Different

Chapter Twenty

Ruby had decided to ask if Sapphire wanted to come over to her house to meet her parents. Sapphire nervously accepted and packed her things, getting into Ruby's car once her apartment was locked up and going to her home. She played with a lock of her hair on the way. A few minutes before they got there, Ruby spoke.
"Are you okay? You seem a bit nervous."
Sapphire let go of the lock of hair.
"I just, I don't want to do anything dumb in front of them. Are you going to tell them that I'm, you know...your girlfriend?"
"Oh not tonight. My parents don't approve of me being a lesbian, so I'd rather tell them when the time feels right, and right now isn't it."
"Oh okay." Sapphire sighed. She was feeling a bit more relaxed now. She was still worried about meeting Ruby's parents, but she felt calm about meeting them as a friend of Ruby's and not her partner, especially since they didn't approve of the two being together. But there was still a thought lingering in her head.
"Ruby?"
"Yes?"
"Are you..ashamed of me?"
Ruby pulled the car over and stopped it. She looked at Sapphire with a concerned look.
"Sapphire, why would I ever be ashamed of you?"
Sapphire looked away.
"I thought that might be the reason why you didn't want me to meet your family. I don't know, I just wanted to make sure that wasn't why."
Ruby moved closer to her and hugged her tightly. After a while, Sapphire hugged back and they sat like this for about ten minutes. Then they broke up the hug and Ruby got back on the road. Sapphire stared at her almost the entire time, not trying to hide it. She was beginning to question if Ruby was really as great as she had thought, or if there was something more to this. She really couldn't tell if Ruby was lying about her feelings or not, but something was telling her to trust the taller girl.
Minutes later, they arrived at Ruby's house. Sapphire met Ruby's parents, who absolutely adored her, and then they went up to Ruby's room. They talked and messed around all night long, not sleeping at all. Ruby couldn't help but feel as if she was the luckiest person on the planet.
"Ruby" Sapphire began, "do you think I'm beautiful?"
Ruby stared at her, sitting up on the bed and looking at the girl laying down next to her.
"Do you think you're beautiful?"
"No."
"Why not?"
It was then that Sapphire listed off the reasons, one by one, why she saw herself as anything but gorgeous. During this time, Ruby noticed some faint marks on Sapphire's arms, staring so much that her girlfriend had stopped talking and noticed the staring.
"What is it? Why are you staring at my a-"
Then she realized why she was staring.
"Sapphire, I..I.." Ruby looked up at the smaller girl, eyes tearing up a bit.
Covering her arms were thin cuts, most of them being old, but some looking fairly new (at least a month or two). Sapphire didn't say anything. She tried to, but no words came out. It was as if her voice had left her.
                                            ~
The rest of the night was filled with them talking about the reasons why she had these marks on her. Sapphire told Ruby everything about her life, how she was blamed for her mother's absence, how her family didn't want her, the tormenting she went through because of her eyes, the desire to be like her tall and almost toothpick-like sisters, and everything in between. She gave Ruby every reason as to why she had hurt herself. She told her everything, trusting her with her deepest emotions and darkest secrets. That night, she let go and gave her true self to Ruby, forgetting about all of the people that hurt her and instead thinking about her future with the taller girl. Just as their conversation ended, they kissed again. It was the same kind of kiss that they had shared back at Sapphire's place, but this was much more careful, almost as if Ruby was somewhat scared of hurting Sapphire. The passion was still there, just not as intense. Instead, this was a softer moment between the two. Sapphire felt safe, and Ruby felt loving towards the girl below her. She dared not to attempt any more than the kissing, keeping this all at a slow and delicate pace. They separated and cuddled up together, not sleeping but laying down and holding each other. They were slowly falling in love.