Protagonist! Please Stay Away from Me 2!-Chapter 15: Ruby, I Want Some Time Alone

"Are you alright, Sharon?" Ruby asked, her voice laced with genuine worry as she sat beside me on the weathered park bench.

Right now, we were in some forgotten corner of the city; a green expanse dotted with ancient oaks and the distant hum of traffic—a place whose name escaped me entirely.

But that didn’t surprise me.

Why should it surprise me?

A meaningless person, whose existence felt as undefined as a half-sketched shadow, shouldn’t remember such trivial details.​ She has no right.

"I’m fine," I said in a quiet voice, lacking the strength to meet her eyes. My gaze fixed on the cracked pavement, where fallen leaves skittered like my scattered thoughts. "No need to be worried about me."

"Fine?!" Ruby exploded, her incredulous look sharpening as she leaned closer. "You’re anything but fine! Sharon, you destroyed your things back at your apartment! And those tear marks on your face—they’re still fresh​! You look like someone who hadn’t sleep for days! Tell me the truth, Sharon. After you left my mansion, did you even lay on your bed?"

"I’m exhausted," I muttered, my words barely rising above the rustle of wind through the branches. "Exhaustion... just exhaustion. Nothing more."

"Don’t lie to me, Sharon! You look like a train ran over you!" Her hand hovered near my arm, hesitant, as if afraid I’d shatter at the touch.​

I snarled, the sound raw and feral from deep within. "Ruby, what right do you have to worry about me?! We’re just sex partners!" I finally glared at her, my eyes burning with a mix of rage and despair. "You like women, right? Thanks to me, you have a dick now! So go fuck someone else! You can find someone else!"

Come on, go away... Leave me alone...

The words echoed in my skull, a desperate mantra. The park around us blurred—the laughter of distant children, the scent of damp earth after rain, the chill seeping through my thin jacket. It all mocked my isolation, amplifying the void inside.

​

Ruby’s face crumpled, her usual fiery confidence cracking. "Sharon, I’m not here for sex. I like you—really like you. And yeah, I get it; you could find any other woman for that. But that’s not why I’m sitting here in this damn park at dusk. I am here for you... I like you."

I laughed, a self-deprecating bark that tasted like ash. "Me? You like me?" I turned toward her fully, my body rigid, fists clenched in my lap. "Tell me, Ruby. What is there in me that you could possibly like? I’ll tell you. There’s nothing! Absolutely nothing! Fucking nothing!"​

​

The silence stretched, heavy as the gathering twilight. Ruby didn’t flinch. Instead, she reached out, her fingers brushing my sleeve with a gentleness that pierced deeper than any shout. "That’s where you’re wrong, Sharon. So dead wrong it hurts to hear." Her voice dropped, steady amid my storm. "You think you are someone with no meaning? Invisible? Let me paint you the picture... that you can’t see."

She paused, eyes locking onto mine, refusing to let me look away. "First, your fire. That snarl you just threw at me? Most people crumble under half that pain, but you? You fight. Even when you’re breaking, you bare your teeth. It’s terrifying and beautiful."​

Ruby caressed my cheek. "Second, the way you look at me. What you said before was correct, I can find another woman—and the same goes for you... but they are just puppets. But you are not a puppet."

I shook my head, tears pricking anew, but she pressed on. "Third, your mind—god, Sharon, the way you unravel mysteries like they’re puzzles made for you alone. I was in awe. Still am. The way you asked me questions, connected all the dots. I was in awe. Still am."

"Stop," I whispered, but my voice cracked. The park bench creaked under us, a swan couple gliding across the nearby pond in mocking serenity. How could she see strength where I felt only fractures?

"No." Ruby’s grip tightened, warm against the evening chill. "And your laugh—the real one, rare as a lunar eclipse. It lights up rooms. And your touch... even casual, it grounds me. After coming here, I never contacted anyone—just observed. But you? You saw me. That’s not nothing, Sharon. That’s everything."

Self-loathing surged, hot and familiar. "You’re delusional. I’m a person who can’t even control her own life. I am just a pathetic person—who doesn’t even know her identity! A person who’s a mistake! A joke!"

Ruby smiled faintly, sadly. "I know what you are feeling, Sharon. The same thing happened with me after they destroyed my life. I understand your feelings." She leaned in, breath mingling with mine. "Tell me what broke you today. Not the apartment—the real shatter. Let me in, or at least try."

The dam trembled. Flashes assaulted me: orphanage, people who I had offended, my writing career, my hardships, transmigration—everything had happened to me, shadows whispering my failures, the mirror reflecting hollow eyes bombarded my mind all at once.

Exhaustion wasn’t just physical; it was soul-deep, eroded by years of helplessness. "I-I don’t... know what I am," I admitted finally, voice hoarse.​"A human? A mistake? Alex? Sharon? I-I... d-don’t know... I want to... but h-how? All... I-I... am feeling now... is emptiness—hollow."

"You will find the answer, Sharon," Ruby countered fiercely. "You are not hollow. Wounded. And wounds heal when shared." Her hand cupped my cheek, thumb tracing a tear track.

"Then, what am I, Ruby?" I looked towards the sky. "I fear that someone’s still observing me. Trying to control me—erase me. That I don’t have my own will! I am making decisions according to someone else—that’s I fear the most!"

Ruby shook her head, and rubbed my back in circles. "Are you scared?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes, I am."

"Me too," Ruby admitted. She pointed towards her heart. "My heart still trembles when I think of the monsters that work in The Bureau. So, you are not alone, Sharon. You never are... and never will."

I closed my eyes before pushing her away. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and turned my back towards her. I opened my eyes as I looked at the street further ahead. "Ruby, I want some time alone. Next time, I will contact you." Without waiting for her reply, I walked away.