Chapter 74

Three days passed since the revelation. Horrid, like a pus-filled wound, it dominated every corner of Edward's mind. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on work, on the present, he kept casting his thoughts back on that awful moment.

"One cannot deny love."

According to Oswald, sure. According to Edward, there was no denying betrayal, either.

Since that moment, Edward had been a mess. Incapable of eating or sleeping, he'd kept asking himself the same question over and over. Until at last he could take it no longer, and he had to find out the answer.

It did not take long to discover Ruby's new whereabouts. All it took was a bribe here and a whispered rumor there. Before Edward's lunch had finished its round in the microwave, he'd printed his former colleague's new address. Within an hour, he was there.

The neighborhood itself was hardly the Narrows, the 'poorest of the poor', but it would hardly appear in any rental ads soon. It was functional, but shabby. Everything was covered by soot or cobwebs. Abandoned cars crowded the sidewalk, which was as cracked as a dropped eggshell. The air was both sweet and dirty, like a patch of unwashed skin. Edward hugged himself. Standing there, in his expensive green suit, he felt like he was wearing a sign around his neck reading, Please rob me!

Edward saw the one thing he wished to in this depressing place: the name 'Sinclair', fresh ink on clean paper, next to one of the buzzers. He pressed it all too enthusiastically. There was a moment of inactivity. Edward considered buzzing again when there was a click. A slightly out-of-breath Ruby spoke. "Hello?"

"Ruby?"

There was a second's pause.

Then: "What're you doing here, Ed?" The voice was nervous. On edge.

"I came to talk with an old friend. Is that okay?" Edward swallowed hard.

"Uh - you're not smoking or anything, are you?"

Edward frowned, puzzled by the question. "Er, no. I don't smoke."

"Okay, then. I don't have work today, anyway." There was a clack as the building's front door unlocked. "Come on up. Floor three. Apartment 318."

"Roger that." Edward pushed the rusty gate open, entering the dim corridor. It smelled of wet cement and something rotten. He plugged his nose like a child about to dive into a swimming pool. Cautiously, he looked about. There was a homeless man sleeping underneath the mailboxes, his callous feet sticking out of a well-worn mattress. Disgusted, Edward practically jogged his way to the barebone elevator. Rather than proper walls, it relied on close-set metal bars to keep it afloat. As he ascended, Edward felt like the world's largest turkey stuffed in an ugly cage. At last he found himself before a door bearing the number 318. He could feel his heart in his throat, yet he struggled to remain calm. With a quick gulp he rapped his knuckles.

A second later, the door was unbolted and swung open. Ruby stood there, looking exactly the same yet entirely different. She was dressed very casually: a too-large gray shirt with Link from Zelda printed on the front. Underneath it, she wore baggy trousers that Edward had only ever seen in hip hop music videos. Her feet were bare, her toenails painted a pearly pink. The jewelry of the day was a rutile necklace: long, glassy shards the color of congealed cherry jam. Her blonde-brown-gray curls were kept out of her face by a simple black headband, revealing her moon-face. Her eyes, like his, spoke of sleepless nights. But unlike him, she looked...happy. There was a glow in her aura that he had rarely seen in her.

But the aspect that drew Edward's attention the most was the infant in Ruby's arms. Half the length of his forearm and frightfully thin, the child had Ruby's peach skin accompanied by fuzzy red hair growing on her scalp. The child, dressed in a Winnie-the-Pooh shirt and a diaper, clung to Ruby's top and looked at him with curious green eyes.

Edward felt the saliva in his mouth dry up, but he quickly recomposed himself. "How - what is...?"

