Realistic or Modern City Living

[cure]

Not too long after she had gotten off the phone with Brooklyn did she get a notification at the top of her screen saying that her Uber had cancelled. Chanel pursed her lips before giving a final huff and hurriedly walking down the street. It might have seen like it would make the most sense to just wait for another, but she didn't feel like doing that. If it wasn't evident by her calling Brooke, to which she had probably said more words then than she had since she'd known the girl, then she was clearly in an impulsive mood. Chanel thought of herself as more spontaneous, not someone stupidly reckless, but just like anyone, she could fall on the other end of the spectrum when enough. The nervous jitters and anxious feeling she had seemed to be the cause. She needed to be doing something and not just standing around because that would give her nerves more time to brew and settle. So pushing through the cold for some ten odd minutes instead of waiting for another ride not only made the most sense to her in the moment, but also felt the best. It eliminated having to worry about the next Uber cancelling, and it already seemed like she was on a poor streak of luc, so even if it did come on time, she wasn't going to risk getting into a car accident or something.

Now that she was not only in the cold air, which was doing wonderfully at cooling her off because she was burning up under all of her layers, but was moving through it, she progressively felt more and more at ease. Her mind was slowly moving towards being preoccupied to trying to cool down but also stay warm against the frigid air, and she herself was trying to catch her breath as she relentlessly moved faster and faster down the block. She did want to get to Holly as quickly as possible, but she wasn't walking that fast because of it. She just needed to be moving. That was her thing. She always needed to be preoccupied. She was the kind of person who, when interested, would have to put her all into something, but the shortcoming of that was that once something else was thrown into the mix, she would come to a halt and stumble, just like when she received Ruby's response and she was walking too fast to focus on the contents, type up a response, and and navigate around people. Chanel wasn't helpless enough that she couldn't text and walk, but she was doing absolutely too much at once, and as was her tendency, she had to completely stop the car to shift gears, instead of just slowly down.

She moved out of the way of the traffic and looked at her phone once more, her face contorting into slight confusion. She couldn't really gauge how seriously to take Ruby. She couldn't exactly picture the scene, whether it was Holly just getting reprimanded and Ruby taking it to the extreme (which Chanel really only considered because of her initial introduction to the girl) or if Makayla had really gone apeshit and verbally slandered and abused the girl. One seemed more likely, but Chanel was still struggling with separating what Ruby would consider normal and what Chanel would, so it was easier for her to feel like the panic would only be warranted by the latter, though realistically she felt like it had to be the former because of what she knew of the two girls. It wasn't like Makayla was yelling at Holly day in and day out. There were parents who only knew how to scream at their children and threaten to beat them, but Makayla wasn't that. Her panicky mood made her feel a bit more defensive, but she finally took a step in the right direction and thought out her actions before just doing them and contemplating after the fact. Did Ruby really think Chanel was the kind of person to just live with a child abuser for years? Her quieter, more reasonable voice told her that not only did Ruby not know Chanel, but she didn't know the girls either. And if Chanel remembered that Ruby was a mandated reporter, she would have also been more understanding.

To: Ruby

I'm still not sure what's happened there, but no, I wouldn't say this is normal. I asked Brooke to check on her in the mean time. My Uber just cancelled, so I'm walking. Should be there in ten minutes or so, but I'm about to call Makayla now

Chanel considered also explaining that Holly actually was in trouble for something, but she wasn't sure if it was necessary for her to go into that much detail. Her discretion was notably coming back, perhaps thanks to actually just being still for a moment and taking multiple deep breaths since she was still trying to catch it after the quick surge in pace. All the clarity that she was supposedly feeling from the weather still wasn't enough for her to realize that she wasn't doing all great things. She was being reckless. Bringing more people into the mix probably wasn't the best idea, despite being well meaning. Though that is likely more excusable than the fact that even Chanel finally saying something to Cara was ultimately Chanel just sticking up for herself. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was already a little anxious and on edge, and then having her plans ruined, she likely wouldn't have gotten offended and spiraled. It didn't negate Chanel's words at all, but the sincerity of it, at least at its core, was not all that of a saint. While her actions weren't malicious so to speak, it was the tone that changed the light of it.

She began walking, this time a bit slower as she called Makayla. She pursed and released her lips continuously, an impatient tic, as though she was tapping her foot. When she heard Makayla on the other line, casually asking "Hey, what's up?" Chanel didn't immediately have anything to say. Not only was she not expecting the girl to answer, presumably being too consumed being in shambles, but she also thought she would have answered differently. "Errrr...umm...hey, girl. Um..." She was still used to the past couple of minutes being a bit chaotic, so that was what she had prepared for. Not having to respond in such a way had thrown her off and quite honestly confused her. "How are you? Um, where are you? Like, don't freak out, but I heard from Ruby and she said some stuff went down? She said Holly's fine," Chanel mentioned, assuming that that would be Makayla's next question, but she didn't know that Holly technically had no reason to not be fine since she was supposed to be in bed. "So I just wanted to make sure you were taken care of, because I mean I really don't know what happened, if anything? But I wanted to just be on the safe side, sooo." She was going to end things there, but she realized that left Makayla with an opportunity to say everything was fine and then disappeared, so she quickly continued. "Just tell me where you be and I'll come to you because I'm already out," she said with a chuckle as she intended to be lighthearted, but there were still residual nerves in her laugh.​

 

[Bandit_]

When Makayla's cell phone started ringing, she considered taking it out of her pocket and chucking it as far down the street as she could. The last thing that she wanted to do was speak to anyone, and the only person that she assumed it could be was Ruby because of what had just occurred. It had only taken a few minutes in the cold air, a space that somehow forced Makayla to clear her head to some extent, regardless of how enraged or depressed she was, for her to feel like her life was hopeless... and yes, compared to the state of mind she was in just minutes before, that was a much clearer and cleaner thought than before. Makayla was not an angry person, a violent person, or an aggressive person. In fact, most people would describe her as being the exact opposite. She was quiet, reserved, minded her own business, and especially when it came to her sister, she was quite patient and understanding. People only noticed extremes though, so it made sense that a moment like this would garner attention, but people failed to take notice of the countless things she did that showed her restraint on a daily basis. She was in her twenties (years that were supposed to be about self-exploration and freedom), and she was taking care of someone else's child. That in itself said a lot about her character. Additionally though, it was worth nothing that having to take care of Holly held her back in her own life socially, financially, and educationally, and then also how Holly was a challenging person to take care of to begin with. She wasn't challenging behavior wise in the sense that she was rebellious, difficult, or bratty. She was an innocent and sweet little thing who had been failed by every adult in her life for most of her life. Her intentions were good. However, Makayla was not prepared to take care of a child who couldn't multiply six by five in her head, who took an hour to read a page of a book, who could not for the life of her remember to turn off a light when she left a room, or, as she was dealing with today, navigate a subway after taking it hundreds of times before. Makayla knew that Holly's brain worked differently than the average person's, and most of the time, she was able to remind herself of this when she got frustrated with her sister for doing things that seemed elementary and careless, but were really just related to how her brain worked.

Makayla was only human though, and notably, she was doing this all on her own. She didn't have a mother of her own to turn to, or siblings, or even friends to give her a break every now and then. She was completely alone... winging taking care of herself, and trying to take care of Holly at the same time. Cara taking care of Holly had helped Makayla more than she ever really realized. She had always been very grateful for the help because she knew she needed it, but it wasn't until Cara had abruptly stopped that she realized just how much of a help it had been. For one, it gave her peace of mind in knowing that Holly was safe and alive when she went to work at night. She knew that Holly would be fed and in bed by the time she got home. Cara's presence in Holly's life also made Holly happy. She had a friend and someone to socialize with, and someone who could entertain her in ways that Makayla couldn't. Additionally, in a less physical manner, Cara had provided Makayla with a lifeline to some extent. If she ever really needed help or if something came up, she could reach out to Cara to help her with Holly because the offer to help was already on the table. It felt completely different than reaching out to anyone else, like Chanel or Brooklyn, who probably would help if asked, but didn't do so regularly enough that Makayla would ever actually feel comfortable asking. Now that Cara had distanced herself, the stress of having to do everything completely on her own had pushed her to a breaking point. Those couple of hours a week of relief that the blonde had given her had apparently given her enough breathing room to exist in a manner that was still stressful, but not breaking point worthy.

