How To Save A Life

Chapter 4

Malia barely slept that night. Not cause the couch was uncomfortable. Not cause she can hear Kylie snoring even from the living room. She keeps glancing at Ruby's bedroom door. She wasn't sure if she should knock or wait till she comes out. She didn't have to dwell very long as the door opens and Ruby comes out, rubbing her eyes. She smiles slightly at Malia as she opens the fridge and takes out some lactose milk.

"I didn't know you were lactose intolerant." Malia mumbles. "I'm not." Ruby simply says. Then why....? Malia looks at her. "My fiancé used to be lactose intolerant, i got used to drinking her milk." She shrugs. "Oh." Malia nods. She watches as Ruby opens the cabinet and takes out some sugar free Nesquik. She raises her eyebrows. "Oh this is mine, I'm allergic to sugar." Malia nods. "Wait, what?" Ruby chuckles slightly. "Yeah, i know." "Are you serious?" Ruby nods. "Yup." Malia stays silent for a minute. "Just ask me." Ruby shrugs. "What?" "I know Kylie told you. It's ok to ask. Go ahead." Malia sighs. "What was she like?" "She was....perfect. She took care of me. She always made sure i didn't accidentally eat anything with sugar in it. She actually carried my EpiPen with her at all times. We were rarely ever apart. She had a temper but she would never, ever lay her hands on me. If she was angry with someone, she would never take it out on me. She was actually shorter than me but a lot stronger. Definitely stronger than she looked. She always made me smile when i was sad, made me laugh when i wanted to cry. Kylie actually told me multiple times how jealous she was of us." Malia nods and smiles sadly. "Yeah, i think she told me. She used to want what you guys had." Ruby nods. "We were basically like a fairytale." She sips on her chocolate milk. "How did you two meet?" Ruby smiles at the memory. "You'd be surprised, actually. You might even laugh."

--

"One hot chocolate?!" Ruby looks up from her phone as she grabs her drink. She heads to the door and walks out. "One hot chocolate, no sugar??!" Mel looks at the drink and grabs an extra sugar packet before glancing at the blonde haired girl that just walked out. "Uh...." She quickly grabs the drink and runs after her. "Hey! Hey, wait!" Ruby turns around as she hears someone behind her. "Hey, sorry um, i think you grabbed the wrong drink?" Mel holds up her cup. "I'm pretty sure i ordered a hot chocolate." Ruby looks at her cup. "No sugar?" Mel holds up her cup. "Oh...." "Yeah...." They switch cups as Ruby blushes. "That would have been bad." Mel nods. "Yeah, i can't imagine drinking hot chocolate without sugar." Ruby shrugs. "I wouldn't know, I'm allergic." Mel stares at her. "You're allergic to sugar?....what?" Ruby laughs. "Yeah, i know. I get that reaction all the time." Mel looks at her. "Well, what happens if you do have sugar?" She sips her hot chocolate. "Um, my throat itches, swells up and I can't breathe sometimes." Mel hisses. "That must really suck." Ruby nods. "Yeah, i mean, i have an EpiPen and everything." "On you?" Mel asks. Ruby looks away. "No, not on me." She mumbles. "You might wanna work on that." She whispered. Ruby nods. "Yeah...." Mel laughs as she reaches into her pocket and takes out a pen. "You from around here?" She asks her. Ruby nods as she writes down something. "Yeah. I live with my best friend." "That's nice." Mel smiles as she puts her pen away. "I'm assuming you won't be needing this then?" She holds up the sugar packet she just wrote on. Ruby shakes her head. "No, probably not." She jokes. "Hmm, shame. Well, in case you overcome your allergies." She hands her the packet and smiles. "It was nice meeting you...." "Ruby." She smiles. "Ruby. That's my birthstone, actually." "Really?" "Yeah." "Mine's Opal." Ruby blushes. "October. Fall baby, i see. Libra?" Ruby nods. "Leo. You know, Libra's and Leo's are both romantic signs." Mel smirks. "Really?" Ruby raises her eyebrows. "Mhm, it's also been said that they both have an increased sex drive." They stare at each other for a moment before Mel smiles and turns away. "Call me sometime." Ruby watches as she walks away. "Wait! I don't have your number!" "Don't you?!" It was then that Ruby noticed a writing on her cup. Her number. "That smooth bitch...." She whispered.

--

"That's how you met?!" Malia smiles. Ruby nods. "Yup, smooth ass bitch. I'm surprised i fell for her, I'm usually not that easy to get." Malia shrugs. "Maybe something inside you just knew?" Ruby sighs. "Maybe.....or maybe i should have known sooner." She mumbles. Malia frowns. "I'm so sorry, by the way." Ruby nods. "It is what it is. I just wish i could have helped her. I should have helped her. She was my fiance and i let her slip away. She kept saying she was fine. That therapy was going fine. That she was ok. But i knew. I knew deep down something was wrong. I could have stopped it. I should have stopped it. But i just...." Ruby sighs. "And now she's gone." Malia hesitates before asking. "How long did it take you to....mourn? To recover?" "I haven't." Ruby admits. "I get nightmares. I miss her every day. That damn green mug haunts me but i never touch it, i never throw it, neither does Kylie. I think she's waiting for me to do it, but i just can't bring myself to do it." Malia glances at the mug above the sink. "Do you think you'll ever....move on? Meet someone new?" Ruby shakes her head. "Honestly, no. And it sucks cause i know that she would want me to. That she wouldn't want me to end up alone but i just can't. I've tried. Believe me, i have. But every date I've been on, i just keep thinking about her. Keep comparing them to her. And that's never good, so i just gave up the whole dating scene. Honestly, it's just been work, school, Kylie. That's pretty much it." Ruby shrugs.

"You're in school? For what?" "I wanna become a therapist. Mel's old one was....fucking useless." Ruby tears up. Malia never pegged Ruby as the cussing type, but then again, losing the love of your life tends to change you. "I think it's great that you wanna do that for your life and to help others." Malia smiles. Ruby smiles slightly. "Thanks." A door opens and Kylie walks out. "Good morning....am i interrupting something?" "No." "No, you're ok." Ruby suddenly stands. "Um, you know what? I gotta get ready. I have somewhere to be. Um, can you cover for me? With my classes?" She asks Kylie. "Absolutely." She nods. "Thanks." She smiles at Malia before retreating to her room. Kylie walks into the kitchen and grabs a mug. Again, leaving the green mug untouched. "Hey, did you wanna go out today?" Malia asks her. "Uh sure. Where to?" Kylie looks at her. "I don't care. Wherever." She shrugs. "Uh..." Kylie glances at Ruby's door. "We can ask Ruby if she wants to come too?" "Oh. I don't know, Malia....Ruby-" "What about me?" Ruby walks out, fully changed. "Did you wanna hang out today? All of us?" Malia asks. "Sure, can we make a quick stop first?" She asks. "Yeah, whatever you want. Where?" "Cemetery."