BRUISES

| Fourteen |

After two long-some hours, Clarry and I decide to head home. I avoid Em at all costs however, it still doesn't stop me from locking eye contact with her. I begin to grow guilty at what she said upstairs.

    How I ran away from my life...

    At the door, I hug the girls' goodbye and we all agree to meet up before Clarry and I leave New York again. I don't know how promising words can be but the thought of it counts. It's always those times when plans are spoken about but never made.

    Clarry and I drive back to her house in silence.

                        ~*~

    I wrap my wet hair in a bun and sit on the edge of Clarry's bed. She's catching up on work emails meanwhile I have more than twenty untouched in my inbox. She closes her laptop and places it to the side.

    "What's the matter?" She asks me when I have a wary gaze.

    I sigh, "Everything was so overwhelming. The wake, seeing all the girls again and just...being in Rubies house." Clarry withdraws from a silent stare and looks at me. Her eyes are dull and still red from crying earlier today.

    Before she replies, we hear her Mom drop something from the kitchen. She curses under her breath while retrieving it from the ground and placing it on the countertop.

    "I know," She breathes, fiddling with the blanket on her lap. I lean my back against the wall and scan through her bookshelf. I find my book hidden with the other colorful spines that have collected dust.

    Clarry's eyes scan my bare arms and slowly reaches for my bruise. She is gentle when her fingers graze over it. My face flushes when I wait for her to admit what I'm thinking.

    "Remember how Rubies got her nickname?" I stifle a laugh and shake my head.

    "In the backyard at Penny's house. Rubies was so drunk, she ran off into the dark and tripped over the fire pit."

    "And when we all woke up with those random bruises, we outlined all of them to see if they reminded us of anything."

    "Mine was a dog." I remember, looking down at the bruise I have now.

    Looks like nothing but a big, nasty blob. Something that will soon heal and be forgotten.

    "I think the one I had looked like Squidward."

    I begin laughing and Clarry tilts her head to the side. "No, it was the shape of a penis."

    "What! No!"

    "Yes," We begin laughing until I feel tears in my eyes. She slaps her hand on her bare thigh.

    "Whatever, Squidward's nose does look like a penis."

    "Exactly," I run my hand over my mouth and a noise rumbles in my chest. "But there was something so special about Rubies. Just so red, so curvy and sharp at the edges. Then she just said it looks like a ruby and so, Em said 'Rubies it is'." There's a soft smile on her lips but there's something missing in her eyes. Something she wants to say but doesn't.

    She inhales, "Well, I think this bruise looks like a..." Clarry stares down at the bruise and gnaws at her lip. "A hand."

    "A hand?" I repeat, unaware of what she's looking at. "Where do you see a hand?" I question and she shrugs in return.

    Her pointer finger outlines the bruise, "I just see some fingers and a palm." She explains and I grin, "Somebody is trying to hold on." Her shoulders drop when she adds, "Maybe Rubies."