Chapter 4 #2
Carrie shook her head. “Not really. We’d been friends since freshman year and had gone on a single date before that weekend, so Milo decided to take the pressure off by introducing me still as his friend. It wasn’t a lie, just an attempt to avoid answering questions we didn’t have answers for yet.”
“Makes sense. I probably would’ve done the same thing.”
“Yeah, well, our attempts to make everything easier were in vain,” she said.
“I still messed everything up. I let slip the fact that I had been in juvie once, and I’m sure Aiden told you that.
Now you probably think I’m a criminal or something, but I promise, it’s a little more complicated than that.
I only stole because my mom didn’t have enough money for rent a few months back in the day… ”
“Oh.” Ruby drew in a sharp breath, guilt twisting in her gut.
“I’m sorry that you were forced to do something like that.
Aiden actually didn’t mention that you had been arrested, but I…
” She looked away, ashamed. “I might’ve Googled you today and found out for myself.
God, just saying that out loud makes me feel sick to my stomach.
I can’t believe I did something like that. ”
“I don’t blame you,” Carrie said. “It’s what I would’ve done too.” The girl winced. “Does that also mean you already know that my dad is in prison?”
Ruby nodded.
“He’s a good guy,” Carrie said. “Or at least, I remember him being a good guy. He was arrested for stealing money from his company, but really, everyone was doing it. He was just the scapegoat or whatever. They all rolled over on my dad, building this case against him that would’ve been impossible for anyone to overcome. In the end, they gave him 11 years.”
“That’s a long time.”
She nodded. “He’s been in prison since I was twelve, so it’s been a long time since I’ve had a real conversation with the man.” She shrugged. “We go to visit every now and then, and he sometimes calls me, but it’s not the same.”
“I know.”
Carrie frowned, her face full of doubt.
“Not personally,” Ruby clarified. “I don’t have any close family members who are incarcerated. I’m just a social worker, and I’ve gone with a handful of kids to visit their parents in prison before. You can just tell that everyone is uncomfortable; nobody quite knows what to say or how to talk.”
“Yes. Exactly!” Carrie smiled, although there were tears in her eyes now. “You get it. Most people don’t.”
“Well… I’m not most people.”
“Milo told me you wouldn’t judge me. I guess I just didn’t believe him. The last guy I dated, his mother hated me. She found out I had been arrested and didn’t have an active license, and she basically forbade her son from seeing me. It was just awful.”
“That does sound awful. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.
” Ruby folded her hands together on the table and sighed.
“I would never tell Milo who he could and couldn’t date.
You’re both technically adults, and telling Milo to break up with you would only send him running directly into your arms.” She laughed.
“But it doesn’t matter anyway, because I don’t want to meddle in your relationship at all.
You seem to make him happy, and that’s all I really care about. ”
Carrie brightened. “Thank you. I appreciate you saying that.”
“There is one thing I am concerned about,” Ruby went on. “But I don’t know if it’s something I should be talking to you about. I don’t want to betray his trust, but I’m also trying really hard to understand what’s been going on with Milo right now.”
“You’re worried because he dropped out of school.”
“Yes. Did he tell you ahead of time, or did you find out after the fact like me?”
“A little bit ahead of time, I guess,” Carrie said.
“He had been talking about it for a few weeks before he actually pulled the trigger. I really didn’t think he was going to do it, though.
I was trying to convince him that it was a terrible idea.
I told him just to take some time to think everything over before doing something rash. He didn’t listen to me, obviously.”
“Join the club,” huffed Ruby. “Did he ever give you a good reason for why he was thinking about dropping out?”
“Not really, no.”
“Of course not. I have to say, I am disappointed to hear that he didn’t listen to you either. It’s not surprising that a boy his age would ignore my advice, but you’d think he might listen to his girlfriend.”
“I think whatever he’s going through, he’s just not ready to talk about it with anyone right now.”
Ruby let those words sink in, knowing right away they were true but not wanting to admit it to herself. That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. It left her still feeling in the dark about everything, and now she didn’t even have a map to navigate her way out.
“Well, I’m glad we’re at least on the same page,” she said after a tense few seconds. “Maybe between the two of us and his dad, we can eventually get Milo to go back.”
“I hope so too.”
They shared a smile, then Ruby let the girl go. The mud on her legs was now drying, and there were even a few leaves in Carrie’s hair. She was probably desperate for a hot shower, and Ruby couldn’t blame her.
After the kids left, Ruby realized just how tired she was. She hadn’t gotten enough sleep the night before, thanks to all the drama, and she’d been so stressed the entire day; it felt like all her muscles only stopped tensing now that she’d finally had the chance to talk to Carrie.
With that muscular release, however, came an overwhelming wave of exhaustion. She had worked up a sweat pulling weeds in the sun, but she didn’t care. She changed into some sweats, crawled back into bed, and took a long, well-deserved nap.