Ruby's eyes widened. She laughed, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no! This is Beryl, my ward." She peered down at the baby. Speaking in a soft coo, she whispered, "Beryl, sweetie, this is Ed. He's a nice man. Say hello!" Playfully, she took one of the baby's tiny hands and used it to wave at Ed. The infant just stared on cluelessly. Edward smiled for the first time in days. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Ruby nodded, stepping aside. Edward ambled inside, and felt instant relief. The apartment, unlike the outside world, was warm and smelled of perfumed candles. An air purifier stood guard in the corner, humming as it rotated mechanically. The living room was sparse, but homey. Dominated by second-hand but very clean furiniture, the place also bore framed pictures of gems. Rose quartz. Amethyst. Emerald. Sapphire. The windows were small, but let in a nice amount of natural lighting. Sitting on the coffee table was a stereo playing Owl City. Books were piled on every available surface, as were children's toys. In the kitchen, which occupied a third of the living room, there were letter magnets on the fridge and a jar filled with fresh-baked cinammon buns.

The place felt like home, plain and simple.

Ruby chuckled at Edward's face. "Close your mouth, or you'll get flies in."

Edward obeyed, feeling more than a little out of place. Ruby swept past him, still holding the child close. "Man, I was not expecting this at all! What can I get you? Coffee, tea? Mercury just brought in some really nice Earl Grey-"

"Er," Edward cut in nervously. "Just, uh, water will be fine."

"Okay." Ruby nodded. Never letting go of Beryl, she made her way to the fridge. "You go ahead, sit anywhere you want. I'll be there in a second."

"Of course." Nervously, Edward seated himself on the faded leather couch. Up close, he saw a few children's books were still open. Dr. Seuss, mostly. It was peculiar to see such simplistic literature mixed in with textbooks of geology and the foundations of the earth.

Ruby, who had grown an additional pair of arms to complete her task, looked curiously at Edward.

The silence, softened only by Owl City's whimsical soundtrack, was awkward. Neither had truly spoken since Ruby's departure, and Edward still could not help but feeling betrayed by someone that he'd come to care about. Ruby, in turn, felt guilty for not having saluted her new friend as he had deserved. Prepared to face the elephant in the room, she broke the quietude. "So...how is everything?"

Edward shrugged. Pushed his glasses up. "As usual, I suppose."

Ruby paused. "How's Oswald?"

"Come home and you'll find out."

Ruby sighed, closing her eyes. "Ed-"

"No, really." Edward turned to face her as she approached him, carrying a tray. On it stood two glasses of iced water and a bottle filled with milk. Sitting down across from him, Ruby set the tray down. Her extra arms retracting, she collected the bottle and fed it to Beryl. All the while avoiding Edward's gaze, she tilted the baby's head back and held the bottle firmly. Edward waited, chewing on his bottom lip. He watched Ruby as he mentally went over his discussion. The way she kept her eyes on the baby, the way she smiled as it burped and wiped some dribble from its pouty lips...it spoke of a warmth that almost didn't belong in Gotham. Just like that, Edward could all too easily believe the way Ruby had supposedly looked out for Oswald when he'd been brainwashed.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Mercury?"

Ruby barely looked up. "Hm?"

"You mentioned a 'Mercury' before."

"Oh, he's my coworker and friend. Sweet guy." Ruby chuckled. "He's been here practically every day since I brought Beryl home." Her smile lingered. "He's kinda like her daddy."

"So you two are-?"

"No, no." Ruby shook her head. "He's great, really. A Beatnik through and through. But I don't think he's my type."

"So you're not over Oswald yet?"

Ruby's smile disappeared. Sighing, she finally turned to look him in the face. "What is it, Ed?" She suddenly looked far older than her years.

"I just want some answers." Edward leaned back in the sofa. "About Isabella's death."

Some of the rosiness left Ruby's cheeks. Yet her expression remained guarded. "What about it?"

"Did you know?" Edward forced the words out. Praying that they would be met with negation. When Ruby didn't answer, he asked again. More forcefully. "Did you know that Oswald would have my love killed? Out of jealousy? Because he's in love with me?"

