2 Weeks Later
April 2, 2067
1200 CDT
Olympia Cemetery, West Olympia
Ruby Redheart's Point of View
This sucks! I can’t believe you’re actually gone, Mom. I’m so cold. Why does it have to rain today, of all days?
“Ruby,” stupid Scarlett approaches from behind and kneels with me at Mom’s grave.
Why can’t people just leave me the hell alone?!
“Go away, Scarlett. I want to be alone with Mom.”
“I’ll give you space, but…” she whispers.
“But what?! Didn’t you hear me? I know you have shitty vision, but I didn’t know you were deaf too!”
“Ruby, you butthead. I miss her too,” Scarlett rudely ignores me as she gives me a hug.
Why does everything suck?
“Scarlett? What’s wrong with me? I’ve been crying for weeks, and I can’t fucking stop. I don’t feel like doing anything. I don’t even feel like eating, listening to music, or working on my creations. All I feel is… everything! I’m just so… I can’t! I’ve been getting nothing but hugs these past few weeks! Even Drew hugged me, and I should have been happy, but I didn’t feel shit! The hugs help, but they’re not enough, and they’ll never be enough because the one person I want a hug from is gone and never coming back!”
“Me too, Ruby. Things will never be the same without her. But we have to stay strong. Mom would want us to stay strong,” Scarlett badly explains as she finally lets go.
“Stay strong? How? H-have you seen Dad? He’s a mess! Mom was the one who held us all together, and now she’s dead, and the asshole who murdered her is still alive!”
“Yes, but he’ll be imprisoned for the rest of his life. He won’t ever hurt anyone again.”
“Glad to see you have all the solutions. Answer me this, Ms. Smarty-pants, why does that asshole get to live instead of Mom? Why is the world like this? Why do bad people live, and good people die?!”
“I, I don’t know Ruby. Life isn’t fair,” she admits in a defeated tone.
“The very thought of that man makes my blood boil! I-I want to hurt him! He has to pay for killing Mom!”
“Ruby, calm down! I’m just as mad as you, but you can’t talk like that. It’s not right. He’s already paid for his crime.”
“No, he hasn’t! He’s still alive, and Mom is dead! The only way he’ll pay for his crime is if someone kills him. He doesn’t deserve to fucking live. He doesn’t even deserve a grave.”
“I understand how you feel, but he also has a family. Killing him won’t bring Mom back, and it won’t get rid of the pain. Let’s say you do kill him, you’ll be imprisoned for the rest of your life or kicked out of Olympus so kiss your freedom goodbye. Not to mention his loved ones will come after you for revenge, and then our loved ones will have to avenge you. You know what they called that in The Old World? They called it the cycle of hatred.”
“Well, you know what I call it in the New World? I call it street justice, and if you truly miss Mom as much as I do, then you would help me find Dad’s gun so we can avenge her. That’s what a sister would do, and it’s what Mom would want.”
“Ruby, you’re talking crazy. Mom wouldn’t want that at all, and I don’t want to do that either.”
“You know what, Scarlett? You’re a terrible sister, the worst sister in the entire fucking world. I hate you, and I can’t stand your ugly four-eyed face. I’ll find Dad’s gun myself.”
“Ruby, no!”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Let me go, Scarlett!”
Oh no. I accidentally elbowed her in the face.
“Scarlett! I-I told you to let go!”
“Y-you broke my glasses? You broke my glasses! Do you know how difficult these are to get nowadays?!” Scarlett yells as she inspects her busted glasses.
“I don’t give a shit! Ya should have gotten the fuck out of my way!”
OW!!! She punched me in the face?! She actually hit me!
“You’re unbelievable! When? When are you going to grow up?! Do you even understand how much of a fucking brat you’re being?! I’m a terrible sister? I saved your life! As tough as you fucking think you are, you have fragile skin remember?! That man would have crushed your throat beyond repair! I took that pain for you, so you’d still be able to sing! My throat feels awful, and I don’t know if it’ll ever be the same again! I don’t know if I can do this! I can’t be the only one trying to keep the family together! Dad is in a terrible mental state, and you’re being the biggest and brattiest girl in the world! You don’t care about my glasses?! How dare you?! How would you feel if I smashed your new guitar? You need to learn respect! We’re sisters, Ruby! We have to look out for each other! We have to be there for Dad! I know… I know you wanted space, but this was too urgent. Mom is dead. Do you understand what I’m trying to say? We can’t be carefree little girls anymore, and I don’t want either of us to get drafted. It’s time for us to grow up.”
