Closer Than You Think

Book summary

In "Closer Than You Think," Ruben confronts the shadows of his past amidst the trials of college life. As he juggles his faltering romance with Enya and the resurgence of old enemies aware of his dark history, the stakes rise perilously. With every loved one at risk, Ruben's quest to uncover the architect of his suffering uncovers a clue that could either save him or seal his doom. This suspenseful narrative weaves a tale of danger, betrayal, and the desperate search for redemption.

Excerpt from Closer Than You Think

“I can’t be like my father,” he thought, but nothing seemed more important at that very moment, except to please his father and get away as soon as possible from the feeling of guilt. The man had told him that every first kill was the most important one and that the most important one could lead him to great heights. All his guilt would vanish away, and the awe of him would spread to those around.

Young Ruben walked slowly under the rain, his feet stamping the ground as if leading him to his utmost doom. The darkness around him seemed to have swallowed him up.

His heart sounded like the loud repeat of drums in his ears. His clothes dripped with water. The word kill seemed like a burden to him, but the repeat of his father’s words in his ears kept him going.

“The awe of you will spread to everyone around,” were his father’s words.

The young boy stood at the door of a house, a solidly built bungalow, and he knocked slowly but repeatedly. He prayed that no one would answer. At the same time, he wished someone would let him in and take care of him. There were low voices inside, and the door pushed open.

A man stood in shock, his expression coarse and suspicious at the same time. As he looked at the young boy from head to toe, “Any problem, boy?” he asked, with a bold, harsh voice.

Anger rose on the inside of Ruben; he expected the man to be kind to him and take him in, but he didn’t do that. As a young boy, he had been taught by his father that people were wicked. Nobody was worthy of trust, and nobody was good enough to stay alive.

“Good evening, Sir, please can I get some water?” That was a lame excuse, but he stuck to it.

“Looks like you’re crazy, boy. Get lost,” the man said. His wife heard his voice and came to check on him or who he was talking to.

“Honey, who is that?” she asked as she pulled the door open. Her husband fell back to the floor, bleeding red and thick blood. It moved slowly away from the hole in his stomach. “Ah, Honey!” she cried, trying to wake him up. With teary eyes, she saw someone approach her. It was the boy her husband was speaking to, and he was holding a knife, wet with blood.

“What do you want? Please tell me what you want?!” she cried, crawling backward away from him. Unfortunately, it was too late for her. The boy drove the knife deep into her throat and left her to drop on the floor. Drops of her blood were scattered on his face, but he didn’t care. She was dead, and that was the most important thing.

Ruben heard a whimper behind him; it was the sound of a girl sobbing. He walked towards the sofa where she was; the sitting room was clean under his feet, and he approached her with the bloodied knife. It was sharp at the edge and sweet to look at. By the look on his face, it told that he was ready to kill anyone and everyone in the family.

“Please,” the girl pleaded heartily. She didn’t want to die with her parents. At the sound of her voice, he brought his knife down and looked at her with a soft but calm look, too kind to be a killer. She was younger than him, and his conscience, which wasn’t seared yet, told him to leave her alone.

He walked past the two dead bodies and left the house. He felt a sense of peace and satisfaction inside of him. The hunger to kill more was blasted in the flames inside of him, and he realized that his father was correct when he said, “Kill one, and you will enjoy more.” 

Ten years later

Ruben was driving from college back to his house, looking grown and independent. His type of work gave him the liberty to sign contracts which were attached with money that would be released after he had performed the expected assignment.

He parked his car in the garage and walked into his house, which was the very evidence of money. He sat down and kept his books aside. He had things to do, including his class project. He had consistently kept up the good grades and made sure not to miss any exams.

He pulled off his clothes and walked into the bathroom to shower. His phone rang from the room, and when he had dressed up, he saw the missed call. It was from Enya. They attended the same university but studied different courses.

After looking at his phone for a while, Ruben sighed and cut the call; he didn’t feel like speaking to her or anyone. It was not the first time he was ignoring her, but that was because he felt rather uncomfortable when she was near, and he made sure that she got that impression from him anytime they were together, yet she didn’t stop trying to get close to him.