Ruby's eyes filled with tears. A few of them splashed onto Beryl's face, warm and salty, as her caretaker glared at Edward. "I knew that last bit for sure. I couldn't forget for the life of me! Every day I saw him look at you that way, every day, while I died inside. Knowing that what I felt for him wasn't returned, not even by a fraction! Do you have any idea how that feels?" Ruby was crying now that, after so long, she was finally being allowed to express how she felt. "I...I'd been planning to tell him, right then and there, when I overheard him saying how you're his one true love." Ruby spat out those last words as though they tasted foul. "I wanted to die, right then and there! Now I'm glad I didn't, because of this little one." She cradled Beryl, who was thoroughly enjoying the warm rain caressing her face.

Edward sat there, stunned. For the first time since the revelation, he realized how this must have impacted Ruby. He'd known that she loved Oswald, perhaps had loved him since the very beginning. Now that he had this new piece of information, Edward was finally able to understand why Ruby had distanced herself from Oswald.

But despite this new comprehension, he was far from satisfied.

He leaned forward, his eyes trained on her. "You didn't answer my question: did you know what Oswald did?"

Ruby's eyes, still glassy with tears, widened. She turned away, silent.

That was the moment when Edward's patience ran dry. Without warning he jumped to his feet. He snatched the baby from Ruby's hands and hurried to the window. "Hey!" Ruby shouted. Edward opened the window and dangled the screaming baby over the fifty-foot drop. Ruby crashed against him. She fought like a wildcat, trying to reach past him to grab Beryl, yet her limbs did not elongate. Clearly, her terror had momentarily made her forget her powers. Edward pushed her back, dangling the wailing infant over the empty space. "So? So?! Did you?!"

"LET HER GO, YOU BEAST!" Ruby punched him in the jaw. The impact loosened his hold on the baby. Yet before Beryl could fall, Ruby's arms stretched out like taffy and coiled around her. Quickly pulling her back inside, Ruby cradled the weeping baby. Hugged her close, she hushed her gently. "It's okay, honey. It's okay. Mama's here, Mama's here." Hugging the child to her chest, Ruby looked up at Edward. There was a betrayal and hurt in her eyes that hurt almost as much as the punch had. "What in the hell is the matter with you?! She's only a baby! An innocent baby!"

"No one's innocent." Edward rubbed his aching jaw. "Not in this city." He lowered his hand, glaring at Ruby. "So. You knew."

Ruby said nothing, only rocked and patted Beryl.

Edward's lips became a thin line. "You betrayed me."

"I..." Ruby sighed, closing her eyes. "I didn't know he'd targeted Isabella. Not until afterwards."

"That's why you left." Edward realized out loud. "But why hide the truth from me?"

"Because I couldn't choose." Ruby admitted, anger lacing her remorse. "Oswald is the first real friend I ever had, and I...I love him." She laughed bitterly, humorlessly. "He's hurt me, but I still love him. That's not logical, I know."

"Love isn't logical." Isabella's voice whispered in Edward's ear. He gulped.

"And you..." Ruby shook her head. "I couldn't stand you at first. But then I got to know you, and I started to care." She stroked Beryl's cheek. "I couldn't choose. You're both my friends. Or..." She glared at him. "Were, at least."

"I should take that baby from you right now." Edward growled. "I should grab her and bash her against the wall until her brains spill out. I should force you to watch. I should make you hold her body afterwards. I should make you feel everything I've felt since Isabella died."

All remorse and sorrow had left Ruby's face. Her visage was stone brimming with lava. "You won't live to feel your fingers touch her skin."

The two of them stood there, separating by only a few feet - but so much more. Torn apart by differing loyalties and past pains, they watched their slowly blossoming friendship shrivel and die. In its place was a pile of smoldering ashes of what could have been.

Edward's jaw, still aching, set. "I got what I came for."

Ruby spat viciously in his face. The glob hit his cheek and slowly moved towards his chin. He stood there, unmoving, as she snarled, "If you're not out of this neighborhood in five minutes, I'll call the police. And if you ever come near Beryl again, I'll fucking kill you."