Ruth looked around, making sure no one was watching before she knocked on the door. The inhabitant took few minutes to open it. He was surprised to see Ruth at his front door, since she never visits him at home. He gestured her to come in and quickly closed the door. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he grabbed his glasses and wore it. The skinny figure pushed back his long black hair with his fingers as he looked at her. Ruth just stood there, not daring to look at him. "Are you okay?" He inquired and stepped closer to her. She shook her head as she burst into tears and clung onto him. The young male patted her back as he whispered, "Hey. Hey what's wrong?"
Ruth wiped her cheeks and looked at the man she thought highly of. "I know Rosabella came to you whenever she needed to talk. I didn't know where else to do," she finally acknowledged his question.
Dylan nodded and gestured her to sit. They both sat on the couch and she stared at her hand. "What happened, Ruth?" Ruth explained everything to him, from kissing Rosie to kissing Allison to him.
"It just makes me guilty, you know. When I kissed her, all I saw was Rosabella and all I could think of was her. Now not enough feeling guilty for having to cause Rosie to die. I also feel guilty for kissing someone else," she cried. "If only I didn't kiss her, she would be alive."
"Oh no. No. No. Ruth, please don't blame yourself. You kissed her because you loved her. She kissed you too. It wasn't the kiss that caused her to die. It was this town," Dylan clarified as he gently placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I just can't help feeling guilty, Dylan. Maybe if I didn't buy the ice cream that day. Maybe if I listened closer, I could have saved her," she went on. It was easy for Ruth to speak to him, for this wasn't the first time they met after Rosie's death.
Dylan stayed silent, and his hand dropped. Ruth turned and looked at him. She found him deep in thoughts. "What's wrong?" she whispered. He turned and looked at her. She noticed tears in his eyes as he shook his head and said, "It just I b-blame myself too." His voice cracked. The incident that happened on the eve of her dead played in his mind. "I believed her too when she said everything was fine. I should have known. I never saw her cry the way she did that day. It had so much pain in it. Just hearing it made my heart break. If only I knew..." he trailed off.
Ruth placed her hand on his, and he looked at her. "Sorry, I'm putting this on you instead of comforting you. I don't know what to say."
Ruth shook her head and squeezed his hand. "It's okay." Dylan nodded. They both just sat there in silence. Cool wind blew through the window and the silence felt peaceful. Ruth felt at ease by the presence of that man. She leaned back on the couch and rested her head on his shoulder. "I miss her a lot, too. I promised her I'll keep her safe, but I didn't. I suck at promises," he whispered.
"You tried you best Dylan. Rosie always spoke about you. The way she spoke made me wish I had a brother like you. You were her hero," Ruth told him.
"Yeah, a shitty one," he scoffed.
"I believe in you," Ruth whispered.
He rested his head on hers. "She used to talk about you too, you know? All of you girls. As for you, she highly admired you. She described you as a kind soul," Dylan spoke after a while. Ruth hummed in response.
She lifted her head and looked at him. "Can we watch Wall - E?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
***
The weekend passed. Then Monday came. We hoped for the call, but it never came. Then Tuesday came, but we had nothing yet.
It was Wednesday afternoon, everyone was in the cafeteria having lunch. Ruth was sitting with Ila and Mara by the window. "Ruth, look," Ila nudged her as she looked at something behind her. Ruth turned her head and saw Isolda walking in with Amelia. Her blood boiled at the sight. It wasn't the girl that made her teeth grind and her fist clench. It was the blue sweater she was wearing. Her Rosie's sweater. The one her mum stitched for her. The one Rosie gave Ruth. She mentally yelled at herself for leaving it at the Davis' on that rainy day. "How dare she?" She got up, but Ila grabbed her hand and shook her head, "Don't."
Ruth watched in agitation as Isolda pranced around wearing the blue sweater. She stood in the line and got her food. The girl was so busy talking to Amelia that she didn't notice someone behind her. So when she turned, her tray titled over and all the gravy fell on her sweater.
Ruth saw a big ketchup stain on Isolda's stomach. The same place the ice cream had fallen. "That's it," Ruth muttered and stood up.
