Sweeter Than Fiction | ✓

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Although Kelly was understanding and kept saying she had Rudy's back,she was still a bitch that refused to swap back Rudy's shift with him. She told him more than once, sometimes in passing, hissing into his ear that Miles and him had to talk it out. Rudy wanted to, he did, but he couldn't.

Kelly understood that and really, Rudy was seeing her in a new light. She could be... tolerable when she wanted to be. She was still a bitch though.

She was now bugging him every moment she got, mostly because of Miles not talking to her and Mark telling her to piss off which she would rant about excessively until Rudy told her the same thing and she would stomp over to Mark again while Rudy greeted the next customer with feigned enthusiasm- or what he thought was enthusiasm, by the looks Lydnsay was giving him it was anything but.

So days turned into weeks and Miles had stopped talking altogether, back into the unsociable recluse that had joined them all those months ago, maybe even worse. Kelly was telling Rudy that he had even stopped talking to her.

Rudy was also getting clumsy.

He was messing up numbers and money, and customers were shouting and raving at him on a daily basis along with Lyndsay who was threatening to bring Mr. Archer into it if he didn't shape up. Even the creepy corner guy was giving him looks of pure hatred more often than usual, and the guy didn't even buy anything.

It was another long day, Rudy was beginning to hate his job all over again as he watched Miles run out without a second glance. Rudy sighed, taking his bag out his locker without changing before he followed out the door. Miles was already long gone.

It hurt more than it did less the more time that passed with Miles not talking to him. His missed him more, ached for him more. Even worse, his reading had come to a standstill without Miles' help. Without meaning to, Rudy had come completely dependant on the small boy with the dark hair that worse those ridiculous jumpers and couldn't stand the smell of cheese.

"Hey, Sampson!" Kelly called just as he was half way down the alley. She ran up to him, nudging his side. "Mind if I join you?"

Rudy shrugged, not caring any less.

"Mark has to go home and study for some test tomorrow so he couldn't walk me home,"she explained, riffling through her bag."Oh my god, where is my lip balm. Freaking hell."

Rudy watched her as she continued to curse and rummage before she cried out and almost chucked her bag onto the road. Rudy almost laughed. Almost. Instead he hid his smile by turning and looking across the street and nothing in particular.

"Still not talking?" Kelly asked.

Rudy didn't know if she was talking about Miles and Rudy or pouring his little heart out to her. Either one of them wasn't happening so he shook his head.

She still bugged him all the way to the train station where he saw her off before running to the road opposite to the bus station.

On the bus he stared out of the window and avoiding the attention of the rowdy drunks at the back. He couldn't help but feel he was missing something, something important beside Miles. He shrugged it off as he came to his stop, giving a quick thanks to his driver before hopping out of the door to find that the sky was spitting slightly, Rudy lifted his hood up and shoved his hands in his pockets.

When he got home the place was silent. No lights were on and there was no usual smell of Rosie's cooking like there usually was on a Wednesday after work. He almost jumped when Legolas nipped at his feet, not seeing him approach.

"Rosie?" he called. No answer. The living room door was ajar so he made his way cautiously over to it, slowly edging into the room. When he saw Rosie sitting on the sofa he relaxed, his shoulders coming down in relief.Even so, something still wasn't right.

Rosie had always been the eccentric child, the one that was popular and chirpy and always moving. When Rosie got upset, she stopped moving all together. As she sat in the dark of the livingroom, the only light coming from the small kitchen, she didn't move, she didn't even twitch, just staring ahead to a blank TV screen. That was another thing to know, Rosie was always watching something to occupy her time but when she wasn't, something was wrong.

He turned on the light and she hardly even flinched. Rudy walked over to her slowly, she didn't move, didn't even acknowledge him except for opening her mouth and taking a breath.

It was then, Rudy knew what was wrong. He saw the tears in her eyes and he whipped his head round to the calendar, confirming what day it was. The calendar itself hung next to a bunch of framed photos with smiling photos. They were all seven to eight years old now, when every thing was good and Rosie wasn't working all the time and had a future instead of looking forward to nothing.

He felt the guilt settle in his stomach as he realised he had forgotten what day had been approaching, that he had been so preoccupied with Miles, thinking of nothing but him he had failed to see the dates go by. He felt horrible. How could he leave his sister to deal with this on her own.

He sat beside her, arms touching and nothing else. The two siblings sat in silence of the bright room, Rudy's hands clasped together in his lap and his face grim.

Legolas pawed at his leg before making the decision to jump up on his own and then sprawled over his lap, his small head in his paws and he sat jut as quiet as the two siblings, sensing their feelings enough not to disturb the heavy atmosphere but rather to leave it be. Rudy smiled at the thing, a watery smile, and patted his head.

They sat there for a while, saying nothing. Rudy had known for years now in this situation that trying to hug Rosie or Rosie trying to hug him just made it all worse. They just needed each other to be there for one another, know that they had each others support.

And then she let out a shaky breath, jagged and broken as if she was shattered in the inside and was trying to keep herself together. "I wish they were still here."

Her voice was quiet and rough but it almost echoed in the silence of the room. Her eyes were glassy and her whole body was shaking. Rudy looked down to his own hands and found they were shaking too. He looked back over to the photos and saw more than two faces he was never going to see again.

He took a deep breath and finally answered his sister, even though she wasn't searching for one.

"Me too," he said, his voice trembling as much as his hands." Me too."

A/N: so i might come back to change some of this but here ya go! also wanting to change the cover again but struggling to find anything, so just a warning. Dedicated to CreativeCooki for being lovely. Seriously, thank you so much.