She was now at the edge of her limits, or actually, past that limit now. She had fucked up her relationship with her new roommate, had said things to Holly that she would forever feel guilty about, and as her phone rang, and rang, and rang, she turned into a liquor store intent on spending some of the last few dollars she had on liquor. The inside of the shop was dead silent, and that was the only thing that prompted her to answer the phone. She could have just rejected the call, but she was acting on autopilot mode at that point, and through that, when she saw Chanel's name, it just came naturally to speak in a calm manner, even if she was feeling anything but that. "Hey, what's up?" she asked, as she picked up a bottle of vodka that was on sale. The brand was a name that she didn't recognize, and she knew that since it was on sale for $9.99 and was uniquely flavored as "espresso vanilla fusion", it couldn't be that good, but it was a big bottle for a little price with an average alcohol percent, so she didn't care if it tasted vile. Right now, she almost hoped it was poisonous enough to kill her.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'll probably be back later," she answered casually as she moved to the register and placed the bottle on the counter. Though she was speaking in a fairly normal tone, she wasn't suddenly 100% herself. In fact, a large part of her doubted whether she would be back later. At this point, she felt like she had nothing to lose. Why not use the last little bit of money she had to take a bus somewhere far, far away? Could her life really get any worse by doing so? ​

 

[A_Writer]

Holly settled onto the couch because she didn't know what else to do. Makayla had told her to go to her room, but she had stopped listening and had disassociated herself by that point. Had she heard and processed it, her bed was exactly where she wold have been at that moment because especially after Makayla's display of anger, Holly knew better than to be disobedient. She had a mind of her own sometimes, and she sometimes liked reminding Makayla that she was not her mother or parent, but she wasn't stupid enough to be blatantly disobedient and disrespectful when she already knew that she was walking on thin ice. She was upset, confused and hurt, and the fact that Makayla had left made it all the more startling for Holly, who somehow would have felt more comforted if Makayla was still there, cooling off in another room. Her sister was now gone and Holly was scared that she wasn't going to come back. It probably seemed like a dramatic conclusion to jump to, but she had never witnessed Makayla like that before and just as upset as she was about her own feelings being hurt, it also upset her to see Makayla in such an emotional state. She counted on Makayla to be the composed adult and her rock, and to see her unhinged was nothing short of frightening.

She stared at the television for a moment before reaching for the remote that Ruby had passed to her. The girl had left to answer the door that Holly hadn't even noticed had been knocked upon, but she felt like everything was moving slowly. She felt distant and suddenly tired and drained, and she wanted to crawl into bed and go to sleep for as long as it took for her to forget what had just happened. Holly was an emotional person, and though most only saw her on the extreme end of the happy side of the spectrum, she became upset just as frequently as a normal person. It was a much more draining emotion for her though, so when it happened over something that actually warranted sadness (unlike the things that typically made her frown - like Makayla refusing to let her approach a dog owner or buy a lollipop), it affected her more than it probably did the average person. She struggled to handle it and could never grasp the idea that she wouldn't feel like that forever, until something came along and gave her a reason to be happy once more.

Within a few seconds she had chosen a movie on Netflix called "Pup Star", described as: "After a singing pup with big dreams of stardom gets dognapped and escapes with a friend's help, her journey home is a fun, music-filled adventure." It definitely seemed like a movie that would be Holly-appropriate, but she hadn't even bothered to read anything other than the title before selecting it. As expected, it would definitely be a good distraction for her, though obviously given the severity of the situation, it wasn't going to remedy anything - probably not even her mood in the short term. She barely even reacted when Brooklyn and Collin came into the apartment, or when Brooklyn sat beside her, so that spoke to her mood as well because typically, she wouldn't have let Brooklyn get a step inside the door without some sort of enthusiastic and PDA-filled greeting. "She said you're not my friend," she said quietly, her eyes not even deterring slightly from the television screen as she spoke. "And I'm not hungry."​

 

[lauren.]

As if Ruby wasn't already overwhelmed with the situation at hand, Collin and Brooklyn were apparently here because of it, too. Brooklyn's comment about hearing that she was the reason that Holly was upset had her frowning in a mixture of confusion and offense, but the girl slipped past her and she was too distracted with Collin, then, to acknowledge it. Even if Ruby knew Collin and Cara to some extent, she didn't know them personally as well as their connection would suggest, and she definitely had no idea who Brooklyn was on a personal level. Even her roommates seemed like acquaintances at this point, and so Ruby could not be faulted for not knowing who to trust or how to interpret the events occurring around her. She could only take things for what they were on the surface, and do her best to try and read between the lines. There was a lot happening at once, though. She probably would have made some tea for herself (and maybe hot chocolate for Holly), to give herself a few minutes to mull over what happened and give Holly some breathing room too, before trying to speak to the girl again before Chanel arrived. She needed a few minutes to process things herself, but she could only imagine that Holly needed that same thing to collect herself, too. Collin and Brooklyn's arrival wasn't something she was expecting, or something that she even felt was necessary at the time, but she wasn't in a position to kick anyone out because when it came down to it, she didn't know Holly. She was a doctor who specialized in mental health, so confrontations and strong emotions were things she was capable of dealing with, but as she had realized before, it was different when it occurred in your personal life and space, versus when it occurred in a clinical setting. Even if Brooklyn and Collin knew Holly better than she did, she didn't think that either of them were equipped to handle the situation at hand. Even if they could cheer Holly up, they couldn't solve the overlying problem of the potentially volatile living environment that existed here.

With these new people in the apartment, Ruby didn't have a moment to check her phone when Chanel's second text came in. She spoke to Collin instead, saying, "Yeah, there was an altercation between Holly and Makayla that kind of got out of hand." She felt very uncomfortable for various reasons at the moment, but in particular, she didn't feel comfortable speaking about what had happened with anyone and everyone. Even if Collin and Brooklyn likely knew Makayla and Holly better than she did, it still didn't feel like it was her place to just authorize them as being people worthy of knowing their private business. She was going to relay what had happened to Chanel, but that was only because affected her just as much as it affected Ruby given that they occupied the same space as the girls. She had impulsively reached out to Cara regarding it too, but that felt different considering that Holly had specifically asked for Cara, so she had been given that prompt. It wasn't even the HIPAA-informed doctor in her that was feeling uncomfortable at the thought of relaying, in full, what she had just gotten involved in, but also just her as a person. Ruby was non-confrontational and in truth, avoided drama at all costs. She was a calm, peaceful and kind person, the kind of girl that rarely even gossiped among close friends and never chose sides during other people's fights. She minded her own business when allowed to, and typically existed without many problems. She didn't turn a blind eye when she knew that something was off though, and that was the only reason for why she was in her current predicament. It wasn't because she liked drama, thought that she was superior or more knowledgeable than Makayla, or was nosy.

"I really just walked in on the tail end of it, so I don't know what went on, but I'd actually rather you leave Holly here. I just... I feel like I need to speak with Chanel and figure some things out first. It's just... with what I did get involved in, I'd rather make sure Holly is okay myself before just sending her off with you guys." Again, Ruby was aware that Collin and Brooklyn likely knew Holly well and had good intentions, but passing the problem off wouldn't sit well with her. Maybe she was being overly cautious, but her gut feeling told her that it was reckless and irresponsible to just let the girl leave after such an emotional moment, without working through it while it was still fresh. "Chanel should be here any minute, so I think I'll be okay until then."​

 

[lauren.]

About fifteen minutes after Chanel had left her, Cara had made it back home with just a container of ice cream to show for her time at the store. The same of calmness that she possessed as she got out of her Uber and walked upstairs was off-putting and concerning given the situation that she was in. She had just gotten into a fight with a good friend, and yet she seemed so unbothered and collected. Even if it seemed inappropriately nonreactive, it was a very Cara-like reaction when it came down to it. She wasn't the type of person who got into screaming matches or heated arguments with people. She could get worked up easily, but oddly, in situations that warranted it less than the ones that did. She found it easy to go back and forth with a person over something petty, but if someone called her out over something that actually offended her, she preferred to mull over it in her head for a while before replying. Not only was it just not a response that fell within the parameters of her personality, but she also found public disturbances like that to be classless and tacky. Sometimes, silence was the most telling response of all. As the saying went, "You can tell how dangerous a person is by the way they hold their anger inside themselves quietly." In Cara's case, she wasn't a dangerous person physically, but her own issues that had built up over the years had turned her into someone who could become very cold and vindictive the second she felt like someone was working against her or like she wasn't going to get her way. It was a wildly unhealthy way of dealing with problems, but it was a mechanism of self-preservation, and one that she clung to tightly over the years.

She assumed that by then, Collin wold have brought Holly back to their apartment but when she returned to it, she found that it was empty. She put the ice cream away before calmly walking across the hall and knocking on the door. She wasn't thinking about anything. In a sense, she was working on autopilot mode. She still didn't think that she was wrong for feeling like this was not her problem, because it wasn't. She loved Holly, yes, but she did not love Makayla and she was at a point where she believed that all of their problems were self-inflicted on Makayla's behalf. It wasn't her job to clean up other people's messes, and she certainly did not want to be a part of the narrative that Chanel was speaking about, where somehow it was her fault that other people were less fortunate than her. Makayla was an incapable caretaker of Holly, that much was seemingly factual at this point, and so to Cara, trying to remedy something related to that didn't seem urgent. She understood why it would to Ruby, since she wasn't familiar with the history of the girls, but for her, it felt like something that was out of her hands and not her problem. Now that Chanel wanted to challenge her morality, though, she had to be a good person, simply to prove a point.

She knocked on the door twice before testing the knob and seeing that the door was unlocked. She slowly opened it up, pasting a smile on her face as she peeked in. "Heyyyy," she said softly as she spotted Ruby and Collin a few feet away. ​

 

[BurningBridges]

"You sure?" Collin responded. He glanced back towards the couch where Holly sat with Brooklyn. Everything did seem calm and all right, and it wasn't like Collin felt like he could do anything to fix a situation involving Holly even if it wasn't all right, so he supposed that Ruby was right. It would be unnecessary for them to just stand around if she felt like she had things under control, and honestly, Collin figured that Cara would be happy to get out of having to deal with this. He would give his sister credit for being good at taking care of Holly but she had seemed uninterested in dealing with the teenager lately, so he was in the mindset that if she knew that Chanel and Ruby had it taken care off, she would be happy.