"Ruth, please don't. It isn't worth it." Ila grabbed her hand.
The boy who bumped into Isolda apologized, and she shook her head. Isolda removed the sweater, telling the boy it was okay. She walked up to the bin and opened it. Seeing this made Ruth fumed. She snatched her hand from Ila and stormed towards Isolda. Just as she was about to throw the sweater away, Ruth grabbed the sweater. Isolda looked at her. "What do you want?" she asked in her high-pitched voice.
"Don't throw that," Ruth said calmly and tried pulling the sweater, but Isolda wouldn't let go.
"Why not? There is a big stain on it, can't you see." She pointed at the red stain
"Take it home and wash it." Ruth tried to be as calm as possible while she clenched her fist.
"Ew no way."
"Fine. Give it to me," Ruth said and pulled it. Isolda held onto it as her grip it tightened.
"Oh, I forgot you collect junk and make your clothes," she said, and let go of it. Ruth lost her balance and fell back. She landed on her bum and the sweater ended up staining the dress she was wearing. Amelia and her girl gang walked up to Isolda. "Issi, what happened?" Ruth rolled her eyes at the nickname. Typical Amelia giving nicknames to everybody.
"Fröken duktig blev kränkt att jag gick och slängde hennes patetiska flickväns tröja," Isolda replied. (Miss good girl got offended that I went to throw away her pathetic girlfriend's sweater)
Ruth knew very well what she said and hearing her speak about Rosie made her want to punch Isolda. She looked around and saw people watching. She met with Ila's eyes that pleaded her not to. Ruth stood up, holding the sweater tight in her head. She smirked as she looked back and forth at Isolda and Amelia. "Jag knullade åtminstone inte min bästa väns pojkvän," hatred dripped from her voice as she spoke. (Well, at least I did not fuck my best friend's boyfriend)
Isolda and Amelia looked like they were seeing a ghost. Probably shocked that Ruth knew Swedish or because of the new piece of information she shared. Isolda pounced on Ruth as she screamed, "How dare you!" Ruth was a bit taken back as she hit the ground again. "Din patetiska flickvän var en hora (Your pathetic girlfriend was a slut)," Isolda yelled and swung a punch at her face.
That was the trigger Ruth needed. She grabbed Isolda's shoulders and flipped them around. Ruth didn't care about the throwing pain in his left cheek. She was too angry to feel pain. Her pupils diluted. Ruth wrapped her hands around Isolda's throat and started choking her. All the things that she put Rosie through ran through her mind, making her tighten her grip. Isolda started gasping for her. "Ruth, stop!" someone yelled as they tried pulling her. Ruth flinched and leaned close to Isolda. She enjoyed the fear she saw in her eyes. "You don't know any fucking thing about her," Ruth growled.
Isolda gripped her hand and tried pulling it as she gasped, "P-please. P-please l-leave me." Ruth felt someone pull her hand, and she pushed their hand away. "You are the pathetic one. You! You are the one that went and fucked the boy with a broken leg in the name of making him feel better." as the words left her mouth, whoever was pulling her hand stopped trying.
Isolda started shaking her hands and legs. This time, a stronger pair of arms wrapped themselves around Ruth and carried her. "Leave me!" Ruth yelled. He pulled her off Isolda, and she gasped for air. Ruth turned and looked at Ryan. His leg was no longer bandaged. He had returned to school last week fit as a fiddle. Ruth giggled and pointed, "Oh here's the fuck boy." She looked at Amelia and her two girls, Sarah and Lia, who stood a few steps behind. They didn't rush to Isolda's aid. They just watched. Sarah huffed and walked away with tears in her eyes. Her boyfriend Ryan ran behind her and her two friends followed.
Ruth looked at Isolda, who was picking herself up all alone. No one tried to help. "Try to grow up and be a better person. You might actually have some real friends then," Ruth advised. Isolda huffed and walked away. All the students got back to what they were doing as Ila took Ruth to their table.
"Ruth, I told you that and you promised not to tell anyone," Ila asked, referring to news she leaked about Ryan.
Ruth scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Serves her right for putting out those posters of us kissing."