"What the fuck are you two doing in here?"
Even though the words were spoken in a quiet and controlled tone, I jumped at the sound of that all-too familiar voice.
It was the same voice that I hadn't been able to get out of my mind for weeks. Only this time, it sounded furious. Vibrating with quiet, but fire-spitting fury.
"Caleb, I thought you were still in that meeting."
Leo started, but noticed that Caleb wasn't listening at all. Or even looking at us. His eyes were focused on Leo's palm on my face, which he immediately dropped and straightened.
"Ah, we were just, um, talking about you."
"Were you?"
"Yeah, bro. We were just talking about that day wh-"
Leo didn't get to finish his sentence. It was as if something snapped the calm that was blanketing Caleb as his teeth gritted and his eyes went ablaze with white-hot fury. He marched into the small space, eyes fixed on something between me and Leo.
We both looked down at almost same time to see Leo's hand that was still holding my wrist.
"Did you actually call me your brother, you backstabbing bastard?"
To me, the contact felt innocent, almost brotherly. It certainly had been that way for Leo, going by the way he had been talking to me. But it didn't take a second for us to realise that to Caleb, it looked anything but familial.
Leo dropped my hands and backed away a step or two, a second before Caleb was standing between us, with his back to me, facing Leo.
"Calm down, Caleb. Its not wha-"
"Do not ask me to calm down, you little-"
There was absolutely nothing 'little' about Leo. Infact, as tall and broad-shouldered as Caleb was, Leo had a few inches over him both vertically and horizontally.
But I could've sworn that at the moment, Caleb seemed to tower over him, radiating waves of anger.
"Caleb, man really. You're getting it all wrong. We were just talking about-"
At that moment, Caleb pushed Leo away, making him stumble a few more steps back.
"Oh my God, Caleb! What are you doing?"
I made to move, but he was standing so close to me that I knew I wouldn't be able to stand without pressing up against his back.
Either he didn't hear me, or chose to ignore my words, keeping his focus on Leo, who had raised his hands up in surrender as he tried to reason with him.
"You've known me since we were kids, Caleb. You think I would ever go behind your back like that knowing how deep your feelings are for her?"
"You're right. I've known you since we were kids. And that's exactly what you'd do, just for the sport of it."
He raised his hands again, as if to administer another push, but this time Leo caught hold of his upper arms in an almost hug-like move, pulling him away from me as he shouted, "Seriously? Do you actually think that lowly of me?"
As Caleb twisted and writhed to get out of his grip, nearly losing both their balance, he gritted his teeth and spitted, "how dare you touch her? How fucking dare you, you backstabbing, piece of shit!"
Getting himself out of Leo's grip, Caleb made to swing his fist, aiming Leo's torso, and without thinking I jumped off the desk, and threw myself between both of them.
"Stop it! Stop it for God's sake, Caleb!"
"Ruth, don't!" Leo shouted, his hands landing on my upper arms as if to push me out of the harm's way, but I was already there, acting as a shield to Leo. It would've been a funny sight any other time, a 5'2 me trying to protect a 6'4 Leo, but right now it was anything but funny.
His fist stopped a few inches away from my stomach, as his dark eyes that currently looked like pools of burning charcoals fixated onto me.
His body was coiled tight, ready to strike, but I didn't feel any fear for even a moment. Somehow, I knew that no matter how mad he was, he wouldn't hurt me. Atleast, not physically.
"What the hell is wrong with you Caleb? You are actually fighting with Leo? Have you lost your mind?"
I shouted, watching his eyes lose some of its anger as it stayed focused on me. It should've been a good thing that he was calming down. But as the anger subsided, another emotion started flooding his face that was much, much worse than anger.
Hurt, plain and unadulterated, filled his features as his muscles slowly relaxed and his fist lowered.
Quick as a lightning, he caught hold of my upper arms and pulled me to him. My hands pressed flat against his chest to let me have some leverage for if I wanted to push him back even though I knew I wouldn't be able to move him.
"Do you enjoy hurting me, Ruth? Is that what this is about?" Up close, I couldn't turn away from the pain that was radiating off him even if I wanted to.
It wasn't because of his grip, firm as it was. It was a just that watching a man like Caleb, usually so composed and contained, crumbling like a broken wall was too much of a shock to my system.
"Do you want him, Ruth?"
Even when he didn't say the name, I knew he was talking about Leo. The question seemed so absurd that my mouth dropped open. But Caleb wasn't finished yet. His eyes were slightly unfocused as if lost in thoughts, as he continued.
"Is that why you left me back then? Because you met him? 'The better Cross'? Is that why you refuse to leave now? Tell me, Ruth. Is he what's holding you here?"
"Dear lord, Caleb," Leo muttered, his disbelief evident, but I couldn't even speak that. He truly believed I left him? And that Leo was the reason?
"Answer me, Ruth," his voice dropped to a desperate whisper as he pulled me closer to him. But I didn't have an answer to his questions. It was honestly so absurd that even though there were a thousand things I wanted to say, I couldn't make myself answer.
Instead, the only thing that rattled in my mind at that moment was that enough was enough.
Looking straight into his eyes, I forced myself to avoid the pain and hurt there, and instead, focused on the rage that was burning me up from inside.
"You know what, Caleb? You win. You wanted me gone? Well, expect my resignation to be on your desk within 10 minutes from now. I'll be gone, Caleb. Out of your office. And out of your life. From now on, you won't have anyone around you who 'enjoys hurting you' as you put it."
"Ruth-"
"You win, Caleb," I pushed his hands away, and stepped back to look up at him.
"Ruth, I-" I turned away from him, and marched out of the cabin, only to see that the whole office on their feet, gawking at me with ill concealed shock. I felt a trickle of sweat run down my back at the thought of what they must've heard and what they made of it. What they thought of me.
I didn't have to wonder though. It was present right there in the very air of the office. Shock, questions, judgement, and the verdict. I had spent years at this place, building my image of being a thorough professional. And in the last 5 minutes, all of it had gone to hell.
I gritted my teeth again, and walked back to my desk with as much dignity as I could muster to get to work. The decision to resign felt like the right one with each passing second as I sat down and began typing.