dedication.

𝖘𝖔𝖚𝖑 𝖙𝖎𝖊𝖘

I think I have a soul tie to negativity. A bias or curse that binds me to it. In the same way, Ruby Banes and I were bound. Neighbours and best friends, a cliche that came with living my parent's american suburban dream. We shared every secret, every smile and tear. We would trade them like currency. We told each other everything. Or atleast, I did.

Ever since we were teenagers, Ruby always joked that she wanted to die young.

"Live fast and leave a pretty corpse".

It was a mantra she would recite whenever she snuck out my bedroom window.

Whenever she drank at a party.

Whenever she broke a boy's heart or chipped the glossy red paint on her car.

Never did I think the affirmation would become a reality. Never did I think my curse would cancel out her blessings. 10 months gone and Ruby's death remains unsolved. The investigation seemed to reveal more questions than answers. The details were hazy and no one cared to clear the fog.

The Banes family was... complicated. Lawyers shot up for each and every remaining relative while the investigation was left unfunded and untouched by Ruby's very own flesh and blood. Ross Banes, Ruby's father, owned a real estate establishment in the city. Inherited from his father, Mr. Banes spent his days and nights in the centre of his work and rarely dropped in. Rihannon, Ross' wife, passed away when Ruby was four, leaving the children with their next door neighbour, me.

We clicked like a key in a lock. Ryan, her younger brother, would try to play with us, but Ruby always came up with an excuse as to why he couldn't. She would tell him to go play with Roman, her older brother, and to leave us girls alone.

But as I entered the Banes Mansion, I found no evidence of those times. There was no proof of the swimming pool days or the melting ice cream or the christmas mornings. There were just... paintings.

She was gone. Every picture frame excluded her petite smile, her smell had faded from the house, her bedroom cleared and redecorated. Her shoes were missing from the rack at the door, her clothes given to goodwill, her scholarship taken by another student. Ruby was dead, and it seemed they wanted her to stay that way.

"Can I get you a drink, Sarah?" Ryan asked, holding out a red cup as I made my way toward him through the heavy party. The foreignly familiar home was like a dream in the neon lights and bouncing floorboards. Ryan had been living here alone for the past 5 months after Roman seemingly vanished, which left the 16 year old with far too much freedom.

Parties at the Banes Mansion became a scheduled event as every weekend seemed to take place at the castle-esque home. Ryan didn't seem to mind though. I think he enjoyed the company, even though his hospitality was being taken advantage of by the various groups of teenagers that consumed the free booze.

"No thanks," I replied, taking a seat at the kitchen island. He glanced at the drink he was offering and shrugged, throwing it back in one go.

"Woah, Ryan. You ok there bud?" I asked, taking the now empty cup from his hand.

"Roman," was all he said as he leaned forward on the marble top. His hair drooped forward and covered his face as he looked down at his feet.

"What about Roman?" I asked, letting the annoyance of his name being mentioned show clearly. Roman and I didnt get along. It was as simple as that. His little disappearing act was more a relief to me than a concern.

"Well to start, he's coming home tomorrow, so that's fabulous," he said, the sarcasm dripping as he spoke. Ryan didn't hate his brother like I did, but they sure did fight, and not just verbally.