"Ruby? What are you doing awake?"

She froze.

She turned in a fleeting moment to find her mother clutching her pink robe with slender fingers. She noticed that her Mom's eyes where red due to the fact that she had been crying. Under the light on the first landing, her mother looked so frail. So plain and normal. Her hair was slightly disheveled. Very different from the image she'd always had of her. The image of perfection.

"Ruby, I asked you a question." Her mom said, voice stern, but her voice cracked slightly. That didn't go unnoticed by Ruby.

"Umm . . ." Ruby cleared her throat and looked away from her mom's penetrating gaze. "I came to get water." It sounded more like a question to her.

Her mom looked at her empty hands and raised a perfectly carved eyebrow, as if asking her a question that need not be spoken.

Ruby scratched her neck and gave an awkward shrug. "I changed my mind."

"Alright dear. Go to sleep, we had a long day today."

"Yeah." Ruby felt awkward standing in front of her. "Goodnight mom," she said.

"Goodnight dear." She walked towards Ruby, leaned forward and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Ruby stilled, but savoured it. She was a sucker for forehead kisses.

Turning, Ruby walked all the way up the staircase, throwing a furtive glance back to see her mom staring off into space. She was still on the same spot, deep in thought. There was a crease on her brow that wasn't there before and Ruby wondered what it was all about. Shaking her head, she dismissed the thought as she finally got to her room and laid on her bed. Her family was supposed to be perfect.

She let sleep consume her with her brows creased in thought. And, a little dose of worry.

***

Act normal. Act normal. Act normal.

Ruby kept chanting in her mind as she sat on the dining table, eating breakfast with her parents. Amara had gone out to explore the wonders of Brooklyn after grabbing a French toast from the table early in the morning. She was dressed in warm clothing and her face said, "Here's to leaving this stuffy and perfect house."  Ruby couldn't blame her for ditching her alone with her Parents. She would have ditched herself if she could.

"How was your night Ruby?" Her Dad asked her, firmly gripping his cutlery as he looked up, his dark brown eyes assessing her face.

She paused her chewing and looked up at him, forcing her usual smile on her face. For some reason, she didn't seem to feel like smiling very much today. 

"It was the usual," she said curtly. Big lie there. But, she couldn't bring herself to mention what she'd heard last night. She wasn't supposed to hear it in the first place, so why bring it up? It was better to revel in the fake bliss of perfectness that was her family right then.

"Good." He gave her his famous 'Dad smile' complete with the teeth.

She almost cringed. It was getting old. She was one who loved routine activities but for some reason, she felt irritated.

They continued eating. The doorbell rang, the tone sounding louder than usual in the tense silence.

"I'll get it." Ruby rose up quickly to go to the door. She wanted a little breathing space.

As she got to the door, she pulled it open and a gust of cool air hit her face. She shivered a little. Not just from the cold, but also from the face before her. Red. That's how she could describe her. Her lips where coated in a very dark shade of red. Her pale cheeks where also red, due to the cold. To complete the look, the woman had fiery red hair that was packed into a bun.

Ruby stopped staring and cleared her throat. "How may I help you?"

"Oh, you can't help me girl." The woman spoke swiftly, an edge to her voice. She sounded older than her face.

"Excuse me?" Ruby said, nose scrunched.

"No. You excuse me. Didn't your parents teach you to welcome people in?" She crossed her arms and stared at Ruby with her deep blue eyes alight with something close to anger.

"They did. But there is an exception to strangers."

"Oh. . . Little girl, I am no stranger. I am here to see your Father." She grinned at Ruby. "Please." It sounded mocking.

"Fine!" Ruby said. "Come in."

Ruby opened the door wider and led her into the dining room.

"Darling I- " Her Dad stopped talking as she walked in with the woman.

"Hello, Bill." The woman said, her voice smooth and velvety. She smiled a sickly sweet smile.

Turning to Ruby's mom she said. "Bridget." She raised her arms in the air and gave a very broad smile. "Happy to see me?"

"Madeline? What are you doing here?" Bill's voice sounded strained. He stood up, the cutleries clanging on the table. There was a look of surprise on his face. Deep, pure surprise.

Bridget on the other hand looked neutral. Her perfect face blank. She raised a perfectly carved eyebrow and smiled at the woman.

"Madeline. It's been a long time." She gave her a pointed look. "It's been years. What are you doing in Brooklyn?"

Madeline looked at her manicured nails and spoke. "Just felt like visiting old friends. I ran into Bob." She said it in such a way that it felt like the answer to why she was in their home.

"Alright. Welcome." Bridget held Bill's hand and pushed him to sit back down. His surprise vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Yeah."  Bill mumbled.

Ruby just stood where she was, watching everything unfold. Madeline sat down on the opposite side of her Dad.

"We have a lot to talk about, Bill." She looked at Ruby, then Bridget. "Alone."

Bridget stood and walked close to Ruby.

"We'll excuse you guys. Don't take too long."

Madeline gave her a smile as fake as her red nails. "We won't."

"Sure." Her Dad replied and smiled at them. It didn't reach his eyes.

Her mom led her upstairs. As soon as they got to her room, she turned to look at her mom.

"What was all that about?" She spat. She needed a lot of explanation.

Her mom's face remained normal. She didn't even flinch. "Nothing."

Ruby snorted. "Yeah right."

They sat on the bed in uncomfortable silence. Ruby had the urge to snoop around, but she felt drained. So she sat on the bed, inches away from her very silent mom and kept wondering what was going on downstairs. She hoped that everything was alright because her mom was unnecessarily still. But that was all she could do. Hope.

°°°°°

A/N

Who do you think Madeline is? And do you like her? (I think I like her red hair though.)

I love you guys! Now make your girl happy by turning that star at the bottom to orange!

Mackenzie the 2nd . . . Out. . .

🍁🍁