All Over Again

| Chapter Twenty-Two |

Ruth knew it wasn't a good idea to stay out so late at the bonfire, and for the most part, she had been right. The next morning, she was a train wreck. Eyes drooping in exhaustion, clothes askew, and messy curls springing out wildly, she looked like she wasn't having the best day.

Emily's eyes were wide when Ruth slid in beside her, barely making it in her seat before class was set to start. Her eyes glanced at the time on her phone and she heavily breathed out a sigh of relief, mentally reminding herself to kill her cousins later for making her go out. No more bonfires on school nights. She just couldn't do it.

"You okay?" Emily asked, though what she really wanted to say was 'what the hell happened to you?'.

"Yeah," Ruth offered her a half-hearted smile, glancing over Emily's put-together attire with slight envy. "Just a late night."

"Ah. Went out?"

"Can you tell?"

"A little," Emily teased, the corners of her lips quirking up. "But, then again, I notice everything."

Ruth smiled back. The two of them turned to face Dr. Ray just when he finished putting up his lecture slides. His class flew by much quicker than she thought it would, and thank goodness for that because she was struggling to keep her eyes open any longer. She needed her usual tea to help keep her sane. Well- as sane as she can.

When class finally ended with an urge to study for upcoming midterms, Emily and Ruth parted ways after promising to be study partners. Ruth made a straight line to go get her drink at her favorite café, and thankfully, didn't have to wait very long for it. She still had homework to do and a story to write before the end of the month, and she was going to do her best to finish it. Even if she wasn't necessarily fond of being around Raffo at the moment.

But fate had other plans.

Doesn't she always?

"Ruth," Raffo's familiar voice called out to her, startling her mid-sip as she suddenly choked on the scalding liquid down her throat. She coughed roughly, pressing a hand to her throat while trying to clear her airway, ignoring the man rushing to her aid. "Shit, sorry!"

He patted her back with just enough force to help her breathe again, but it did nothing for her the death of her taste buds. Her eyes watered and she swam and swam until she was finally able to break through the surface of suffering with the help of Raffo's open palm. After a few more minutes of dying, she forced out a breath of soothing relief.

"You good?" Raffo asked, his eyebrows pushed together worriedly. She half-heartedly waved him off.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she breathed out hoarsely, glaring at the cup in her hand with accusation.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you choke," he admitted, biting his lip guiltily. "I just wanted to talk to you about something."

This captured her attention.

Ruth swallowed thickly. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

She watched him shove his fingers through the long strands of hair caressing his high cheekbones and brushed them behind his ears. His eyebrows were thrown together, lips pursed in barely controlled frustration as he fought to understand something unbeknownst to her.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked bluntly.

Ruth reeled back at the question. "W-what?"

"It's just . . . you haven't talked to me since Friday. I don't know, it feels like you're avoiding me and I don't know why."

"I'm not avoiding you," she lied, taking another nervous sip from her tea.

He gave her a pointed look. "Yeah, you are."

"No. I-I've just been busy."

Her bullshit wasn't going undetected.

"Ruth," he huffed roughly. An unsure gleam touched his features, pulling at her heartstrings. "If it's because you don't want to help me anymore, then I'd rather you just tell me straight up. I know I'm probably a lot to be around, but I promise the withdrawals are starting to get better."

"Raffo I-. That's not what I'm-"

Just when Ruth was trying to tell him that that wasn't what she was doing at all, a familiar brunette came bounding towards them. Her hazel eyes were wide and eager, her smile forcing its way across her pink lips as she placed a manicured hand on Raffo's arm. There was something almost subtly possessive in the way she did it, and Ruth tried hard to prevent her gaze from hardening, but she wasn't sure how successful that was.

"Hey Raffo. Hey Ruth," Mirana greeted, obliviously ignoring the tension rolling off of Raffo's shoulders.

"Can you give us a minute?" Raffo hissed through his clenched teeth. Mirana ignored him, politely looking at Ruth as she waited for a greeting back.

Forcing a smile, Ruth moved her stiffened body away from them, shoving her hurt down her throat and deep into her recoiling heart. "Hey Mirana. Sorry to cut this short, but I have a paper that needs working on and you look pretty busy. So I'll catch y'all later?"

Ruth didn't stick around for an answer. Instead, she booked her way towards the parking lot, eager to get home. Raffo called out to her a couple times, the tone in his voice desperate with something else she couldn't quite decipher, but she ignored him. She couldn't bear turning around to see Mirana all over him again.

She didn't have time to deal with their confusing bullshit any longer.

*****