"Yeah, I think so," Ruby confirmed, offering a reassuring smile even if she didn't really have the energy to authentically back it up.

"Okay," Collin nodded. "Um, let me get Brooklyn." Collin was sort of awkward to begin with. He had always been a quiet kid, and he didn't love small talk, so situations like these weren't ones that he thrived in. He often thought about things more deeply than was required and it led to him second guessing his next move much more extensively than was needed. He probably didn't need to feel so awkward right now, given that Chanel had asked them (or at least Brooklyn) to come over, but he felt like the two of them were now there unnecessarily and since Ruby seemed certain in not needing them, there wasn't anything to do but leave. The more challenging part was knowing that Brooklyn was a wild card in this situation. She'd either shrug her shoulders and be glad that this wasn't her problem, or she'd make a scene, just to make a scene. Heading over to the couch, he stood on the side of the couch closest to Brooklyn. "So, uh, Ruby said she doesn't need us to hang out here. She said Chanel will be here in a minute and that she thinks it's better if Holly stays here til then."

"Who cares if you're hungry," Brooklyn had responded to Holly with a theatrical roll of her eyes. "We'll tell her to order food and you can get something to save for later." It probably seemed callous to be acting annoyed when Holly was clearly upset, but Brooklyn preferred to think that it was better to deal with emotions by ignoring them and acting like everything was normal, rather than talking about them. Besides, now she had convinced herself that she really did deserve some free food from this minor inconvenience. "With that sad puppy look I bet she'd buy you pizza and a nice, hot brownie sundae." She was on the verge of just calling out for Ruby to lie and say that Holly had asked for her to order something in, when Collin appeared by her side and started speaking. Out of instinct, she shot him an annoyed glance at the content of his words. Tipsy or not, Brooklyn still knew when she was annoyed, and hearing that they had just wasted their time for nothing was definitely annoying to her. She didn't even answer Collin, and leaned back on the couch, though not actually turning to look in Ruby's direction as she called out, "Ruby, Holly wants us to stay here and she also wants you to order a pizza!"

"No, I really think--" Collin tried to jump in to tell Brooklyn that he really didn't think it was necessary, but she held up her hand to signal to him to stop talking. He could have just shrugged his shoulder and decided that Ruby could deal with Brooklyn as she saw fit. He didn't necessarily have to feel responsible for her, but since he knew Ruby and he also knew Brooklyn more than they knew each other, he felt like he had to act as a liaison. Returning to where Ruby was, he offered a weak smile. "I... I mean, I know Holly doesn't need me here, but Brooklyn seems insistent on staying. Do you want me to..." His voice trailed off as there was a knock on the apartment door, and Cara came in.

Thank God.

"Hey, yeah," he said, jumping in immediately. Cara could deal with this. "Ruby said she's got it handled, but I'll let you guys figure out what's going on," he said, before slipping out. He knew a sudden departure was just that... sudden... but he didn't really care. Out of all of them, his presence really did nothing to remedy the situation, so he didn't feel the need to stick around any longer than necessary. He was sure he would hear about whatever happened from his sister later, anyway.​

 

[lauren.]

"Hey!" Ruby was visually and audibly relieved when Cara walked in, so much so that she barely even noticed Collin slip out a second later, or Brooklyn's shout from the living room. At this point, she honestly really didn't even need Cara either, because Holly wasn't as upset as she thought she would be. It made Ruby feel like, again, that this might have been a more normal occurrence than she was expecting it to be. She seemed like the only one who was truly concerned about anything. Even Cara's initial reaction to the situation had suggested that she wasn't truly worried about what Ruby had described as having went down. That in itself, the lack of concern on everyone else's part, only made it more concerning for Ruby. Part of her felt like maybe she was just being dramatic, but she knew that normalizing abusive behavior wasn't okay. Everyone else had grown to believe that it was the norm and therefore it had lost its shock value to them at some point, but this was a child who was being subjected to it, and that made it all the more wrong. "Thanks for coming over," she offered with a smile, as she led Cara into the kitchen. She needed some tea, and now that the situation was definitely calm (for the moment, at least, since she didn't know whether Makayla was going to come back in at any moment), she felt like she could get away with making some. "I think Chanel asked your brother and Brooklyn to come over," she said, nodding in the direction of the living room where Brooklyn and Holly were. "But I don't think we really need her here, unless Holly seems to want her," she explained. She assumed that Cara and Brooklyn were friends given that they lived together, so it seemed more polite and less awkward to subtly suggest that Cara ask Brooklyn to leave rather than doing it herself. It wasn't that she didn't want Brooklyn there for personal reasons, but she felt like what had just happened was personal. If they were to address Holly about it, she didn't want a bunch of people to be there because it seemed unfair to her and Makayla's privacy.

"You were the first person she asked for after Makayla left, which was why I texted you," she added, as she put a kettle of water on the stove. "And although she seems okay right now, I just am not comfortable with what I walked in on. Is there a pattern of..." She didn't want to say abuse, because that was a strong word and she did not want to vilify Makayla. This was the first time she had witnessed something like this, and she wanted to give her roommate the benefit of the doubt that it may have been a one time lapse of judgement. She didn't know though. She didn't know Makayla or Holly like that to say one way or another. "...of emotional conflicts between them?"

 

[lauren.]

Here Cara was, at a moral crossroads. Ruby had presented her with a clear opportunity to bash Makayla entirely. It wasn't something that was above Cara, as her comments in the past had made clear, and she didn't want to give Chanel credit for getting through to her or anything, because it wasn't even that, but Cara took a few seconds to think before answering. She didn't like Makayla because she felt like the girl had gotten too used to her kindness and took advantage of it. It wasn't that she found Makayla to be ungrateful necessarily in a direct sense, but just too comfortable. She and Holly were friends, but she and Makayla weren't, and that was what set Makayla's actions in Florida apart from those of Chanel's, or Collin's. It didn't matter that they were doing the same thing - what mattered was that there was no reigning relationship of friendship to justify the disrespect there like there was for the others. Even if Cara was displeased with her, she felt a bit troubled in this situation. This wasn't like gossiping and slandering her to Chanel or someone who was a friend. Ruby was an acquaintance, mostly, and maybe it was that lack of recent interactions that made Cara feel the need to be a bit more guarded or formal around her. Maybe too, though, there was an ounce of morality showing through. Was she going to take this that far to destroy Makayla's reputation? Did she care that much? The answer was no. At least not at the moment. Chanel's nasty remarks had earned her a more supreme spot on Cara's list of people who had crossed her today. She decided that she would focus her energy there instead.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I think that Makayla has issues and smokes too much, and I honestly think that whatever she and Chanel smoke has given them major anger issues, but she takes care of Holly fine," she said quietly. What was fine for Cara was apparently different than what was fine for the normal person, but at the end of the day, Cara knew that Holly was a happy person, so Makayla had to be doing something right. She wasn't raising Holly in the way that Cara thought was best, and Cara wasn't conscious of how the world worked to an extent where she could really comprehend that Makayla was doing the best that she could - and far more than anyone could expect of her, but she decided to be kind for the moment. "They're poor," she said, sitting down at the kitchen table, still speaking quietly since she knew that Brooklyn and Holly were in the living room. A statement like that probably seemed abrasive or insulting, but Cara said it matter-of-factly, as if it explained the situation in itself. "It's like... they're like from one of those trashy broken families you see on TV shows, I guess, so you can't expect them to function like normal people, but Holly is the sweetest person on the planet and I guess Makayla does her best..." she said, sighing at the end. "Chanel thinks that, at least. I really don't know Makayla and honestly, I don't care to know her personally, but I know she and Chanel do drugs together so I guess Chanel knows her better than I do. I'm sure that's what the two of them will end up doing tonight, so it's probably best that I take Holly back with me. She can sleep over and I'll make sure that she gets to school in the morning." It was going to be a nuisance, only because Cara wasn't planning on doing all of this, but she had to prove that she was a better person than holier-than-thou Chanel, so it seemed worth it. "Where did Makayla even go? She just snapped and stormed off like a five year old?"
​

 

[cure]

Chanel wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not when she escaped the cold from outside and entered her apartment complex. Perhaps the latter considering she had stopped at Insomnia Cookies to get some sweets for Holly, but it was also to delay going upstairs. She had been in a rush to return, but she was now anxious to what she would be coming back to, especially since it seemed like things with Makayla were still in the air. In atypical fashion, Chanel had felt odd confronting Makayla. She was usually one to be hyper aware of boundaries, but that had always been in a casual, social context. She didn't have some agenda to push people's limits and really her greatest offence was probably making shy, untalkative people uncomfortable. That was why it was difficult talking to Makayla because it wasn't at all natural. Chanel was known for being a bit unscripted, and that was her comfort and why she liked conversing with people so much because there were many different things to talk about, and she found people generally interesting and exciting. She liked opening up to people and people opening up to her; not in a deep, sentimental way but just in a conversational manner. But this was obviously prying and agenda-driven. She was concerned for Makayla, but it was to the point where she was overly ginger because she didn't want to make matters worse. She wasn't sure what she was to do or say, and she couldn't immediately tell that Makayla was in some desperate need of an intervention. Chanel already felt partially responsible because if she had just been like Cara and ignored Roman's call, then she wouldn't be involved right now. It was a selfish thought, but all she could do was ruminate and think of the million ways things could have gone differently. After talking to Makayla for a few minutes, not really getting past surface conversation that mostly involved Chanel talking on and on as she tried to think of what she was really supposed to say, she left the girl to her own devices. Makayla was an adult, and she was older than Chanel at that, which made Chanel feel even more awkward trying to check for her. She didn't feel right or comfortable giving the girl an ultimatum, so she just took the girl's word that she would be back later.

