1
Ava snapped photos of the gorgeous family in front of her. They were a local family who booked her every year once the snow fell. It added a whimsical element to the photos. Complete perfection.
The vibration of her phone in her pocket took away from the moment, and she did her best to ignore it as she continued taking pictures. The session would be over in any minute.
But when the phone started ringing a second time, she knew it was an emergency.
“Give me just a second,” she said, tugging her phone out of her pocket to see who was calling. Storyville Elementary’s phone number came up on the screen.
“Hi, this is Ava. Is Ruby okay?”
“Hi Ava. This is Nurse Charlotte. It seems Ruby has come down with a stomach bug.”
“Okay. I’ll be right there.”
Ava ended the call and tucked the phone back into her pocket. “Okay, let’s get a few more shots.”
The next few minutes were torture as she finished the photo shoot. Normally she would call for reinforcements, but her bestfriend Kelly had moved to Wintervale, Montana, four months ago to be with the man of her dreams. And her other best friend, Cole—well, she wasn’t convinced they were best friends anymore.
“Okay, that’s a wrap. Everything looks great. I’ll get the edited shots over to you in a few weeks,” Ava said.
They all walked to their cars, and Ava tried to refrain from peeling out of the parking lot of the local park. It was snowing, and the roads weren’t in the greatest shape despite there being a snowplow running at all times. It felt like forever when she finally pulled up to the elementary school and walked as quickly as she could inside.
She waved at the front staff and signed herself in before hurrying to the nurse’s office. The school hadn’t changed much since she had attended there as a child nearly sixteen years prior, so she didn’t need to be shown where to go. She knew the place like the back of her hand.
Her eight-year-old half-sister, Ruby, sat in a chair in the nurse’s office with her face in a barf bag as she heaved.
“Oh no, Ruby,” Ava said, squatting down in front of her and rubbing her back. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head. “I’m barfing.”
“I see that.”
“Thanks for coming quickly,” Charlotte said. “I couldn’t get a hold of her parents.”
Ava shook her head. It was what she had come to expect from them. As much as she disliked admitting it, her mom and stepdad were the town drunks… when they were in town. Ava took care of Ruby far more often than she should, but she didn’t complain. She wouldn’t let Ruby suffer. Ava had been fortunate enough to have the Millers take care of her on numerous occasions when she was growing up. She hadn’t realized it whenshe was younger, but they protected her, and for that, she would always be grateful.
“Thank you for calling. I’ve got it from here,” Ava said. “Come on, Ruby. I think I have some chicken noodle soup calling your name.”
“I’ll just barf it up,” Ruby said before heaving again.
Ava frowned. “Okay. Perhaps some ginger ale would be better.”
She thanked Charlotte again before picking up Ruby’s backpack and walking with her back to her car. Ava drove them back to her rental house and walked Ruby inside. Since Kelly had left, her spare room had remained empty, and Ava had turned it into a room for Ruby. Cole never commented on it, so Ava assumed he didn’t mind.
She had considered moving out and finding her own place after Kelly left, but splitting the rent with Cole was too good of a deal to pass up, especially with having an extra room for Ruby to stay.
And despite Cole and Ava having a strained relationship now, she couldn’t imagine living in a place without him. He had been around for nearly her entire life, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to move on.
Ava got Ruby set up on the couch with a television show, a glass of ginger ale, and a puke bowl. The vomiting had finally subsided, so Ava went to her room to transfer photos from her camera onto her computer.
A door opened and closed, and Cole’s voice drifted into her room.
“Ruby, it’s so great to see you.”
“I’m sick.”
“Oh no. Is there anything I can get you?”
