The Ineffable Ruth Rhodes

08 faux understanding

ruth

"A little softer," Ruth murmured as Sumaiya lightly attempted to blow something out of her eye.

She backed away. "How about now?"

Ruth blinked several times, the uncomfortable nagging gone.

"Good. Thanks," she said.

Ruth sat on her couch with Sumaiya on the ground, and Gabi on the couch beside them. Gabi looked over at Ruth and made a face. She made a face back, as if on reflex.

"We should've watched Love Rosie," Gabi sang, waving a long finger at Sumaiya. Her sister was not much older than her, only 21, with a button nose and perfectly straight teeth with bigger fronts, full cheeks, and skin just a darker shade than Ruth's. She looked more like their father, dark eyes and hair in a high bun, her feet comfortably folded on the couch. Her and Liora always looked more like her father, except Liora had a long and pointy nose and less round features than her direct younger sister did.

She recalled one phase in her childhood when they'd convinced her she was adopted.

Ruth shivered.

She blinked out of the memories, frowning at the Isn't It Romantic credits rolling on the T.V. She was right— Love, Rosie was better than just about eighty percent of the movies out there in her opinion.

"You may be right," Sumaiya said, as if her movie choice every movie night wasn't horrid. "Love, Rosie always gets me so sad, though."

"I mean," Gabi said with a one shouldered shrug, "They do end up together."

"Yeah but they were friends who drifted apart first. I can't even imagine drifting apart from someone that close to me."

Ruth patted Sumaiya's arm. "There there. We won't ever drift apart, you don't have to worry, Maiya."

Sumaiya gave her an unamused look before facing the front again.

"There is more of an important topic we need to discuss though," Sumaiya said, hinting at the elephant Gabi didn't even know was in the room, and Ruth resisted the urge to nudge her.

"Yeah?" Gabi threw a piece of popcorn into her mouth. "What about?"

"We're going to a party Friday," Sumaiya told her.

Sumaiya, you'll pay.

"Yeah?" Gabi watchd Ruth, amusement dancing in her eyes. "Why?"

Sumaiya snorted when Ruth opened her mouth to reply. "For starters, Ruth has a boyfriend."

Ruth kicked her friend, earning a yelp and an innocent glare.

"Ruth has a what?" Gabi sat up, a foolish grin on her face as Ruth winced. "My baby sister Ruth has a boyfriend? Since when?"

"I was going to tell her on my own terms, but thank you for promptly sticking your nose into my business, Sumaiya." Sumaiya turned around and winked. "Yeah, someone from a class asked me out, and he's really kind and sweet, so I said why not... you know?"

Gabi broke into a fit of laughter while Sumaiya practically indulged in Ruth's pain.

"No, we don't know," Gabi said with a laugh, her jaw slack and her hand covering her mouth, "It's barely been a month since you went back there. Do momma and daddy know?"

Ruth bit her lip, shaking her head no. "But please don't tell them, I'll tell them when I'm ready."

Oh she was so screwed. She'd completely forgotten about the logistics of maeuvering both her parents and her relationship with Vincent. She didn't think her parents would be too upset— she was going to be an adult soon and it wasn't as if her parents were the type of people who had a noose tight around their children's necks in the fear that they'd breathe without their help. But she had also told her parents she wouldn't date, especially after Remy, and especially in her senior year of high school.

Gabi raised her hands in surrender with a shrug. "I mean— it's none of my business."

"Besides," Ruth murmured unintentionally, "I don't think it'll be going on for too long."

"Why is that?"

Ruth met both girls' expectant gazes, trying to think of something. "Well," she managed, "We barely know each other."

Sumaiya waved her off. "Doesn't that just give you more room to learn and grow?"

Ruth almost laughed. She wanted to pull out a confetti popper and yell, "Surprise! It's not even a real relationship!" but instead, she just nodded in faux understanding.

"You're right," she said quietly, more trying to convince herself than anyone.