The five flights to the apartment seemed even more immoderate as she huffed up the stairs. She hadn't heard from Ruby or Brooklyn so she assumed everything had gone right, but after a beat she wondered if that their silence actually meant the opposite. She was reaching the top of the steps when she pulled out her phone to check, even though she was just a couple paces away from finding out for herself. It was then that she saw Collin's text, unsure of how she missed it before. She couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed from it. Did she really sound that desperate? Just as she was typing a response that was good, she got to her floor and saw Collin exiting her place. "Hey," she said, a bit breathy from the 5 flight trek and the general rushing she had been doing. "Were you just leaving my apartment?"

"Yeah," Collin answered with a slight smile. He was still feeling awkward and unneeded from what he had been thrust into inside, but a smile naturally tugged at his lips at the sight of Chanel. "Good luck in there," he offered with a borderline sardonic smirk. He was sure that everything would be fine now that she and Cara were there, but that was only considering that he didn't know that she had just come for his sister.

"Great," Chanel mumbled, not picking up on Collin's sarcasm, which probably emphasized just how out of it she was. Given the fact that Collin was also over there gave her more reason to believe that she was about to enter something she really didn't want to be involved in. As she dug in her pocket for her key, it momentarily not falling on her that the door would have been unlocked, she extended the other hand that was holding the box of cookies toward him. "Want one?"

Collin felt bad that Chanel was going to have to deal with whatever mess it was that had happened. He would have given her a run down himself, but he honestly had no idea what happened. Holly seemed all right, and aside from the tension that was bound to occur from Brooklyn and Cara potentially getting territorial over who was now going to save the day, things didn't seem bad. Aside from not being there long enough to determine what had happened himself, Chanel was the one who had called Brooklyn, so she had clearly known about whatever had occurred before they had, and in turn, he assumed that she knew what she was walking in on anyway. "I'm good, thanks," he said, shaking his head. "Save a few for the munchies you're destined to get later, because I'm sure dealing with my sister, Brooklyn, and Holly all at once is going to require more than a few hits in a little while," he offered lightly.

"Tell me about it," Chanel said with a chuckle as she opened her door and he walked into his. It was only then did she fully process what he had said, but there wasn't time to ask any question as she stepped inside to see things for herself. And just as Collin had said, his sister was there in the kitchen to talking to Ruby. "Hey everyone," Chanel said, deliberately working to keep the exhaustion out of her voice. She waved at Ruby as she passed by and went into the living room where Brooklyn and Holly were. Things seemed pretty calm, but she still didn't feel all at ease. When she saw Holly, she could see that the girl wasn't in the best of moods. "Hey, Hols. Hey, Brooklyn," Chanel said with a simple, though also apologetic, smile. "Thanks." She turned to the television as she sat on the armrest. "What are you guys watching?"​

 

[BurningBridges]

Holly's silence was mildly concerning, but Brooklyn didn't think that it was anything to be disturbed over. She was sure that all of this stemmed from whatever Nick had called her about earlier. Makayla had probably yelled at Holly (as was deserved, from what Brooklyn got out of that phone call), and now Holly was being a sensitive baby about it. The girl was sweet enough that her sensitivity was understandable. She really was like a little puppy dog that no one ever wanted to see upset, because she was too lovable (even if it was in a way where sometimes Brooklyn hated to love her), but her innocence made her more easily bothered in Brooklyn's opinion. She was sure that if she told Holly that dogs couldn't get married or that Clifford wasn't a real dog she could upset her enough to make her cry. It wasn't that Holly got upset often, because she didn't, as far as Brooklyn knew. In fact, Brooklyn had only seen her upset and un-Holly-like a handful of times, but given how soft her personality was, it also wasn't surprising to imagine that small things could bother her. Holly's typical peppiness in itself probably even spoke to how patient and tolerant Makayla was, because Brooklyn imagined that she rarely ever was harsh enough to the girl to dull her spirits.

"A movie about a singing dog," she said, standing up upon Chanel's arrival. Although the movie had been playing for a few minutes, that was all that she had gotten from it. Brooklyn wasn't too big on kid's movies, especially ones outside of the Disney realm that were typically done well, so this odd, overdone talking animal movie had left her scrolling through her phone after two minutes or so. Collin telling her that she should leave had annoyed her, but if Holly wasn't in a mood where Brooklyn could get her to do anything amusing, she knew that she would be bored sitting there. It seemed preferable to spend her free time doing something enjoyable, and get satisfaction out of knowing that she had passed the drag of a time watching this kid's movie on to Chanel. She flashed a sarcastic smile as she passed the girl, squeezing her shoulder. "Seems like something that would be right up your ally, Chanel. I'm sure you'll enjoy watching it for the next..." She paused, pretending to look at an invisible watch on her wrist before exaggerating and saying, "Three hours. Maybe there's a sequel that you guys can watch after!" She was tempted to tell Chanel that she could send over delivery food to her apartment as compensation, but she opted against it, only because she was now sure that Chanel would be unhappy enough either feeling guilty leaving Holly, or sitting there and watching that shitty movie. Slipping out of the apartment, she held her tongue as she passed Ruby and Cara. Not everyone and everything deserved a comment, and for now, Brooklyn was content with the idea of returning to her late afternoon drinking.​

 

[A_Writer]

Brooklyn continued to press the idea of getting food, but Holly had nearly fully zoned out at that point. If she was in front of a television, it was hard to get Holly to move her attention elsewhere, and that was saying a lot considering that her mind moved a mile a minute otherwise. Being upset only contributed to her dullness at the moment. Whenever she got upset, she always got tired too. Part of it probably was just an expected physical reaction where the stress of a situation could make someone feel exhausted and defeated enough where they wanted nothing more than sleep. Additionally now, though, Holly also subconsciously knew that this situation wasn't going to get any better today. Makayla was angry. Really angry. More angry and emotionally unpredictable than she had ever witnessed before in her life. She had said things that were offensive, and Holly was upset over that, but what was bothering her more was the fear of not knowing where Makayla was and if she was going to come back. Holly took a lot of things for granted in her life, but only because she didn't think deeply enough to know that she needed to be grateful for them. Makayla sacrificed a lot for her, and yet as far as Holly knew, she never second guessed it. To her, being placed into foster care never would have been an option. Makayla never would have abandoned her. Because she saw Makayla as true family, and the only true family that she had at that, she didn't recognize that not only biologically, but socially speaking too, in the big picture, Makayla had no obligation to her. She was the kid of a woman who fucked her dad and did drugs with him. They weren't biologically related, and when it came down to it, Holly was a lot of work. More than Makayla needed to deal with. She had no more of an obligation to take care of her and love her than a stranger on the street, and yet she did. While Holly never thought of her sister's actions in that specific sense as being extraordinarily selfless, she loved Makayla in a way where her gratefulness probably didn't need to be literally expressed aloud to be known.

A few minutes had passed when Brooklyn got up. Holly only glanced to her side because she felt the shift on the couch, and not because she had even processed that Brooklyn was leaving or that Chanel had gotten there. She looked at Chanel then, though, because she was suddenly there, and it was a familiar face which was nice. "Makayla is mad at me and she hit me and said that I'm stupid and she called Ruby a white person," Holly said flatly. She wasn't herself anyway, but it was worth noting that she hadn't been paying attention enough to hear Chanel's question about what they were watching, or else there was still a small possibility that she would have been inclined to explain it. Her eyes darted towards the box of cookies in Chanel's hands before returning to the girl's face. With Makayla's outburst still fresh on her mind, she managed to remember her manners and refrained from asking who they were for.

​

 

[cure]

Chanel wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not at Brooklyn darting off. She couldn't really blame her since Chanel had thrust this upon her so last minute, but she was mostly surprised at the fact that it didn't seem like Brooklyn had stirred up any trouble, so her leaving so promptly was interesting to her. Especially because it didn't seem like she was actually escaping anything. Holly looked obviously down, but things were a lot calmer than she was expecting. She wasn't sure what exactly was happening when Ruby was texting Cara, but this certainly didn't seem to fit the hysterics, but to be fair, a lot of that assumption was on her. Because things weren't as bad as she was expecting them to be, she assumed that she should have used logic to determine that Ruby was probably being dramatic, though after what Holly just said...maybe some things did go down. She noticed Holly eyeing the box of cookies in her hand and she held it out to her. "I got these for you," she said. Chanel had know idea what cookies the girl liked. She could see the girl liking unconventional cookies because she herself was a unique girl, but she also knew Holly was a picky eater, though she didn't know if that applied to sweets. Still, she didn't go crazy and just got half chocolate chip and half M&M.

