All Over Again

| Chapter Twenty-Three |

The next three days passed by uneventfully. 

Ruth had successfully managed to avoid Raffo and the woman who attached to him like a second skin. Instead of going to the coffee shop or sitting at her favorite table, she walked around campus a little longer, brought her own tea from home, and sat in her car to work on things. Her cousins had noticed the shift in her standoffish demeanor, but whenever they asked about how she was doing, she told them that she was fine, just busy.

And it was true. Ruth turned all of her focus on writing up her story and finishing the next few chapters. She was maybe almost halfway done with the manuscript anyway, so it wasn't too hard to focus on that, especially when she was going to start meeting up with Emily the following week for midterm study.

Her writer's block hadn't kicked in yet, and she wanted to get it all done before it did.

So, she came home earlier than usual to do just that.

But then when she came into the apartment, ready to get to work on her laptop, she spotted her cousin lounging on the couch, completely forgetting about her being off for the day.

"You're home early," Jana noted, flipping off the TV.

"Didn't feel like sticking around today."

"Hmm. That's what you said yesterday too," she eyed her suspiciously.

Ruth swallowed thickly, her lashes brushing her cheeks as she looked down at her shoes. "I mean, it is Friday."

"Hmm."

"What do you mean 'hmm'?" she questioned, dropping her backpack by the front door.

Jana didn't waste a minute to take advantage of the opportunity to bombard her with questions. She even went as far as standing up from the couch and forgetting all about the bowl of chips at her side, adding to the drama of it all.

"What's going on with you?" Jana demanded, her hands tight on her hips. "You've been acting mopey the last few days."

"I haven't been acting mopey," Ruth defended, crossing her arms over her chest. Her cousin snorted loudly.

"Yes you have, you just don't see yourself. Obviously there's something going on in that damn brain of yours and I want to know what it is."

"Jana."

"Ruth."

"There's nothing going on with me-"

Jana glared at her, cutting off another lie. "You act like I'm going to judge you for whatever it is. I'm your cousin, bitch. Just grow a pair of lips and tell me what Raffo's done to make you all fucked up."

There was a long pause. A blink or two, a smile of triumph, and a ball of sweat glistening beneath a hairline.

Ruth finally stuttered, "W-what do you mean?"

"How stupid do you think I am?" she grinned wickedly now, her eyes wild. "You don't think I know that my cousin likes one of the five hottest boys in Oklahoma?"

"I don't like him."

Even Ruth could hear the waver of a lie in her voice.

"That's a damn lie."

Ruth bit her tongue, her shoulders drooping. She was a terrible liar and she knew she had to stop lying to herself and Jana. She didn't want to think about any possible feelings for someone who had no draw to get out of Oklahoma when that was all she could dream about. Don't get her wrong, she loved everything about the state. From the native community she got to be a part of, to the slower-paced life she got to breathe in and enjoy. There was something homey about the land of her people.