispered.
Jasim didn’t want to tell him he’d pored over the story in several newspapers, feeling increasingly horrified. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Ru clenched his jaw. “I’m not broken.”
“I can see you’re not. How much more to what happened is there? What didn’t I read?”
“There was no sexual assault if that’s what you’re asking. Just a lot of mental cruelty and some physical, but never so much that it stopped me working.” Ru sighed and took another step towards him. “Maybe I am a little broken.” The words came out in a whisper. “But I’m trying to fit in. It’s just that I don’t always know the right thing to do or say. I don’t know whether it’s me who’s not good at making friends or whether no one wants to be my friend. I trust too easily, then I get upset when I’m disappointed, as if I’d missed something that others would have seen. It’s like I’m having to cram all the learning of those missing years in as fast as I can before I can move on.”
“Have you spoken to anyone professionally?”
“No. I go over it enough in my head without telling someone who thinks they have all the answers.”
“If you want to talk about it, I’m here. If you don’t want to, then that’s fine as well.”
“I won’t let what happened to me dictate my future.” Ru clenched his fists. “I’m going to make myself into the person I want to be. Nothing’s going to stand in my way.”
Suddenly, despite the determination in his voice, he looked like the little lost boy that Jasim had once been, and so much like Tye, that Ru could have been his brother. Jasim felt as if his blood was racing through his body, setting him on fire.
Ru took the last two steps until he stood right in front of him. “Thank you for…everything.” Ru held out his hand.
Jasim stared at it for a moment wondering what Ru was doing, then as he took Ru’s hand, Ru leaned in and kissed him on the lips. Shock stunned him into immobility.
How long did the kiss go on? Jasim couldn’t tell, didn’t know, was desperate that it not stop, but he dragged his hand from Ru’s and pushed him gently away before leaving the room and closing the door.Oh shit, fuck, bollocks.
