PRINCESS OF DARKNESS

PART V

Ruthie's a really sick puppy, isn't she? By the way, I don't own Seventh Heaven. But I do own Jenna. Then again, that's not something to brag about, is it?

Ruthie had another idea.

Part one of her plan would involve asking her father for permission to go to the Livingston household.

"I want to give her the opportunity to apologize." She said, sounding as noble as humanly possible.

"Well, that's a nice thing, but... I'm not sure I want you near Jenna."

"But dad, doesn't God always forgive?"

"Yes, but Ruthie—"

"And shouldn't I always try to be more and more like God?"

"Of course, but—"

"So shouldn't I be able to go?"

Eric thought for a moment.

"Why don't I go with you?"

"I want to go alone."

"Ruthie, I'm not comfortable with you doing this. We've been through a lot the last few days. I don't want you getting hurt again."

"Oh, don't worry, dad. I won't get hurt."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"I'll be fine."

"Ruthie—"

"I'm strong, dad. I learned it from you."

Feed the ego. That's it... get what you want...

"Just be careful." Eric warned.

"Of course."

Ruthie gave Eric a kiss on the cheek and left.

Then, she went to the Livingston household. It was a rather uneventful stay.

Ruthie and Jenna exchanged dirty looks. Jenna was forced to apologize to Ruthie.

This made Ruthie very, very happy.

Ruthie walked into the Camden household, her face tear-streaked and her hands shaking. She perfected this on her way home, so now she looked like she had just seen or experienced something truly horrific.

Eric was concerned as soon as he saw her. His daughter. Shaking, crying. He had no idea she was toying with him.

Eric first asked what happened, even though he had a feeling. Something Jenna did. Or Jenna's parents. The Livingston's seemed like such decent people when they were over for dinner. But Eric always had that feeling that they weren't so decent.

Ruthie responded by taking a deep, ragged breath and saying 'he touched me'.

Eric was immediately enraged. Unlike most times, his anger could be read on his face.

"Who?" He asked, eyes full of fire, heart ready to explode with pure, unadulterated fury.

Ruthie could have laughed. Her father was so easy. So malleable. She could have told him that rabid wolves tried to eat her and he would believe her. But then again, that was more of a referendum on her ability to mislead, than on his gullibility.

"Mister... Mister Livingston."

Ruthie burst into a fit of tears, falling into her father's arms. She thought she might have been over-acting, but her father bought every minute of it regardless.

Ruthie quickly became bored with this. While manipulating her father's emotions was fun, the real fun would come when Ruthie had Mister Livingston arrested. The Camdens owned Glenoak. Even the Camdens who weren't related by blood. There was no possibility anyone would ever believe anything the patriarch of the Livingston family had to say.

Ruthie was exceptionally happy with this idea. It was so devious. Mr. Livingston hadn't done so much as shake Ruthie's hand when she came over to his house.

Who would believe him? With Ruthie's acting ability and the hatred of the Livingston's factoring in, there was barely a need for a trial.

She smiled behind Eric's back, knowing that the sky was the limit to what she could do... and what she could get away with.

Who could possibly stop her? She may not have been a Camden by blood, but she was a Camden by name.

It wasn't too long after that Ruthie found herself sitting in front of Detective Michaels, giving him the sickening details of Mr. Livingston's attack on her.

By the end, Detective Michaels was so sickened by the story that he had to take a five-minute break just to be able to breathe again. After all, he watched Ruthie grow up. He was as angry as a family member over what had been done to her.

The whole thing was very emotional for Detective Michaels.

Ruthie found the whole thing quite sad. A grown man becoming so broken up at the very thought of Ruthie being 'touched in her bad place' as he so aptly put it.

Ruthie wanted to roll her eyes. Michaels was a mess.

By the end of the week, the Glenoak Police Department had a warrant out for Mr. Livingston's arrest.

And by midweek, most of the state knew the story. Young girl goes to friend's house and is molested by leering psychopath. Jenna and family vehemently denied that this happened. Of course, nobody cared what they had to say. Mr. Livingston had already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

Public opinion is surprisingly important when considering a trial. After all, one's innocence or guilt is decided by twelve fallible and completely average people.

In the words of one former lawyer, "Trials are essentially a stage play, where the good actors get off scott-free and the bad actors end up behind bars."

Mr. Livingston knew this. He also knew he never touched Ruthie Camden before. He barely even looked at her. To be charged with molesting her was ludicrous and ridiculous.

It was a frightening situation for him. He knew that nobody would possibly believe him. He knew that he looked like the bad guy. He knew that even if he was found not guilty, people would still think of him as a sex offender.

This was a bad situation. The Livingston's were progressive, but they were still one of the stereotypical 1950's style "father brings home the bacon, mother sweeps up the house" type of families. If the patriarch of the family was put away, the remaining Livingston's would find themselves likely having to sell their house for money, or moving away to a poorer, more affordable part of town.

Ruthie knew all of this. She lapped it up. Everything was absolutely perfect.

Meanwhile, Jenna was angry. There was a strong possibility she would never see her father again. This enraged the girl, who decided to take out her anger with physical force.