After talking to her mom, Ruby walked out of the catering service with a box of cupcakes into Luke's blue Toyota Camry like she had just been paid her monthly salary, but with food as payment.

She sat for a long while in the car trying to digest the information she'd received from her mom. Mother had promised to go back to the house before the New Year.

A few stray tears rolled down her cheeks as she kept whispering to herself. Luke handed her a box of tissues and sat still beside her.

"Why are you doing this?" She said after a while, turning to look at Luke, the box of tissue almost empty.

"Doing what?" He asked, eyes focused on her face then.

"Acting so nice. Being here for me right now. I mean, I'm a blubbering mess and you don't even look repulsed," she looked at him, eyes burning, "how?"

He was silent for a moment too long before he looked away from her and spoke.

"Because you remind me of him," he whispered. His voice was so low she could barely hear him.

"Of who?"

"Hmm That's a topic for another day." His eyes held mirth as he spoke up again and looked at her. "Now tell me, do you want to eat this yummy looking cupcake or what?"

She snatched the box from his hand and gave him a stern look. "What kind of question is that? I love cupcake."

"Oh, Ru.. You're such a food monger."

"Was he a food monger too?" She wasn't going to let go of that topic just yet. She felt like she deserved to know.

The laughter disappeared from Luke's face and his expression turned serious. "Yes he was. He still is."

"Who is he?" She pressed, giving his big hands a little tug for him to continue.

When he spoke, his voice was filled with respect and some kind of emotion she couldn't place. "My younger brother. Nicholas."

Ruby could see the respect and love he had for his brother and it warmed her a bit. She'd always wanted siblings.

He continued, "He's a total believer in family sticks together forever. Loves his food like no other." He paused, as if collecting information, memories he'd stored behind the doors of his heart. "He never wanted my Mom to leave, just like you don't want your mom to leave."

Ruby was shocked. His mom had left? She'd always thought he had a very functional family. Thought he had a good life. She didn't know that his mom had left. She came to a realization. She had been selfish in their friendship. Pouring our her troubles to him and not bothering to know if he was okay.

"What happened? Why did she leave?" She would try to get him to say his problems. And she would listen. She owed him that.

"She didn't err really leave," he ran his hand over his face and turned away from Ruby. "She died." He said it with a poker face. One made to hide his pain. And here she'd thought she was the only one with issues.

It felt like he'd just dropped a huge load on her. She stilled from the shock. Recovering a little, Ruby touched his hand and encouraged him to continue. He looked like he actually wanted to continue talking. Like he wanted to pour out his heart to her.

"She died of severe food poisoning." His voice sounded chappy and choked. Like he was holding back tears, but trying to be strong in front of her. Trying to not fall apart.

"You can stop if you want to," she said, concern swimming in her honey brown eyes.

"No. I need to tell you. I need to tell someone. We were poor and barely surviving. Until she got sick and.." His voice broke more. "And it was just too late to save her. She died in Nicholas arms."

"What about your Dad?" Ruby managed to ask.

"He left us when I was five years old." Something danced in his eyes - rage. But it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

He continued. "Child services located my aunt and ever since, the three of us have been living with my Aunt. My sister was too young to miss my mom and I was acting all heady and stupid then. But Nicholas, it affected him the most. Even with my aunt's luxury and her only kid, he would cry and keep telling me that our mom would come back... Until he faced reality - that she was gone forever."

The tears flowed freely on Luke's cheeks. He'd just summed up his life and left himself bare before Ruby, his newly close friend. He didn't regret it. It brought him closer to her. Closer than he had been to anyone other than his brother and sister.

She hugged him over the car sit and patted his back as if he were a child. He didn't complain. They both found solitude in their sadness. A beautiful connection ad-mist the sad thing called life.

They unraveled together and bonded over tragedy.

And it was amazing.

A/N

Sobs. It had to be done. I had to write this chapter. I had to justify why Luke kept trying to help Ruby. I hope I wrote it well.

If there's any suggestion, please comment or private message me. I'll be glad to listen.

Mackenzie the 2nd. . . Out. . (wipes stray tears).