She pulled off the arm rest to move and sit beside Holly, trying to figure out how to respond to what she had said. "Well, Ruby is white and," she began, on the verge of saying "And so are you" but Chanel wasn't 100% sure. She was tanner than your typical WASP, but Chanel wasn't sure what else exactly the girl could be. Nevertheless, she figured she would cut her losses early before things got to complicated. "There's nothing wrong with that. And there's nothing wrong with you either, so of course you're not stupid." She broke a piece of an M&M cookie out of the box then began nibbling on it. Chanel liked being the cheerleader of the group, but she understood now that it was best for her to assess things before coming in full force. She understood Holly was sad, and not your typical sad from something mundane, but something serious. She didn't seem at all impressed with Brooklyn coming or going, so to her that said that this was a special situation. But, again, Chanel wasn't good at unique situations where she felt like there were right and wrong things to say. "That wasn't nice of her to say that though, and I'm sorry, okay? But you are really smart. You notice things that people usually just ignore. I've actually learned a lot from you, Hols." Chanel rubbed the girls back, not enjoying how unfamiliar this felt. She could usually just bounce back and forth off Holly, though she certainly had more moments where she actually couldn't keep up with the girl. So it was definitely odd to have the awkward silence, or rather the internal pressure to keep the conversation going. "I actually talked to Makayla and she's okay. I think she said she was going to come back later, but I think she just needed to get some air, so you don't need to worry, all right? You made a mistake, and you learn from it," she said with a shrug, not to be dismissive, but she felt this was similar to when kids fall and look to your for a reaction. You can either freak out or stay calm, regardless they'll match your energy. Holly was already down, so she figured it would be best to try to minimize the situation by making it seem like not something to worry about, since it seemed like that was what Holly was doing. "And the subway here is not easy," she said with a chuckle. "You don't want to know how many times I got lost, so it's not just you. New York just has a stupid transit system." Chanel wasn't exaggerating there either. It did take her a while to become fully comfortable with public transportation when she moved here and her first couple of weeks could be its own stand up.

Chanel suddenly had an idea, but she didn't want to overwhelm the girl. She had been saying a lot, so she figured it would be best to check in first before trying to bounce to the next thing. While Chanel wasn't sure of her verbal boundaries, she never really had much problem with showing affection, and sometimes that felt like the best replacement for a loss of words. She gave Holly a tight squeeze, wiggling her a little bit before letting go. "Are you feeling any better? You know, I bet milk would taste really good with these."​

 

[A_Writer]

The subway in New York really wasn't an easy thing to master. Even if she had taken it thousands of times before, Chanel was right in saying that it was tricky and easy to get lost in. It probably didn't come as a surprise to anyone that Holly had not been able to manage it on her own, especially when the route she had to take involved transfers. Then again, she hadn't even made it to any subway at all, so that didn't really help her case. The mere fact that Makayla had even entrusted her with getting home on her own spoke to the amount of stress and desperation that her sister must have been feeling. If anyone knew Holly and her capabilities, it was Makayla. It was apparent, not only by the more recent outburst, but by the fact that she had even been forced to have Holly commute home on her own that Makayla was stretched thin with no one to help her. To an extent, it wasn't even necessarily fully that she had no one to help her, but also that she didn't feel right asking for help. It wasn't something that Holly was really aware or because it didn't affect her in any way that she had to worry about it, but Makayla was a hard worker and a proud one. If she wanted to, she could have begged any of their roommates or neighbors for help. She probably had co-workers at her job that she could have asked to do her a favor too. Her sister was independent in ways that were admirable, but maybe to a fault. At the same time, there were certainly other factors playing into Makayla's discomfort in reaching out for help. The way that Cara was behaving recently was likely a contributing factor to it, for example.

Picking an M&M cookie out of the box, Holly held onto it, but didn't raise it to her mouth. "But if she doesn't come home, then what will happen?" she asked, mentally agreeing with Chanel that milk would seem nice with the cookies, but unable to focus on it enough to verbalize it. Even though Chanel said that she didn't need to worry, she was worried. She was startled and shaken because this wasn't something she had ever seen or witnessed. She had seen Makayla angry, but never engulfed in rage before. She had never even experienced Makayla getting so mad at her that she stormed out. When they got into their arguments, Holly would usually retreat to the bedroom (either by her own will or by Makayla's demand), and Makayla would just stay elsewhere in the apartment. When it came down to it, Holly rarely ever even saw Makayla leave the apartment without her, unless it was because she was going to work. Even if it was just a quick trip down the block to run errands, Holly would tag along with Makayla. Regardless of where she was going though, it boiled down to the point that Holly always knew where Makayla was going, even if it was a solo trip to work. Now, she had no idea where her sister was going and when she was going to come back, and that forced her to wonder if she could even be certain that she would come back. "You won't call the police, right?" Holly's view on law enforcement was a negative one. To an extent, it was a learned one. She lived with criminals for her entire life, so she was taught that law enforcement was the enemy from a young age. It wasn't a biased and unfair view for her though, because as far as she knew, it was because of the police that she didn't have a mother to take care of her. Her relationship with her mother was more complicated than anything else. The woman had been abusive and neglectful to her for her entire life. She was really just as vile and evil as Makayla often described her as being. However, Holly still felt some sort of connection and love for her. The years apart, and Holly's tendency to completely block out most of her childhood traumas contributed to her ability to miss the woman sometimes, and when she got into those rare moods when she felt insecure and different, she sometimes wondered if she would feel better if she had a mother and a more normal family. She thought of the police stripping her of the chance to have a mother and then possibly doing the same to the only other family member she had - Makayla - was frightening to say the least. "They took my mom, and if they take Makayla then there won't be anyone left," she said, potentially on the verge of becoming frantic and emotional.​

 

[cure]

The shock Chanel felt upon Holly mentioning the police was something she had to quickly control because she didn't want to incite Holly. Her shock immediately turned into subtle anger as she glanced over the couch in Cara and Ruby's direction. She had no idea if the police were discussed before she got here, but given that it was something Cara would definitely threaten or suggest made it easy and reasonable to assume that Holly had heard it from her. Leave it to white people to call the cops like it's customer service. Now wasn't the time for that though, especially with Holly sitting beside her in need of some comfort. "Of course I won't call the police. That didn't even cross my mind," she said sympathetically. Chanel couldn't say she was surprised that Holly had an aversion to police, though she didn't understand the weight of that aversion, even after hearing the girl's admission over what they did with her mom there was still an element of surprise there, though she should have been able to predict it. Chanel didn't know all the details, but she knew that Holly nor Makayla had the greenest of upbringings, though Chanel had no clue to the severity of Holly's childhood trauma. The fact that her mom was in jail also gave her even more verification that that was no telling what she didn't know regarding the girl. Chanel had her own aversion to the police for what could only be obvious reasons, though by this point it was less upbringing as it was with Holly and more cultural. But the fact that Holly couldn't assume that spoke to her innocence and vulnerability, whereas with anyone else, Chanel would have assumed it was ignorance.

"Which is exactly why Makayla isn't going to leave you, silly goose," she said, trying to reassure Holly in a more lighthearted manner. "But sometimes...people get overwhelmed, right? And they show it in different ways. Makayla left to take a breather and you, well. I wasn't here but I think you got kind of scared and cried? And that's totally okay, so you don't have anything to feel guilty about. But you don't abandon people you love, and Makayla really loves you a lot so of course she's coming back. She's never left you before and I doubt she's going to start today. And when she comes back I'm sure she'll explain everything and say sorry." She pondered then, wondering if she should stop there because she didn't want to cross any boundaries. Makayla was closer to a friend than an acquaintance, but closer to a friend crush than an actual friend. She didn't know a lot about the girl, heck she only just found out last month what the girl was actually in school for, and the girl didn't know a lot about her. Sure, she knew more about Chanel than vice versa because Chanel spoke so much, but she didn't really know her in a vulnerable way. Holly was her sister, but this was also kind of her child, and people were funny with their children, so Chanel wanted to be careful, but she also felt it was important to say, so she took the risk anyway. "I know your feelings are hurt, but I think Makayla's might be too. It can be really stressful being on your own. You know how you got lost today? Well maybe Makayla feels a little lost like that too. So she might just need a little extra help is all, and I bet you could be super helpful if you wanted to. Does that make sense?"​

 

[A_Writer]

"Makayla doesn't have a mom. She had one a long time ago before I knew her but her mom left and never came back, but she didn't die." It was hard for Holly to comprehend that Makayla had existed before she knew her. She was almost ten years older than Holly was, and they hadn't met until Holly was five, which meant that Makayla had lived for quite a while without even knowing that Holly existed. She was a teenager by the time that they met, but given that Holly was only five years old then, she didn't remember much from before she met Makayla. That in itself was probably a good thing, because upon arriving to New York homeless and pregnant, Holly's mother had spent the little money she had taken with her after leaving home on drugs, and it was that dealer that allowed her to stay with him. Growing up in a drug-ridden house was just as bad as it sounded, especially for a baby. After that dealer was incarcerated and Holly and her mother were forced onto the street, Holly's mother quickly rebounded, and though the living situation at the next house was actually worse drug and abuse wise, it was where Holly met Makayla, who was the first person in her life who actually cared about her. As far as Holly was concerned, that was the first home that she had, even if she technically had others before that.

