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“I had a whole day,” Ruby said, waving her hand. “And I felt bad, so I thought I should throw some money at it and make it go away.”
“You realize this is a very small space, right?”
“Yes. I do. I needed a desk, though, and I needed storage. But my desk can go next to yours.”
Cozily, Dahlia thought with much annoyance.
“Yeah,” Dahlia said.
“Also, I got some succulents,” Ruby said. “Because of your plant.”
Dahlia shook her head. “You’re a whole thing—do you know that?”
“What?”
“You came in here and basically took over, and just when I start to get irritated at you... I can’t.”
“I don’t want you to be irritated with me.”
“I know,” Dahlia said. “I know you don’t. And I can’t stay irritated at you anyway.”
“I didn’t mean to take over either. I’m just trying to... Help.”
Dahlia grimaced. “You always are.”
She watched as her sister made manic about the room, unloading her bags and putting knickknacks on every available surface.
“What bad emotion exactly are you banishing?”
“Heath called me a mascot,” Ruby said. “And then Dana...well, she was Dana.”
“I’m sorry. Heath called you a what?” Dahlia frowned.
“A mascot. The town mascot.”
“While I would love it if the high school were in fact The Fighting Rubies, I don’t think your head could stand to get any bigger.”
Ruby’s eyes went large, and her frown deepened. “My head is big?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Rubes. I was teasing you.”
“Dana said I’m not a miracle.”
And while Dahliareallywanted to tease Ruby about being devastated that someone didn’t find her miraculous, she could feel there was something more serious there, and she didn’t want to be mean. Poking at Ruby was fine. Knocking some of her glitter off on occasion was Dahlia’s sisterly duty to the whole of the world.
But she didn’t want to hurt her.
“Can you expand on that?” Dahlia asked.
“I mean...she said she always found me really tragic and... Anyway, it was fine—it was just a really uncomfortable conversation.”
Dahlia felt the strangest echo inside of her. A radiant pain that also felt oddly satisfied. Because she’d felt that. Always. Even at four. That there was a deep sadness to Ruby’s abandonment, and a story. One that no one seemed interested in discovering.
“I agree with her,” Dahlia said.
“You...you agree?”
Dahlia’s breath caught on an indignant sound. “I’m not...trying to be mean, so please stop with the big eyes. But have you honestly never...wondered about why you were left? Or thought it had to be some insane tragedy? I mean, you were abandoned. You could have died.”
