Chasing Mr. Carlton ( The story of a Shrew's Son)

Part 53

"Hey." Bobby said, closing the door behind her and looking around the apartment.  Somehow, the apartment which had always seemed big enough to her was now looking... rather tiny.

Of course, it must have something to do with that bratty teenager living with her. Bobby frowned as she stepped over a pair of shoes that was carelessly left by the door and moved into the kitchen, dropping the bag with take out on the counter.  There was clothes strewn everywhere, some of it her own, a towel crumpled on the floor from the night before... and she was sure the bed hadn't been made.

"Ruth!" Bobby called out towards the bedroom, hearing the soft hum of music coming through. She took a deep breath, trying to muster up patience. She knew that living with a teenager wouldn't be easy.

"Ruth!" She said again, after a few more minutes, taking off her coat and moving towards the bedroom. "Jesus, Ruth. You could have tidied."

There she was, laying on the bed and applying a coat of red nail polish.

"Sorry, I'll do that once my nails dry." Ruth said without turning to look at her.

"Whatever, I brought dinner." Bobby said, turning to walk back into the kitchen.

"Thank god, I'm starving." Ruth said, practically bouncing off the bed and running after her.

"How can you be starving?" Bobby asked, opening the fridge and noticing it was practically empty. "You ate everything."

"I'm a growing girl." Ruth said simply, taking a seat and waving her hands around to try to dry the nails faster. Bobby stared at her for a second before beginning to unpack the food.

Growing girl was certainly right. Bobby hadn't expected... well, she wasn't sure what to expect. She hadn't seen Ruth since she was a child and she knew she would have changed but how could she have known she'd be so tall? Ruth seemed to tower over Bobby, making her wonder why she hadn't inherited any height.

"How was your day?" Ruth asked after a few minutes, watching how Bobby moved. Ruth might only be 15 but Bobby could already tell she was extremely perceptive.

"It was a day." Bobby said simply, taking a seat across from her.

"Me too." Ruth said, beginning to stuff food into her mouth. "Do you know what it's like not to have a phone? How am I supposed to do anything? Ugh and the wifi, so sloooow."

Bobby shook her head, typical teenage complaints.

"We'll get you a phone this weekend. We need to do quite a bit of shopping for you, actually." Bobby said, noticing how old the shirt was.

"I haven't had anything new in such a long time." Ruth said, making Bobby's face soften. She knew that Ruth had been through so much. She shouldn't be so hard on her.

"I know, we need to get you appropriate shoes too." Bobby said, remembering the sneakers with holes in them. "I'm enrolling you in school on Monday."

"What? WHY?!" Ruth asked with a groan.

"Because it's the law." Bobby said simply.

"Fuck the law." Ruth said and Bobby stared at her.

"Watch your language." Bobby said.

"Ugh, another rule. I can't go out, I can't stay out late, I have to watch what I say..." Ruth said, looking over Bobby. "When did you become such a prude?"

Bobby was about to respond but Ruth shrugged.

"Actually, you were always a big old prude." Ruth said with a chuckle. "But you're different now."