Ruby: A Short Story by Willa

Ruby

~ Willa

       “Ruby!” her mother shouted, sloppily waving her arm around as she sprawled her legs over another stranger’s lap who sat at the other end of the couch. “Come down here! Get us some beers from the fridge, would’ja?”

       Ruby stared across the room at the wooden panels covering the wall. The duvet had reduced to a rumpled mess at the foot of the bed and had tangled around the girl’s ankles. Two flies chased each other around an apple core on the nightstand. The world appeared sideways from the way she was lying on the bed.

       “Ruby!”

       Sluggishly, she slung her legs around the side of the bed and stood on unsteady feet. She stretched forward, her elbows propped up on the end table as she squinted at the alarm clock.

10:47 PM. She didn’t realize she’d stayed in bed the whole day. Ruby would’ve normally felt surprised at this, and she also would’ve felt annoyed with the fact that her mother’s new boyfriend would likely be spending the night again, only she didn’t feel any of these things.

“Ruby?”

The girl continued to ignore her mother’s beckons as she hobbled down the hall to the bathroom. She locked herself in the tiled room and turned, her hands reaching forward to tightly grip the sides of the counter. She gazed into the sink. She knew when she looked in the mirror she would start crying again. She didn’t want that.

But she looked anyway.