silence and sound → the 100 ²

[ 018 ] the me and the you.

— CHAPTER EIGHTEEN,
the me and the you.

RUBY SITS ON THE COUCH IN HER LIVING ROOM. Beside her, sits her father, Rowan Carson. Mavis Carson puts on a movie on the big screen TV in their living room. She grabs a gray blanket from the basket beside the couch. She then joins her husband and daughter on the sleek white couch. She throws the blanket over her legs.

Rowan looks at his daughter with raised eyebrows and smirk. "So. . . Bellamy Blake?"

Ruby smiles sadly as the topic of Bellamy springs up, "he was a good man. He made his mistakes, a lot of them actually. And he was rough around the edges but I loved him. Even if he made some mistakes that affected our relationship."

"Hey, bitches!" A voice rings out through the Carson apartment as the door opens. All eyes turn to see a giddy River Bailey approaching. She throws herself onto the couch beside Mavis. She burrows under the blanket and snuggles close to Mavis. River then looks to Ruby. "How's our boy doing?"

"Ryland? He was doing fine before I left." She replied. "He'll be okay."

"You sure?" River raises her eyebrows in question. "He's been through so much already. He lost both of his parents and then me. And now, he's lost you, too. You sure he'll be okay?"

"We were never okay on Earth." Ruby looks to her. "Do you know how many times I've died on that horrible, beautiful planet?"

"Twice?" River asks.

"Three times, Riv," Ruby responds. "I've died three times since we landed on Earth."

"You were so strong, Sweetheart." Rowan tells her, placing his arm on the couch behind her head.

"What is it, Honey?" Mavis looks worriedly at her daughter.

"Sweetheart is what Bellamy called me." She mumbles to herself. She looks at her hands.

Mavis notices the sudden change in her daughter's attitude. So she quickly asks, "what was Earth like?"

Ruby's speckled eyes meet Mavis's eyes. "It was beautiful, Mom." She starts. "It was so green and the air was so sweet. It's just like what we talked about. Except for you know Grounders that killed your friends, psychopaths in a mountain that killed more of your friends for their blood, and an AI that took control of everyone's minds and tried to end the human race again."

River scoffs at Ruby's words. "Thank God I missed out on most of that."

Ruby is fast to reach across her mother and backhand River in the stomach. The younger of the two grunts at the pain. She looks to Ruby with wide eyes. "What was that for!?" She exclaims.

"There's no 'Thank God' in you dying, Riv." Ruby tells her with a frown.

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Inside of the sacred temple, a girl lays on a small, makeshift bed. Her eyes are shut. She looks like she's just sleeping. Only. . . that is not the case.

Ruby is in a coma.

She hasn't been able to receive the proper medical treatment she so desperately needs. She has to be monitored all hours of the day.

Her face is pale and clean of blood. There are dark purple bags under her eyes. The stab wound under her ribs has been stitched and bandaged by Abby.

Occasionally, her fingers will twitch.