Judas Kiss- Three- Ruby ✑ ✑ ✑

Without uttering a word, without moving a muscle, without waking up her sleeping limps, Helen

frowned deeply; lamenting, meditating; ominous menace was her expression; the dazzle of studious doubtfulness she had when was making decision of running away and getting ready for it suddenly faded swiftly into a vacant thoughtlessness! She remembered how she had stolen the twenty dollar bill form the kitchen table, where her father left it for her mother. In fact he had done this as long as she recalled. It used to be ten dollars and then fifteen, and now was twenty dollars. Mother complained that the money was not enough to buy grocery for four people. So she had finally gotten a raise; twenty dollars a day for everything she needed to by for that day!

All evening before her running away from home, father and mother fought over the money. Mother said that he had never left it for her; then she softened a bit and said that he perhaps had forgotten to leave it. Father said that he did; in fact he insisted that he had left the money while raising his voice and banging on the table. Then they got their children involved. When Charlotte said that she had no idea what they were talking about, Helen knew that she was telling the truth! When her turn came and they began questioning her, she said loud:

"Now you're telling me that I am a thief!"

She denied and swore that she did not know what this all was about, while the twenty dollar bill was tucked in inside her bra all day. Mother searched their room top to bottom; father searched the rest of the house. Meanwhile Helen was all shaken up in case they searched their bodies; but that never happened.

After everything calmed down and house was quiet, she packed her little black bag with only a few sweater she had; no over coat, no undergarment, just a pair of jeans and three sweater, a few books and some pictures. She did all these in the bathroom with the door locked from inside. Since she had begun talking about what her friends were telling her about her father's act and even once had threatened to call the police, father had not come to their room. Charlotte was not speaking to her. She blamed her older sister for taking father's love away from her!

She came back to the room, did not put the light on; pushed the bag under her bed and lay down on her bed with her clothes on. Her sleep that night was wakefulness.

To Be Continued