Understandably, her perception of time and the ability for things and people to have existed before her was skewed in a childlike manner, so she couldn't really comprehend that Makayla had a life before her. The fact that Makayla wasn't an open book, even to her, left many things still answer-less, but as everyone knew, Holly never hesitated to ask questions. To her, the idea of not having a father didn't seem like a big deal because it fit her own situation, but she had been perplexed upon finding out that Makayla didn't have a mother, since she herself had one, and in turn, she felt like that had to be the norm for everyone. Makayla told her that her mother didn't live with her, that she used to live with her, and that no, she wasn't dead. She didn't know where she went or why she left... she was just gone. That was what Holly had gotten out of the series of questions she had asked Makayla years ago, and she had accepted the answer. It probably seemed random for her to be relaying that to Chanel now, but she assumed that since Chanel was stating that Makayla probably needed some extra help, that she was referencing something related to an adult helping her. She didn't get that Chanel was suggesting that she might have to start acting a bit more responsibly to help out, even given Chanel specifically stating that she could probably be helpful if she wanted to. "Maybe we could find her and ask her to come back to help Makayla feel better... or we could ask your mom to be Makayla's mom," she suggested, looking at Chanel.

Taking a bite of her cookie, it likely became clear that she was feeling at least a tad bit more like herself as she said, "Did you know that all of the boy M&Ms love the green M&M? She wears white boots in the commercials and I bet she's really nice in real life." Just as quickly as she sounded Holly-like, she changed things up by adding, "You don't need to watch with me if you don't want to because I know you're busy. Makayla always tells me you have a lot of stuff that you do."​

 

[lauren.]

When Cara claimed that Makayla smoked too much, Ruby nodded. Though it may have been surprising, Ruby was pro-marijuana for the most part. She believed that it was a drug that people could abuse, but that was just like every other drug on the planet, including seemingly harmless things like caffeine. Ruby didn't think that smoking was necessarily healthy, and she wouldn't promote the drug to most people, but she was educated. She recognized that the drug offered various uses in the medical field, and she had read up on several case studies of it drastically helping people with everything from the side effects of cancer, to schizophrenia. She knew that the major reason for why it hadn't been legalized nationally yet was simply due to finances (as everything in the country was related to). Until the government was certain that they could make more money by legalizing marijuana and appropriately taxing it than they would off of incarcerating people for it, than they weren't going to legalize it. It was as simple as that. Even if she didn't think that marijuana could give someone anger issues as Cara claimed, and that it wasn't a harmful drug in itself like many other street drugs were, she did believe that it was a gateway drug. Given Makayla's recent behavior, she wouldn't have been surprised if drugs were involved, but she didn't think that an outburst like that could be blamed on marijuana. She didn't object though, and let Cara continue to talk. The way that she described Makayla and Holly as a "trashy broken family" made her cringe internally, and she turned away from the blonde briefly in that moment, pretending to check on her kettle just to avoid grimacing in her face. Although she wasn't as shocked by the blonde's words as some would have been, they still made her uncomfortable. Ruby was disconnected from the trials and tribulations of the lower class just like Cara was, but only in a first-person sort of way. Unlike Cara, Ruby didn't like that disconnect. It was comfortable - of course - but she disliked the idea of living in a bubble. She was humble and down to earth, and no one who met her would be able to guess from her personality or the way she carried herself that she came from money.

While Ruby had never seen or had any reason to think that Makayla and Chanel used drugs together, she was also new enough here that she didn't have enough reason to believe that Cara was lying with her claim. At the same time, she was aware that Cara was possibly still talking about weed, and to Ruby, that was entirely different than them shooting up heroin or popping oxys in the bathroom together. As she fixed herself a cup of tea, she considered Cara's suggestion. For some reason, she still felt uneasy about putting this situation off onto someone else. To an extent, it had to do with her profession, but it also tugged at her heartstrings on a personal level too. These girls were her roommates and she didn't want to just push the problem onto Cara and go about her day as if nothing was wrong. "I think it actually might be best if she stays here for a little while," she said, glancing towards the couch. Chanel had walked in a couple seconds before, warranting a smile and wave from Ruby, and though she hadn't noticed the exit, it looked like Brooklyn was now gone. She figured that she would feed Holly dinner, and maybe, somehow, Makayla would come back in a few hours in a better mood and they could clear this up. Ruby didn't want to see Makayla right now because the incident was too fresh, but she felt like a resolution was needed tonight before the problem sat for too long. "And then maybe if things still seem off in a few hours, she can stay over with you? I can get her to school tomorrow too if it'll be out of your way. I just need to know where and when." She took a sip of her tea. It was hot, the steam rising and hitting her face as she sipped it, but it felt nice... calming, almost. "And I'm honestly not sure where Makayla went."

"I mean, I just don't think that it's a good idea to leave her here like a sitting duck, waiting for Makayla to come back again, but whatever." Cara's mood was definitely more unstable than it typically was today, but after her altercation with Chanel, on top of all of these "incidents" coming up out of no where, she had some reason to feel like things were moving too quickly, without her consent. Cara liked control, and as many of those close to her knew, she wasn't equipped with handling the reality that not everything could or would go her way in life. That was why when it didn't, her cruel and harsh, or petty and childish sides would surface. She was half a second away from telling Ruby that she better not bother her again when this blew up in her face and she realized that she should have listened to her, but she bit her tongue. Shockingly. Realizing that Chanel was there, she felt compelled to turn on that compassionate side again, if only to a degree, and if only to prove a point that she was a good person. "Actually, it's probably best that we ask her what she wants to do. She barely even knows you, and I'm sure you'd want her to feel comfortable," she said with feigned kindness and a forced smile as she headed into the living room where Chanel and Holly sat. Ruby followed, though she lagged behind just enough to show that she was resistant to the idea. Ignoring Chanel, Cara stood in front of the TV (knowing it was possibly going to be the only way to break Holly's attention), and looked to Holly with a smile that was more genuine than it had been to Ruby. "Holly, Ruby and I wanted to know if you wanted to come over to my place and we can get dinner and watch movies and stuff, or if you wanted to stay here and wait for Makayla to come back," she asked, clearly favoring one option in her wording.​

 

[A_Writer]

Cara's thought process was on point, because right now, Holly was in an auto-pilot mood to an extent where it really did take Cara standing in front of the television for Holly to care that she was even in the room. She had wanted her immediately after the fight with Makayla had ended, but by now, the dynamics had changed. She had been comforted by Ruby, Brooklyn and Chanel, and she had a movie about dogs on the screen in front of her and an M&M cookie in her hand. Things weren't good yet, but they were on their way there, and again, more than anything, she just felt tired. She was upset and tired, but the exhaustion of the emotional rollercoaster this afternoon was prevailing as her top emotion, and she didn't think she had the energy or desire to do much for the rest of the night. She certainly wasn't hungry for anything more than cookies, and though she didn't want to deal with Makayla again in any sort of confrontational manner, she also wasn't fully convinced that Makayla was coming back. The idea of seeing her sister again wasn't as scary of an idea as Cara probably thought it would be at the moment, so after attempting to shift to look past Cara at the screen, Holly eventually rested her eyes on the blonde's face. "I'm just going to eat these cookies that Chanel got and go to bed I think," she said in a tone lacking much emotion or telling energy. "I'm tired." It really was as simple as that, and anyone who knew Holly knew that hanging out with Cara (or Brooklyn, Chanel, or Ruby) was something that was entirely out of character enough for her to know that she probably did need to just chill out, go to sleep, and hopefully feel better in the morning. While her spirits were recovering just enough that she probably would have laughed at the sight of a Pug wearing a little hat (if Cara hadn't been blocking the screen...), she still wasn't really energized enough to want to do much more than curl up in blankets and zone out.

 

[cure]

Chanel was confused by Holly's response, not realizing that the girl had processed her words in a totally different way from how she had meant it. Luckily, Chanel was able to laugh it off a bit as Holly started talking about M&M's. Chanel wasn't in a rush anymore thanks to plans being delayed, for better or for worse, so it really wasn't any sweat off her back if she had to sit with Holly for a little bit because she didn't have anywhere to go. Sure, she still needed to go grocery shopping, but she was tempted to just slack off with her adulting and eat takeout for the next couple of nights. "Nah, it's fi-" she began before a figure stood over the two. She glanced up at Cara and then Ruby. Chanel still had no idea why Cara was even here, unless her heart finally decided to start working all of a sudden. She didn't think it was a coincidence that the girl was here so rapidly and extending herself just after Chanel told her about herself, but she wouldn't have been too upset if Holly did want to go with the girl. Chanel would have felt the need to object, not to be funny or petty, and not even entirely on principle since Cara wasn't trying to help Holly just to help her (at least not in Chanel's opinion), but instead because she felt like that would make the situation worse. Cara doing things and throwing it in Makayla's face is how this all started and kept going for so long. She was sure if Makayla came back to find that of all people, it was Cara again saving the day, there would be a few issues. Holly saved her from that possible dilemma, though, which did actually surprise her, and admittedly saddened her.

