Chapter 19

With a soft Yawn, Yumi slowly sat up, feeling the comforter fall down onto her lap, and continued to sit there, thinking about how soft and comfortable the bed was. She then asked herself why her bed couldn't be that soft back home, before remembering that she wasn't at home. Yawning once more, Yumi looked around, and picked up her glasses. As she put them on, she became aware of voices just outside the room. In her still groggy state, she could just barely make out the two bodies that were just in the hallway. She knew one of them had to be Ruby, who suddenly hugged the other person, who Yumi only guessed was some relative that lived in the house. Yawning softly once more, Yumi stretched, and all of the sudden heard; "I believe your guest is awake."

Yumi looked back towards the hall, and she noticed Ruby turning around to look at her, still naked as the day she was born. It was the combination of seeing Ruby naked, and seeing her own clothes in a pile near the door that made Yumi remember that she was naked herself. Quickly, she threw the comforter over herself, and curled herself up into a ball in embarrassment. As she was trying quickly to think of some way to get out of this situation. <Are you okay?> She heard spoken in Japanese, and Yumi poked her head out from under the comforter. <Yes. I'm fine... > She replied, and looked at the man. She remembered the man from the party, and turned red when she realized that she had stood there, naked in front of him just a few days prior.

Walking back to the bed, Ruby sat down next to Yumi, and looked back at the door. The man had already left, but Yumi was still covering herself with the comforter. Ruby just giggled. "Your father?" Yumi asked, but Ruby was a little "reluctant" to answer. "Sort of. He's Robert, my step-father." She said, and Yumi looked at her curiously. Ruby noticed the look on Yumi's face, and gave a slight smile. "Guess I should explain." She said, as she turned to face Yumi. "When I was a little girl, I had your normal family. A loving father, a caring mother, then all of the sudden, that changed one day." Ruby said, and tried to smile. Yumi just nodded. "My Dad got into a car accident, guy ran the red light while drunk. He passed away on the scene according to the police." She said, and Yumi's heart sunk. She wanted to find something to say, but instead found herself fighting back tears.

"I was about 8 or 9 when it happened." Ruby said. "Me and mom, we moved around a few times after that. She was so distraught, and we were kind of shunned by my Dad's side of the family, so we couldn't really ask them for anything. They didn't really like that Dad married a girl like my mother. Go figure right?" Ruby said, and propped her elbow on her knee, putting her head in her hand, and glanced up at Yumi. Once more Yumi couldn't find the words to say. "About 3 years later, we met Robert at an apartment complex that we started living at. Mom had started drinking about then, although she wasn't coming home drunk and staggering, you could still tell she had a drink or two after work." Ruby said. "A year later, we moved in with Robert, and the drinking had stopped, or so we thought." She told Yumi.

"It felt like a normal family for about a year or so. Then the dark truth arrived." Ruby said. "One day, Mom came home from work reeking of booze. We helped her to bed, and we went back to sit in the living room, and Robert was helping me with my homework, when he said he would be back soon. He decided to run down to the store to get some things for dinner. That's when it happened." Ruby said, and Yumi could see the tears forming. Letting the comforter drop, Yumi reached over, and took Ruby's hands. Ruby just smiled, and took Yumi's hand. "My mom, still drunk, came into the living room, and started accusing me of trying to seduce Robert away from her. I told her she was wrong, and she just snapped." Ruby said, and sighed. "She slapped me across my face, it stung so badly that I couldn't imagine what I did to deserve it." She said.

"It didn't stop there. She started throwing things, and she hit me with her fists when she couldn't find anything to throw." Ruby told Yumi. "I got so scared, I ran down the hall, and locked myself in the bathroom. I can still remember my mother yelling at me, trying so hard to break the door open just so she could get to me. It still haunts me to this day." Ruby said, and as a tear fell down her left cheek, Yumi reached up, gently brushing away the tear. Ruby smiled, and cupped Yumi's hand on her cheek. It just felt so warm to her, so comforting. "Well, Robert came home, and saved me from my mother." Ruby said. "They argued, and my mother stormed out. That was the last time I ever saw my mother." She said.

Ruby then sighed. "My mother's family blamed me. They said that because I was flirting with Robert, that it made my mother snap. The only one that really believed that it wasn't my fault was my Grandmother. But my mother's sisters wouldn't let me see her." Ruby said with a sigh. Robert agreed to be my legal guardian until I turn 18. Says that he couldn't see me live my life in foster homes with strangers. We continued to move around, not because we wanted to, but because of Robert's job. It was fun, making friends from all over, but sad to say goodbye to them after awhile. It got hard to make friends after that." She said, and sighed once more.

"But, we heard about this place. And that's how we ended up here." Ruby said, and smiled. She looked over at Yumi, who looked sad, and about to cry. "Hey, don't worry about it. If none of that happened, we wouldn't have met right?" She asked, and Yumi looked up at her. It was slightly sudden, but when Yumi leaped forward, embracing her in a hug, Ruby couldn't help but cry. Maybe it was what she needed, she thought, as she put her arms around Yumi. Either way, it just felt so comforting to have someone that cared about her that deeply. Pulling back a little, Ruby ran the back of her hand across her eyes, wiping away the tears that formed. She smiled a little, and leaned forward, pressing her lips against Yumi's. She was just a little bit more happy that Yumi didn't pull away.