BRUISES

| Twelve |

Inside the house—with as many people as it can fill—it still feels empty. The presence of Rubies is missing and makes the strong structured bones that holds up the roof in the brink of collapsing.

Clarry and I stand side by side in the foyer, looking up at Rubies graduating photo on the wall. Behind enters Penny with her family then Vivi and Jules. Us five collect our thoughts in silence while a caterer comes around with a tray of finger food.

Jules takes up the offer while the rest of us deny. The caterer walks past us and gets lost into a large crowd. I find Rubies Father talking to family members, but her Mother is slouching over the kitchen table. Her eyes fill with a blank void of grief.

We sit in the den, completely dedicated to Rubies Mother's music career. I strum the guitar sitting on a stand beside the couch. Other classmates from our high school fill the room when they recognize me and the girls. Annabelle is going room to room to be able to talk to everyone.

"Hey Theo," Someone calls out and I snap out of my daze. I turn to find Rachael sitting across from me with a few other girls. "Is there going to be a sequel?" She asks me and my shoulders drop. At first, I think she's joking but the look on her face says otherwise.

My face numbs with irritation as I reply, "Do you think that's the right thing to say right now?"

Vivi is sitting on the floor in front of me and she chokes at my response. Rachael's cheeks burn red and she awkwardly looks around the room. She fumbles with her words and Heather, the girl next to her scoffs.

"She's just asking a simple question. What are we going to do, mope here in silence?" My nose twitches when she speaks. These girls are the attention whores. The ones I wrote about in my book who peaked in high school and never changed.

However, now... none of us have changed and we are still eighteen.

Penny chimes in, "Actually yeah."

Jules mutters to her on the couch that maybe we should talk about something else. I sigh, brushing the bangs away from my eyes.

"To answer your question, Rachael. No, there will be no sequel and the reason for that is because I hate happy endings. The first one didn't end with one, so, why should I create a continuous story to please my readers with the happy ending they crave for to help them cope from their unhappy life?"

She thinks about it for a moment as my brain is trying to wrap around the thought that Rachael, the high school cheerleader caption read my book. Until she brings her gaze back to me and nods.

"In that case, it was a really good story. Very real." She compliments and it brings a smile to my lips.

"Thanks," I mumble before turning my head. Everybody talks about their jobs, where they're living (although most of them still live in Port Jeff), and starting new after college. It's very fresh on the mind and although my college experience wasn't anything crazy—I still miss having that child feeling buried deep inside me.

I become overwhelm, so I stand and slowly walk up the stairs. No one stops me and I know it's not appropriate to go upstairs in someone's home. But my legs keep going and I'm not going to stop.

It's silent aside from the muffles of conversations downstairs. I let go of the railing when I reach the top. Pausing at one door, push it open with a single finger. Jules didn't specify but with the way the bathroom looks—this isn't the one.

There's a pile of towels on the floor near the toilet. The shower is still wet from the recent use. The counter is covered with makeup and other bathroom items. Exiting, I tip toe down the hall and reach the half-shut door.