Chanel gave Holly's shoulder a little squeeze and she rubbed her back. Maybe that was her cue to stop talking so much. She glanced towards Ruby, unsure of what the girl was thinking, then smiled at Cara. "How atypically kind of you," she cooed. "This is the kind of bait-and-switch the world needs," she said with a hearty chuckle. She the turned to Holly as she stood up. "I'll get you something to wash that down with." She walked behind Cara, passing Ruby along the way. As she did so, she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and nodded. "Thanks." In the kitchen, she pondered over Cara's words. Dinner was probably a good idea, she couldn't just eat cookies. But maybe this was one of those times where you were supposed to concede. Still, she figured she'd try. "Speaking of dinner, are you sure you aren't hungry, Hol? There might be some...mac and cheese in here." That was the only thing she could thing of the girl liking of the top of her head. "Or...grilled cheese," she announced as she looked through the fridge. "I might even be able to shape it like a snowman." Because she still had her Christmas cookie cut outs, not because she hadn't gotten around to putting them away, but because sometimes she just got into a festive mood and wanted Christmas tree cookies.​

 

[A_Writer]

"I'm not really hungry," Holly responded to Chanel. Admittedly, the emotional disturbance had affected her desire to do anything, including eat, but just in general, Holly's appetite was small. She was a picky eater, and she also tended to eat smaller amounts of food than most. It wasn't something that anyone ever really complained about, because she had never lived in a situation where there was copious amounts of money to buy food, and because the foods that she did eat weren't the healthiest, she wasn't too tiny for her petite stature. After another cookie, Holly would probably be full for the night, especially if she went to bed within the hour or two. "Do you want Chanel to make one for you?" she then asked, her eyes moving over to Ruby and Cara. Even if she didn't want a snowman shaped grilled cheese for herself, the thought of seeing one sounded fun. "Cara and Ruby would like one please, Chanel!" Holly decided to call out a few seconds later, opting against giving the girls a chance to answer, and laughing then at the silliness of it. Even if it was difficult for her to stay completely emotionless given how perky her true nature was, Holly's attention returned back to the television a second later. She had a strange sort of addiction to the TV, but beyond that, she wasn't herself and couldn't bring herself to remain focused on socializing.

Even if she wasn't nearly as involved in interacting with the girls as she would have been on a typical day, it was probably for the best that they were there. Had she went to bed like Makayla had told her to do, she likely would have spent the next hour or so crying. Even if she was still upset, and even if this was probably an argument that was big enough to warrant being addressed at a later time, for the moment, she was okay. She was distracted and not really thinking about what her sister had said to her, and how angry she had been. She was focused on the M&M cookie in her hand, and the singing competition for dogs on the television screen, and for now, that was all she needed.​

 

[lauren.]

Why did it feel like suddenly, all of her training... everything she had worked for, was flying out the window? It wasn't even just that this was a "real world" situation that she was thrust into, because Ruby had dealt with many real patients over the past few years, with many of them being in more traumatic situations than this one. What was likely throwing her off, more than anything, was that this was a personal situation. She was involved in it, not from the point of view of a clinician, but as an involved subject. She wasn't thinking of it in a self-pity way, because she knew that she was not the victim in this. Still, t was very different when you were looking at a volatile situation from the outside, after it had already occurred and you were simply trying to clean up the aftermath, than it was when you watched it happened and were involved, even just to an extent. Personal feelings became involved, whether Ruby wanted them to or not. She didn't know Makayla or Holly enough to judge them, but even given that, anyone in Ruby's position probably would have felt uncomfortable with Makayla's behavior. It was okay to get emotional, to reach your limit, and to break down. Ruby understood better than most people that sometimes, it took snapping for people to realize that they needed to be more gentle with themselves. At the same time, even if that was understandable, there was a child involved. Holly wasn't a baby or a toddler or a child, but even if she wasn't "different" than most teenagers, teenagers were still children. They weren't fully developed, and they were experiencing their own emotional changes that left them less capable to deal with problems in their own right. Ruby could understand that Makayla was stressed out and angry or upset, but she didn't think that was enough to justify Holly being subjected to such anger, especially since she was fairly certain it had gotten physical.

On one hand, she didn't want to just leave Holly with Cara and leave the situation at that. At the same time, Holly saying that she just wanted to go to bed rubbed her the wrong way too. Eventually Makayla would return, and what if Ruby was asleep at that point too, and something happened? She figured that she would probably wake up if it was loud enough, but she wanted to intercept Makayla before she could get to Holly, if only to make sure that the girl wasn't in that same state of mind as she was in earlier. Letting Holly go to bed this early was a way to deescalate the situation, and maybe let the girl feel better too, but Ruby wasn't sure if letting things be in the short term would be good for the situation in the long term. She wasn't an advocate for brushing situations under the rug, and she wasn't sure if it would ever be addressed again if they let it go tonight. Plus, it was still early in the night, and Ruby couldn't help but to wonder how Makayla would react to being woken up at three or four in the morning by a fully rested Holly if she went to bed now.

"No, no, we're okay," Ruby called out to Chanel, smiling softly in Holly's direction at the girl's harmlessly mischievous claim. "Having a real dinner probably is a good idea, though," she added. "Snowmen grilled cheeses are only in season for so much more time, so you might as well at least try one, don't you think?" she offered, smiling still, but more hopefully this time. "Let me see what Chanel has - I bet we can make something fun," she said, deciding that with Cara here, now was probably an optimal time to speak with Chanel about what had happened, without Holly overhearing. Their apartment wasn't large enough where the kitchen and living room were necessarily out of ear shot of each other, but Ruby could speak quietly and with the TV running and Cara there to occupy Holly, Ruby was sure it would be fine.

As Ruby left to go into the kitchen, Cara tried to hide her annoyance with not only Chanel for her little comment, but with Holly for not agreeing to come back to her apartment. This obviously was not a time for Cara to pity herself, but she would have felt validated and superior had Holly followed her plan over theirs. Did the mere thought represent Cara's capability of being entirely consumed with herself? Definitely. It was childish and heartless, but even Chanel's comment had been enough for her to feel like she needed some sort of redemption. Petulantly, she sat down on the couch as the girls headed to the kitchen, feeling (again, as if the world revolved around her), as if they felt like she was useless and purposely needed to be excluded from whatever they were doing (even if they had blatantly said they were going to do something with sandwiches). "You don't really wanna be here when Makayla gets back, Holl, do you? I mean, all she's going to do is yell at you some more, and Ruby and Chanel will just let it happen."

"Hey," Ruby said quietly as she met Chanel in the kitchen. "I'm honestly not sure about what to do with... all of this." She bit her bottom lip momentarily, trying to figure out how to word this. Chanel was clearly closer to these girls than she was, so she didn't want to say anything offensive or insensitive, but she still wanted to express her concerns. This wasn't about her, and it wasn't even about Chanel or her feelings- it was about ensuring that everyone was okay, and Ruby didn't know if she could do that alone, given her unfamiliar involvement in the situation. "I know it seems like she's okay right now, but when I broke up whatever was happening, I'm pretty sure that Makayla had been hitting her in the face." It felt necessary to add the "in the fact" part, because Ruby also understood that corporal punishment was still something that some people practiced and stood by. Hitting a child on the face wasn't something that she believed fell even remotely in any acceptable form of punishment. "And she was screaming at her, and then started cursing me out when I tried to intervene. I would never get involved in a family matter unless it seemed necessary, but... you know, like I'm a child psychiatrist, so I see things like this often and I... like, for more reasons than one, I just had to intervene."
​

 

[BurningBridges]

"Has anyone ever told you that your sister's a fucking bitch?" Brooklyn had returned to the apartment just to head straight for the bottle of wine she had left behind. Collin was in the kitchen still, and hadn't been able to escape before Brooklyn came in, so for the past few minutes, he had been the lucky recipient of her ranting. He hadn't answered any of her comments so far, but that didn't stop Brooklyn from talking. Cara hadn't even done anything in the immediate moment that warranted the animosity, but Brooklyn was annoyed, bored, and now back to getting drunk, so the words came out easily. She didn't need a reason to be nasty and bitter, but it certainly helped. She wasn't even in a horrible mood though. Her musing wasn't pleasant, but she wasn't vividly or genuinely angry. If anything, what she was saying now was more for her own entertainment. She liked hearing her own voice sometimes, and airing her complaints against people who had wronged her usually made her feel better. "She should be a reminder for you to always pull out. You have that sort of bitch blood running through your veins, and I don't know if any of us are prepared for another generation of Cara's. God Bless the man who's dumb enough to knock her up, but you better be careful. One look at that apartment your daddy owns, and girls will be poking holes in the condoms," she said, pausing as she re-filled her glass before eyeing him with a cynical smile. "Trust me -- I considered it." And she had. She definitely had and she wasn't afraid to admit it. Brooklyn liked money. She liked money a lot, and she wasn't against sacrificing her morals for the right price. As a kid, she never would have imagined she would one day make money by taking off her clothes, but it sure paid better than working as a secretary or a teacher. Giving up nine months of her life for eighteen years worth of free money sounded like a lucrative deal, but she had to remind herself that it wasn't just nine months of her life. She'd be stuck with a kid after that, and if Holly served no other purpose on the floor, she at least served the purpose of reminding Brooklyn that she did not want kids right now.

"I'm pretty sure that no girl my age would want a kid right now, but uh, thanks for the warning I guess." Collin was somewhat amused by Brooklyn's words, but only because he assumed that she was kidding. She said a lot of bizarre things, so he was sure that this was just one more crazy line that was spoken only because of how outrageous it was. By now, even if he was sometimes still a victim of falling for it, he knew that a lot of the things that Brooklyn said were said with the sole intention of making other people feel uncomfortable. Collin finished eating and got up then, actually pretty relieved that he was done because he wasn't sure that he wanted to hear too much more of what Brooklyn had to say. He wondered if she had to work tonight, or if she just planned on drinking until she passed out or something. He wouldn't have put it past her, but admittedly, it made him feel a bit wary. Even if he got a chuckle out of it now, Collin wasn't the type of person who was good at handling stress or extreme situations, and if a sober Brooklyn could easily make him uncomfortable, a drunk one definitely could.

