Better Hollow {Finished}

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

It was the next day, Ramona was walking over to James' house to finally have her girls' day with Kayla. She felt bad that she had to postpone it, but also that Mabel couldn't make it. She was greeted by James at the door. He pulled her for a kiss, his hands immediately cupping her head. She stood on her very tippy-toes to kiss him back. He let her go, and she floated back down onto her flat feet. "I'm here for Kayla," she said, looking up at him.

"She's upstairs in her room," James said, moving out-of-the-way, so Ramona could come into the house. She let go of his hand and started up the stairs. As Ramona walked down the hallway, she could hear the sound of springs. She opened the door to Kayla's room to see Kayla jumping on her bed.

"Well, someone is in a good mood," Ramona said, gliding over to the bed. Kayla took Ramona's hands, holding onto her as she sprung off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ramona, will you do my makeup?" Kayla asked. She moved over to a little corner in her room that had a full-length mirror, leaning against the wall. There was a little box on the floor, Kayla picked it up and revealed old makeup. "Mom gave it to me, it's all of her old makeup."

"Yeah, of course I'll do your makeup," Ramona said, taking the box from Kayla and sitting down on the carpeted floor. Kayla sat down across from Ramona, tapping her fingers on the floor as she waited eagerly. Ramona took out two brushes from the pink box that contained the makeup. She grabbed out some eyeshadow, examining all the makeup that was in the box.

Ramona picked up the smaller brush out of the two, dipped it into a light sparkly pink eyeshadow, and began to paint Kayla's eyelids with it. It was endearing, how much care Ramona put into the makeup look. The eyeshadow was chalky, and it took many coats for the pigment to really show up. "Ramona, do you believe in god?" Kayla asked, her still closed.

"No, it's a very complicated subject for me," Ramona replied, wiping away excess eyeshadow onto her pants. She picked up the other brush, the bigger, much fluffier one. She dipped it into the rose colored blush and began to dab it onto Kayla's cheeks.

"Mom says I should believe him, but I don't know. I prayed to him, you know, to stop Dad's drinking. Now that Dad's gone, I don't know what to think. I know I should believe in him, but I'm almost mad at him. I know that's bad to be mad at god, but I can't help it. He took away my Dad," Kayla said, her childish voice very soft.

"I know that feeling. I wish I could tell you it gets better, but even I'm not sure that it does. It's very difficult to try to figure out your beliefs, especially at your age. I'm fifteen, going on sixteen, and I still don't know what I believe. There are days that I wake up, and I'm mad at the world for taking away my brother. I don't think those days will ever disappear. It's days like these where I get to spend time with you and James that make it all worth it," Ramona spewed, putting the brush down and picking up a berry colored lipstick.

"Am I gonna go to hell, Ramona?" Kayla asked, her lip starting to quiver. Ramona went frigid, the lipstick fell from her hand, onto the floor. She clenched her hand into a fist, feeling renewed anger towards the world.

"No, no, Kayla. You're not going to hell, okay. You have every right to be mad. Kayla, you're just a kid, okay. If there is a god, I promise he understands," Ramona said, closing her eyes as she took Kayla's hands. It was harrowing hearing Kayla ask these dark questions. She looked at Kayla, opening her eyes and seeing a frail little girl that just wants love.

Ramona knew all too well how it felt to question whether she was being punished. At age nine, she seemed to constantly have carpet burn, her knees never stopped hurting, and the marks on the carpet where her knees would sit could still be seen five years later.