Ruben jogged his way to a park that lively morning, and when Enya saw him, she jogged her way to him. She knew that Ruben was fond of avoiding her and her calls, and day by day, she was getting weaker, knowing that Ruben did not like her as she liked him. All her attempts to get closer to him failed woefully, and not one of those plans survived the night.

He was so good at concealing himself and found it very difficult to open up to anybody. He was always alone and never moved with friends since she knew him. He was the quiet type—no doubt a good student in college.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Morning. It looks like you enjoy exercise?” he replied, trying to tease her even though it was not his style.

Both of them knew that she didn’t like going out for exercise, especially on a lively morning; she preferred quiet places. He knew her that well; they had attended the same basic school, high school, and now they were in the same college. There was actually nothing that he didn’t know about her, and he knew all of it by watching her from afar.

“It’s very good of you to remind me of what I enjoy,” she said, not bothering to look at him.

“I have good reasons.”

“Like?”

“Private reasons.”

“I see,” she said. As they jogged, Ruben noticed three men staring at Enya, and another different man was jogging behind him also.

He had also noticed that someone had been following him since he started jogging, but he was careful not to turn back and pretended not to know anything.

“There is no need to talk to you, Ruben. I will just go back to my house,” she said.

“Bye,” he replied to her as she turned and walked back to her house.

Shortly after she left Ruben, the three men that had been watching her were nowhere to be seen. Ruben stopped for a moment and breathed in and out, thinking of what he had seen. Just then, he remembered that someone was following him from behind, and he started walking, not jogging this time.

If his father had sent someone to stalk him, then he would have known, but the man behind him was not from his father. Therefore, he knew that something was wrong.

***

Enya walked to her house with disappointment. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, that Ruben could not just have feelings for her after all her trials.

She went into her house and closed the door behind her. She had some school work to do, so she took her bath, dressed up, and took her books to study. In the middle of her study, she got a call from Olivia, one of her friends.

“There’s a party going on tonight. I hope you will be there? Then you can have an opportunity to meet new guys and forget about Ruben,” Olivia said.

“I don’t want to attend any party, Olivia.” Enya wasn’t in the right mood to think about parties.

“Trust me, you are going to like it.”

“That’s what you said the last time, and I almost got raped by the same guy you introduced me to,” she said. It was a terrible experience that she was constantly reminded of, and she didn’t also miss reminding Olivia about it too.

“I didn’t know that he was that type of guy. I thought he was cool and well, different,” Olivia replied.

“I guessed so. You knew nothing about him, but I know a lot about Ruben. I have known him for years, and I am not ready to give up on him just yet.”

“What if you meet someone who likes you more than he does?”

Enya paused for a moment and replied, “I don’t know about that; just let me be for now.”

“Before I leave you, promise me that you’re going to come to the party.”

“I will, I promise, but I will spend only thirty minutes there, and I am off. I’ve got work to do.”

“Fine then. Okay by me,” Olivia said and hung up.

Enya was not content with the fact that Olivia just agreed to her conditions. As close as they were, Enya did not know who Olivia was planning for her to meet. She continued with her books, waiting for Olivia to send the time and venue.

***

The man following Ruben went through a tunnel and searched some places, but he couldn’t find Ruben. For a moment, he thought he had Ruben, but now he was gone. He brought out his phone to call someone, and just then, he heard the crackling sound of a gun behind him.

“Who are you?” Ruben asked, ready to pull the trigger. He was very sure that the man in front of him was suspicious. He had been trained by his father to perceive such things.

“So you finally found me,” the man said, turning to Ruben with a smile. The gun didn’t threaten him one bit, almost as if he thought that Ruben wouldn’t dare pull the trigger.

“If I ever wanted someone to follow me, it wouldn’t be you.”

“Richie sent me here to get you back in the game, but it seems like you are smarter than we thought,” the man said with a mischievous grin.

“Richie has no right to threaten me by sending you. He should do it himself, don’t you think?” The man got a hold of Ruben’s gun and kicked it away, then he lunged at Ruben and punched him above his pelvis region, and he didn’t stop until Ruben fell down to the ground, coughing out blood.