“What do you mean, Scarlett?”
“I think we should study to become apprentices of the Police Force. We’re capable of passing the required tests, and Dad is the police chief, so we have a great advantage. We’ll still have to work our butts off to pass, but we can do it. It’s our only option, Ruby. Neither of us can handle The New World because of my bad vision and your panic attacks. Doing this will make Dad well, and Mom would be happy knowing that we didn’t get drafted,” she calmly explains in her damaged voice. “I didn’t mean to lash out. It was wrong of me to hit you because you’re my sister, and Mom told us not to fight. I love you, and I’m sorry for what I did. I won’t ever do it again.”
Scoff, dumbass.
“Scarlett, you really are the worst sister in the world. I can’t believe you’re just going to disrespect Mom’s legacy like that. So what about Evil on Tour? I thought that we were going to tour The Eight Kingdoms and play a concert in front of everyone, or did that elbow I gave you fuck up your ugly face and your memory?”
“Life is forcing us to grow up, and if you can’t adapt, then… you won’t survive.”
“You’re unbelievable. Grow up? Adapt? And you’re supposed to be the smart one of the family. You can’t adapt to a bullet or a zombie bite. We’re going to die one day no matter what, so that’s why I choose to live life however the fuck I want, whenever the fuck I want. I don’t wanna become a stupid, worthless cop because they couldn’t even save Mom, so fuck you and the police. If you wanna become a useless narc, then do it. I’ll be the only one to honor Mom’s legacy by continuing to focus on the band, and I just realized something. I don’t need you, Scarlett! I don’t need you as a bandmate, and I definitely don’t need you as a sister!!!”
“Ruby, please. I don’t want you to get drafted.”
“Well, I didn’t want Mom to get killed. I wanted my sister to help me honor our Mom’s legacy, but I guess we don’t always get what we want in life! But you’re right about one thing, Scarlett, Mom, wouldn’t want us to take revenge. She’d want us to honor her legacy by continuing to play music because it makes us happy, so I’ll just look for new bandmates and focus on my music since I’m apparently the only one in the family who gives a shit about Mom’s legacy. And my new bass player will be ten times more amazing than you! My bass player will be spectacular, my drummer will be cool, my bodyguards will be super strong, my promoter will be very handsome, my manager will be brilliant, and I’ll even have a special friend with unlimited backstage passes because that friend will be the only person as amazing as moi!”
“If that’s what you want, then fine, but one day, you’ll finally grow up! And when that happens, I pray that you’ll realize how much of a childish, spoiled, and bratty sister you’ve been! Mom taught us that family sticks together no matter what, and one day you’ll see that I’m honoring her legacy by trying to keep us together!”
“Family? Scoff. What family? This family died with Mom. Happy birthday, Scarlett. Hope you enjoy spending it alone cause I don’t want anything to do with you anymore.”
*
3 Months Later
July 2, 2067
1200 CDT
Inside the Redheart’s Family Garage, Central Olympia
*
Stupid Stepmom. I can’t believe Dad remarried so fast. Everyone just keeps ruining Mom’s legacy! Ugh! I bet she only married him for wealth. Maybe they were even having an affair before Mom died!
I think, perhaps a drum solo will cheer me up. Yeah. A drum solo. In memory of Rosine Redheart, the best Mom in the world! I have her drumsticks, and stupid Scarlett gave me her music player. “Ooh, y-you need it more than me, Ruby! Please take it!” Whatever, she don’t know shit.
And I’m sick of Drew, Teresa, Kiko, and the others constantly checking up on me. Why can’t people just leave me alone? I’m perfectly fine.
Damn it. Let me just calm down and focus on this. I hope you’re watching Mom because this one’s dedicated to you. I’ll continue pursuing my dream and honor your legacy, even if I have to do it all by myself. Redhearts are born to be great, and the entire freaking world will know who Ruby Redheart is one day!
When am I gonna learn to stop being a crybaby? I’m performing in front of an empty crowd because my number one fan is dead. I miss you so much, Mom. This isn’t fair! I’m sooo alone, and it hurts so fucking much.