Her knuckles barely even brushed the door before the door swung open. Ruby stared up at the woman, brown eyes wide.
"Ruby," she said softly, hugging the girl closer to her. Ruby caught some of the usual red nail polish around her lips, and the way they were chapped and uneven made her certain that her Aunt was chewing on her nails again.
"Hi Aunt Effy," she said, squeezing the woman closer to her, leaving the bags.
"Come in!" she ordered, moving away from the door and grabbing the bags, struggling. "Honestly, how do you carry those?" she laughed, making Ruby shrug with an awkward smile.
"It's okay, I've got it," she said simply, taking the bags from her Aunt.
Effy's heart squeezed in her chest as she saw the marks on her niece's leg. "How are you feeling?" she asked, following her upstairs.
"I'm good," Ruby grinned, "how're you?"
"Pretty good," she nodded. "You ready for school tomorrow, or would you like to stay home a bit longer? Get acquainted with the town."
"I dunno," Ruby shrugged. "Guess I'll see when I wake up?"
"Yeah, sounds good," Effy agreed. "Are you hungry? I made lasagna." Ruby opened the door to her new room, contemplating dinner in her mind.
"Yeah, sure." she decided at last, her bags aren't going anywhere. "I'll be there in few minutes, alright?"
Effy nodded, hesitating for a moment before whispering a sincere "I am so sorry," and shuffling out of the room, closing the door after her.
Ruby looked after her for a moment, before sitting down on the bed. Effy pulled the Golden State Warriors' covers over the bed already. Ruby dropped to her back, rubbing the blue fabric of the sheets with a sigh.
She didn't feel like crying, despite the tears creeping into her eyes. She was too tired for this right now, so she staggered to her feet, going through her suit case to find the Tweety Bird pajamas and pulling it over her body, smiling at the familiar fabric touching her body.
She loved that one pajama best.
Ruby opened the door, taking a deep breath and walking downstairs. She walked into the softly lit dining room. Effy wasn't quite the fan of bright lights, and bought 10 special bulbs for Ruby, knowing she'd like it better than the dim lighting she liked. A plate loaded with lasagna was waiting for Ruby and she sat in front of her Aunt, smiling lightly.
"How was the flight?" Ruby's hands circled the Garfield's cup that said 'I'm not overweight, I'm undertall.'
"Alright. How was your day?"
"Alright."
The two settled into silence as they ate.
"I'll get you a TV for your room tomorrow," Effy informed, making Ruby nod.
"Alright," she hoarsely replied.
"Water's hot, once you're done you could go take a shower."
"Great, I think I'll go to sleep afterwards."
"Yeah."
"Yeah."
It took Ruby ten minutes to finish, and Effy was quick to follow. Ruby excused herself once Effy took a final bite, quickly washing the plate. She hurried to her room, taking a change and going to the bathroom. She stopped dead at the sound of My Funny Valentine in her grandfather's familiar voice.
Her feet led her back downstairs, watching her Aunt as the video played and she cried. Ruby felt tears stinging her eyes once more, and she watched as her mother walked down the aisle, dimples showing, before her head was covered with a veil.
Ruby didn't want to see it anymore.
She walked upstairs once more, entering the shower.
She really didn't need it.
YOU ARE READING
Soundtrack {{Teacher-Student}}
عاطفية"They say the world was built for two, only worth living if somebody's loving you." ♠ She liked keeping to herself. The problem was, that she kept her smile to herself as well. And he couldn't help but to get curious.
