Fraying Edges

| TWENTY - TWO |

With shaky hands, Ruby dialed the number written on the rumpled paper on her laps - the one that James had given her. Her nerves were all over the place. She needed answers to her endless questions or else she'd go crazy.

After the third ring, he answered. "Hello?" His voice was a little bit deeper on the phone. Too deep for a fifteen year old.

She waited for a minute or two before replying. "H–hi Umm this is Ruby?" She internally face-palmed as the words tumbled out of her mouth like a question.

"And?"

"Oh c'mon. This is your nineteen year old half sister, Ruby." The word half sister tasted bitter on her tongue and she scrunched up her face, tapping the top of her reading table.

He gave out a strained hyena-like laugh and Ruby thought it was the first time she'd heard him laugh since she met him. She didn't know that his laugh was that bad. A part of her heart fluttered. He was human after all.

"I know that it's you. I was just messing with ya." He sounded like he was trying to hold back more laughter. Then he continued, "So. . . Finally need answers?"

"No. I called to laugh and talk about hot guys," she deadpanned.

"Oh really? Like, Luke is so hot! OMG!" He said in a very cheery good-girl-bestie voice and Ruby couldn't help but laugh a little. She'd never seen or heard that side of James. She hadn't seen any side of James apart from the 'product of cheating' sign she'd hung on his head like a mantra specially assigned to him.

She rolled her eyes. "Be serious boy. I was only being sarcastic."

"Really? That was terrible."

There was pause. Ruby could hear his steady breaths over the phone.

"That aside," she said in a serious tone, "I called you for. . . you know. Answers."

"Oh yeah. Umm can you meet me at the Prospect park in ten minutes?"

That was fast, she thought.

"Oh okay." She set down her phone and rubbed a hand on her face. She had to be brave and do this. There was no chickening out.

Ruby grabbed her purse, making sure she had her phone and some money inside it. She sneaked past her parents bedroom and stealthily opened the front door. They wouldn't be able to hear her over their constant banter. She cast a wistful look back at their door.

Ever since her mom came back, the house had not been at peace. Constant harsh words were thrown at each other, and it always seemed like there was a gloomy cloud hung over the household. Ruby tried her best to stay apart, not wanting to be caught up in their never ending arguments.

Where had her happy family gone to?

She walked slowly, earphones in place, listening to a slow song that could bring tears, but didn't, at least not at that moment. She'd cried enough to last her for a while. At least that's what she thought.

The snow covered almost everything in her eyesight and she stiffly trudged on to a familiar place - the park. A place she knew by heart.

The dark sky told a story of sadness and the never-ending gloom that was winter Ruby. How could a season bring so much destruction in its wake? How could it affect her so much? To the point that she felt so weak in the bones; so weak in her mind.

She did not know when the tears began to flow again, wetting her cheeks and slowly freezing on her face. So much for thinking that she'd cried enough. She welcomed the cold air and slowly broke with the sound of music in her ears. It was a spontaneous action that had been going on in her even before the first snow touched the ground.

As she got to the place that he asked her to meet him, she paused to catch her breath, cleaning her face of any trace of tears and throwing on her nonchalant mask, before tapping on his tall and lanky fifteen year old figure.

He turned to look at her and she thought that he'd aged from the last time she'd seen him. He had bags underneath his amber eyes, and his lanky nature was more prominent. So much so that she feared he would snap into two.

"Happy New year half sis," he said, rubbing his neck. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

She gave him a disgusted look. "No. Now to the main business. I need to know what you know."

He led them to a bench that overlooked bare trees and snowy land. It was quiet and peaceful - the perfect place to talk in private. When they were settled, he held his hands together.

"Errh where do I start to tell you this?," he muttered.

"The beginning would be a nice place to start from," she said.

He cleared his throat dramatically. "Madeline is not my real mom."

"What?" Ruby said. More shocked that she could imagine. And very sure that her eyes had popped out of it's socket.

A/N
Yeah. Short chappie, but I guess I touched some important areas.
What do you think about the chapter? Share your thoughts loves.

Mackenzie the 2nd. . . Out. . .