Fraying Edges

| TWELVE |

November ending flew by and December literally appeared swiftly. It was the middle of December and the cold had begun to seep in slowly. The trees around where bare of their leaves.

That was how bare Ruby Grayson's soul felt.

She was beginning to lose touch with her inner self. And she wondered, had she ever been in touch with her inner self?

She sat on the couch beside her roommate on a Friday evening, doing their occasional marathon of Marvel movies. It made her feel a little bit of nostalgia. Her Dad used to do this with her.

Normal Ruby would have been lost in her world of painting. But, the current Ruby was different. Preferring to binge eat junk food and watch movies all day long, occasionally reading her College books. Then crashing afterwards.

The final exams where approaching and she had to increase her trips to the library if she wanted to keep up her good grades. She'd already found a spot where Daisy couldn't find her. She preferred to have as little human interaction as she could. Majoring in Biology required a lot of studying to be done and although Daisy was her course mate, she was too noisy at times and too much of a distraction.

Halfway through the movie, she fell asleep with a bowl of M&M chocolate on her lap. She'd been sleeping more than usual lately.

"Wake up you eating pig!" Someone was yelling in her ear.

She woke up with a start. Her eyes slowly opening until she caught sight of her roommate.

Someone can't get some sleep around here, she internally grumbled. Her mind was too sleepy to actually let the words tumble out.

She stood up and walked mechanically to her room and flopped on her bed, closing her eyes as she felt the soft duvet.

Catherine stormed into the room like a devil incarnate. "What are we having for dinner?" She pulled Ruby up from the bed. Well, tried to. She was getting heavy with all her junk food eating.

"Oh Lawd. You actually woke me up because of dinner. I thought chocolate was enough." Ruby said, rousing.

Catherine snorted. "Come prepare us dinner you sleepy head."

"I say we order pizza."

"But we have been eating that for almost a week." Catherine's voice was a bit whiny.

Ruby gave a sleepy shrug. "If I actually cook something in this state of tiredness, we'll end up eating bad food." She continued. "Remember that tart that looked like rat poop?"

"How can I forget that? Oh. . .the horror." Catherine gave a dramatic shiver, her voice grave.

"Yeah.."

"So, pizza it is. Away I go." Catherine stood and got outside the room. Sticking her head back into the room, she said, "Pepperoni and cheese?"

"You bet."

She left to order their dinner. And Ruby sat on her bed and stared at the pack of paint supplies in the corner of her room. The one she had so happily bought.

Paint. Her mind told her. Don't. Her dull soul said. She had not painted for almost a month and it saddened her. She was slowly losing touch with her artistic side. The drive and thirst to paint was lost beneath the deep sea of food. Lots and lots of food. And sleep. Plus laziness.

Waiting for the pizza person to deliver felt like forever to Ruby. Why did they always take so long? She thought. Even after all the chocolate, she still felt hungry.

The doorbell rang.

"Ruby, help me get that. I'm in the middle of a Skype chat." Catherine yelled from her room.

"Oh great," she muttered as she walked to the door to collect the pizza. She grabbed her wallet and opened the door to see someone she didn't expect to see in a very long time. She didn't expect to even see him at all.

What were the odds that Andrew was the one to deliver pizza to their apartment? She almost cursed as she saw his face and a pizza in hand. And she rarely cursed.

"Well. Well. Well. If it isn't Churchy Ruby!" His voice was almost cheery as his polite customer - service smile was instantly replaced with a twisted look. He looked okay in his delivery T-shirt, very different from his normal dark clothing.

"So you eat pizza? Thought you only lived off vegetables and holy water," he said as he gingerly placed the pizza box in her hand.

She didn't reply him. Balancing the box in one hand, she reached inside her wallet and handed him the money.

As he gave her the change he said, "Be sure to put that in offering and pray for me on Sunday. Mmm?" He shot her a patronizing look.

She snatched the change from his hand as if his hands where on fire.

"If I were to pray for you it would be that you burn in hell." She spat, her face a mask of blankness. She wouldn't let him see that he had annoyed her.

"Ooh.... She has comebacks up her sleeves." He chuckled and straightened his face quickly. "Do not make me make you sin."

He winked.

"Just go back to your job, you crappy human."

"Hmm. . ." He placed his finger on his chiseled chin, pretending to think. Then he looked her dead in the eye with his light blue eyes. "Enjoy your pizza. . .Or not."

She closed the door in his face and huffed. He now knew where she lived. The freak of the guy. She hated people who hated others cause of their religion. It was just plain stupid. Well, at least she had pizza to comfort her from that confrontation.

"Ruby! What's taking you so long to bring the pizza?"

She sighed.

Oh. And her dramatic roommate.

Andrew was the reason why she did not date. Trust betrayed once sticks forever. 

A/N

Why Andrew? Why?
He's so. . .

Anyway . . . Did you enjoy the chapter?
If you did, please change the color of that little star at the bottom and make your girl happy!

Mackenzie the 2nd. . . Out. . .