WHO REALLY CARES ━━━ vernon chwe

TWO | sugar

TWO : sugar ━━━━ tell me what i'm waitin' for

The last bag hit the dusty wooden floor as Baxter flicked the lightswitch a few times, a small smile cracking across his slightly wrinkled skin as the dim light overhead flickers on, revealing the small yet empty living room. Everything is dusty and unused, as Ruthie's father had warned her before unlocking the front door and piling the suitcases inside. She may have not have heard her father's warning before, but she knew now━her eyes were watering from the excessive dust, and her glasses were becoming foggy.

From her vantage point, Ruthie could see the small tiled kitchen, white refridgerator running with some long forgotten power source as a tiny kitchen island rests in the middle of the dark room. A hallway leads back behind the staircase climbing to the second story, and Baxter pries his way around, dragging Ruthie's suitcase to the stairs' built-in closet.

"Have you had a look around yet?" Baxter seemed to be more cheerful as Ruthie watched him, eyes sparkling with some newfound happiness as he pulls Ruthie into his chest, smelling the natural deodorant wafting off of him in waves. Her eyes scanned the empty rooms in front of them, but she said nothing, shrugging awkwardly as she pushed strands of brown hair away from her pale cheeks.

"I don't think I want to." Ruthie mused, and Baxter laughed, voice booming as it filled the recesses of the first floor. "What, are you still scared of spiders?"

Ruthine was, in fact, not the biggest fan of spiders━she always had the worst memories with the pesky little arachnids, and she refused to think about the times she was made fun for it in third grade. Ruthie was always a bit different, but not because she wanted to be━she had been  sheltered for most of her life, and she didn't know about a lot of things kids her age knew about.

She had a feeling she was going to be made fun of a lot more, but she was already prepared for that: Ruthie Choi realized she was seventeen, not ten, and things like that were going to happen.

"Yes." Ruthie's voice was annoyed, but Baxter tickled her ribs, and the teenager let out a little giggle, sighing as her father gave her a nudge. "You don't have to be scared anymore, Ruth. Since your mom isn't around, I can kill all the spiders you want me to."

The room went quiet as Baxter finished his sentence, and Ruthie's brown eyes lost their spark as she mulled over the sour memories flooding back to her. She remembered how terrified her mother was of spiders, refusing to go into that one room where the spider dwelled until Baxter arrived home from work and went into the 'trenches', as she called them.