Better Hollow {Finished}

Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Two days later, Ramona was laying in Mabel's bed, patiently waiting for Mabel to come back from the bathroom. She hadn't spoken to James and planned to keep it that way. She also hadn't told Mabel what she saw but then again, Mabel hadn't bothered to ask for any updates. "Do you think this nail polish will stain my nails?" Mabel asked as she came back into the room, holding a deep maroon nail polish.

"Probably. Red nail polishes usually stain your nails," Ramona replied, turning over onto her side so she could see Mabel. She felt bad, she didn't feel like doing much but she didn't want to bore Mabel. Her phone buzzed and she shot up, her face lit up with the hope that it was James. But it wasn't, it was a notification from her setting telling her that her phone hadn't been backed up in three weeks.

"Ramona, you gotta stop waiting for something that isn't gonna happen," Mabel said, sitting down on the bed next to her. Ramona's face turned red, it was embarrassing.

"He'll call, he's gotta," Ramona said, trying to reassure herself. Mabel just shook her head, it was hard seeing Ramona like this. "You don't know him like I do," Ramona said, the phrase starting to become one of her signatures. She wasn't sure if she did know him, though. She knew all his habits, his talking in his sleep, his picking his fingers till they bleed. She knew all of his scars and the shadows that fell from his eyes. And she knew the darkness to him, but she also believed there was more. Most of all she knew that he was hurt. She just wanted to help him, maybe even to fix him.

Mabel sighed, she knew this wasn't going to end well, and deep down Ramona seemed to agree. "Ramona, you were there for me with Jeremy and so I'm trying to return the favor. James will not settle down and you're going to get hurt," she said, taking hold of Ramona's hands. Ramona looked down at their hands intertwined, batting away tears. She looked up and shook her head lightly.

"There's more to him," Ramona said, her voice breathy. It seemed like everyone knew more than her. They acted like she was blind or stupid, as if she couldn't see when someone wasn't right for her. She'd been told since she was a kid that she should never settle for less, to only accept what she deserves but what if the person you want isn't deserving? She knows her worth but she also knows what she wants, who she wants. So which one does she pick?

"How 'bout we get ice cream?" Mabel asked, trying to take Ramona's mind off of James. She set down the nail polish, discarding it and deciding she wasn't going to paint her nails after all. She stood up and brushed the wrinkles away from her pants, she wore jeans even in the heat. She pulled Ramona to her feet, took her under her arm, and together they left the house.

The ice cream place they went to was different than the one Ramona had gone to with James. Instead they went to Ali's Ice, they'd been going there since they were kids. It was a cute little place, it'd seen a couple of different owners through the years but it always remained the same when it came to service. Ramona and Mabel stood at the counter, staring through the glass at all the various flavors. ¨Hi, can I get a small cone of your chocolate ice cream please?" Ramona said to the boy working behind the counter. He had a look on his face that said "seriously out of all the flavors, you choose chocolate?"

"And I'll have a small cone of your blueberry, please," Mabel said, flashing a smile to the boy. He offered her a weak smile, still looking bothered. In his defense he was probably making $7.25 an hour, and judging by the empty tip jar, he didn't make much on the side.

"That'll be $8.95," he said, handing the girls their ice cream. Mabel dug into her pocket and pulled out a wrinkled ten dollar bill, the boy sighed and opened his cash register. He pulled out the change and once again smiled at the girls, finally letting them go to eat their ice cream. They walked outside in the thick humid air and over to where the deer were kept. As a kid the deer was Ramona's favorite thing about Ali's Ice, she couldn't have cared less about the ice cream.