ME AND HIM ✔️

Pt.49

Rue's POV

WE DID A send off for Aniyah yesterday.

We made little boats out of a cardboard box. We decorated them, and then we wrote our favorite memory of her on a piece of paper and put it inside the boat.

After we decorated all of the boats, we put it on the frozen river that was near the house, and set a match to it. Right when it lit on fire, we slid it across the ice and watched it burn.

It was as if she was being cremated. Except we didn't have her actual body.

Diego had showed up, too. But he didn't look too great.

He had stubble on his chin, bags under his eyes, and tears down his face.

I talked to him about it. He broke down and confessed all of his feelings.

How he was hurt, angry, upset. I felt bad. Really bad.

"I can't handle it anymore, Rue. I think about her... all the time." He huffs and runs his hands through his curls. "This is Nadine's fault, you know."

"Why would you say that?" I ask.

"Ivan should have been dead the second we got here. But nooo. He wants to play the tuff man and make his own decisions." He sniffles. "We've been here for a month. My parents are dead, Aniyah is dead. If he killed Ivan the second he saw him, we would've been out of here. Aniyah would be alive, and Nadine would probably be a good leader."

"It's not Nadine's fault she's dead. You know that, right? He tried to help her."

"Were you there?"

"Well-him- well no-"

"Exactly. So you don't get to talk about what happened and what didn't happen."

"You weren't there either!"

"I didn't have to be! She was my best friend. She had dreams, too. She wanted to grow old with a woman who loved her just like she would have loved them! She wanted kids, a house, a family. A real family." Diego shakes his head and scoffs, "you know what, screw this. Thanks for trying to help me, Rue. I appreciate it."

Nadine has also been distant lately. He didn't show up for the send off. Every time I ask 'what's wrong', he just replies with the same answer. "I'm fine." If I'm lucky, he'll give me a smile when he says that.

I don't know.

Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but a day ago, when he had came back from that meeting with Ivan. He was different.

He was drunk and angry.

He didn't come to my room, or even tell me he was home in the first place. The only reason I knew, was because I could hear things being thrown from the other room.

I feel my eyes flutter open as loud noises fill my ears . I sit up and rub my eyes. I can't see anything, so I turn the lamp on my nightstand, on.

My room becomes illuminated so that I can now see. I press my feet onto the cold floor. My fuzzy socks keep me from wincing, though.

I tug the bottom of my black shirt down, so that's it's covering my ass. I don't usually wear pants to sleep, only if I'm really cold. But it was surprisingly warm in my room.

Before I walk out, I go to my drawer and grab a pair of shorts. I pull them over my underwear so that I'm not half naked anymore.

I open my door and go into the hall. The crashing sound gets louder as I get closer to Nadine's door. I press my ear against his door. He's shouting. I hear glass being shattered and things being thrown.