She was sitting on the counter top drinking and as he passed her on his way to the dishwasher, she grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Drink with me, babe," she insisted, a seductive smile delicately placed on her face, though it looked like she was seconds away from breaking it to laugh. "Let me get you drunk and have fun with you." Once Collin had turned around to face her, she disregarded the hesitant look on his face and pulled him closer to her, wrapping her legs around his body. "It'll be fun. We can see who looks better tied up to my bed," she continued, whispering in his ear before setting the wine glass down. "My money's on you."


​

 

[cure]

"Um," Chanel said, now being reminded that this was apparently a serious situation. She had been pretty nervous on the journey here, and had been quite surprised when she didn't walk into the remains of World War III. Somehow, while talking to Holly, she had managed to settle down a bit internally. They weren't talking about anything quite pleasant, but being able to put the focus on someone else had been a good unintentional distraction. Ruby's words, however, brought her back to the actual reality and it wasn't something she wanted to deal with. She wasn't sure what to say, but she suddenly felt responsible for everything. Not in the sense that she was at fault for what had happened and was happening, but she felt like she was the one who was being looked to for answers. Ruby was new here and in an awkward position, Holly was just a kid and not being herself, and there wasn't really telling what Cara was up to. Between the two, even though Chanel wasn't there to witness the scene, she knew the dynamics of everyone here better than Ruby did. She glanced back to the living room where Cara and Holly sat before looking back at Ruby.

What was she supposed to say to that? She did make a startled face when Ruby said that Makayla had been hitting Holly in the face. Now even that was appalling for Chanel and, assuming that was true, Chanel had even less of a clue on how to respond. She tried to feign a smile as she closed the refrigerator door ever so slowly. "Yeah, no, I understand. You did what you had to do. I think your guess is as good as mine. I'm just trying to play it by ear really. Are, like, grilled cheese sandwiches not what you administer in this situation?" Chanel didn't mean it to sound like such a smart ass question. This was a rare moment where she was feeling a bit out of her element and it was causing her to feel a bit awkward. As she was still trying to decipher what Ruby was trying to get out of her, because she did want to be helpful, she, for whatever reason, wondered if her mention of being a psychiatrist meant that Chanel might have messed up along the way. Realized this a bit later, she tried to laugh it off. "Sorry, that was actually a serious question but I'm realizing that was really stupid to say. I can just do whatever you recommend since you're the professional here is all I'm saying."​

 

[lauren.]

This was exactly why it was a difficult situation for her. Whatever she would recommend as a professional, as Chanel had referenced, was quite different than what she felt would be appropriate in this situation. If she was advising someone who speculated their roommate was physically or verbally abusing a child (or even had just done so one time), her reaction would immediately be to inform the proper authorities. Child abuse or assault on a minor wasn't something that anyone could take lightly, and even if Ruby had little faith in the CPS system in New York (or the country, for that matter), she still felt an obligation, both legally and morally, to at least attempt to escalate it there. While she considered herself to be very empathetic and compassionate, in those situations, she was simply the doctor. She could sympathize and hurt for the people in those difficult situations, but it was easier to make life-altering decisions when they didn't affect her own life. Responding to Holly and Makayla's situation wasn't going to affect her own life so much as it would theirs, but now instead of being the writer of a story, she was a character within it, and it was throwing her off. For the first time, she felt a personal connection to everyone else within the story she was presiding over, and it felt like every option she had was the wrong one. She couldn't call the police on her roommate who had seemed so distraught and broken and in the middle of a crisis herself, but she also couldn't brush it off and just hope that by the time Makayla came back, she had cooled off and Holly was safe. She didn't think that Makayla was truly an evil or bad person, but she also never would have thought that she could have held so much anger and aggression within her, so she just didn't feel safe claiming anything with certainty.

"No, no," Ruby said, shaking her head as if she needed to backtrack. "I think grilled cheese is a good idea. At least with young kids, I think that it's important to make sure that they know they're safe after something like this. I guess... I mean, I guess for one, Holly is a... unique situation. It's not my business to know what... she's just a unique child, it seems like, and so that in itself makes me feel like this is more complicated than it would be otherwise?" Normally, Ruby wasn't this awkward or poorly-spoken, but she was struggling to think, nonetheless sound articulate. Shaking her head, mostly to herself because she felt like she was talking in circles and doing more harm than good (and definitely developing a strong headache in the process), she redirected back to the main point. "I'm rambling, I'm sorry. I just have never been in a situation where something like this has happened in a personal setting. I can't treat it from a clinical standpoint because she's not my patient and there's a lot of other factors involved here, I guess. I don't think I can call the police on my roommate. I mean-- I could and I probably should but I don't know if morally, that's the right choice. I don't know Makayla but I don't think she abuses Holly? At at the same time, I don't feel comfortable with sending her to bed and just hoping that when Makayla goes back in there later on, that she's a different person than she was earlier. I don't know if sending her to Cara's would be best, or if I should wait up and talk to Makayla when she gets back, or if I should just escalate the incident to someone else. I don't know if this was a one time thing or..." She was rambling, and she knew it so she eventually let herself trail off. It was interesting that the few times she had spoken to Chanel (the lack thereof for no reason other than that they hadn't been in the apartment at the same time too frequently this month) were in situations where she was more frazzled and thrown off than she typically was. It wasn't something that was going unnoticed by Ruby, and she admittedly was bothered by it, but now clearly wasn't the time to worry about her own reputation.
​

 

[cure]

Chanel waved her arms in a criss cross motion as she shook her head quickly. "No, no, no, no. No cops. Bad idea. Even Holly told me she didn't want that. Cops aren't superheros where she's from," Chanel explained, though it wasn't the best explanation. It was, however, the quickest, and Chanel felt it necessary to shut the possibility of getting cops involved as quick as possible. She was still having a hard time believing this was as dire as Ruby was making it seem, and she wasn't sure if that was due to her own ignorance. Of course if she believed Holly was in some kind of danger then absolutely call the cops. But Chanel didn't know Ruby well enough to trust her judgment, especially after her very first encounter with the girl. Given the fact that she was friends (in her mind) with Cara and Collin let her know that they came from similar backgrounds, and so their relationship with law enforcement was very different from Holly and Makayla, from a socioeconomic stand point, and Chanel (and Makayla) from a racial one. "More bad than good will come out getting them involved, trust me."

She lowered her hands slowly as if she was trying to bring Ruby's energy down with it. "I spoke to Makayla and she sounded fine, but I think she just needs space. I'm just as confused as you are, to be honest, but I can promise you child abuse isn't happening here. It's still pretty early, so I think just letting her chill out is fine...I guess?" she said after a second thought because she wasn't sure if that was the right answer. "I'm not opposed to her going to Cara's but...just from the side of things that I witnessed stuff from, I don't think getting Cara involved would exactly diffuse the situation. She got lost on the way back from school and me and Cara and some others kind of helped her get back, so that's basically what set everything off, long story short. But if Cara wants to stay and keep her company, I don't mind at all. She likes showers, so I'm sure that'll make her feel better too, but I don't really see Makayla coming back in a tirade and just, like, beating her up. I think coming back to something quiet will be helpful." It might have been inappropriate, but she couldn't help but chuckle at the end, just because it was such a peculiar thing to even imagine. But this was also just a very odd and very peculiar day itself. "I don't mind taking care of her for a while, but I have to be somewhere tonight, so I was just planning on having her asleep anyways if Makayla doesn't come back by then? But I know she's coming back soon," she said, which was kind of a stretch. "I think dramatics won't really help the situation because then Holly will think there's actually a situation. She's already pretty out of it so...I didn't really want to make a scene out of things, you know? Maybe you could just chill with her and watch TV if you want to be helpful? And I can try texting Makayla in a bit if you want. But...maybe don't sit up waiting for her if you already managed to get cussed out by her."​

 

[lauren.]

Ruby appreciated that it seemed like Chanel was coming at the issue with as little of a biased opinion as possible. From what Cara had said, she and Makayla were friends, so Ruby was almost expecting Chanel to err on a side of defense, in Makayla's favor. Rather than that, Chanel was approaching it in a way that seemed to favor the well being of everyone, but mostly Holly, and because that was what Ruby was concerned with as well, it did make her feel better. At the same time, she still felt like just letting things simmer down was too passive, and again, she couldn't help but to think about the "what ifs". The likelihood of Makayla coming home and beating Holly to death while they were all asleep was slim, but it wasn't impossible. Call her paranoid, but Ruby didn't want to be involved in that one in a million case where people (and herself included) would go on to speculate why something wasn't done to prevent the outcome from happening. As she was reminded of every minute, though, this situation was tricky. The thought of Chanel being gone later and her being there alone when Makayla came back made her admittedly uncomfortable and nervous. She wasn't scared of Makayla in any dramatic sense. She was just aware that people who were high on emotions were capable of doing things that they never would have dreamed of doing in a normal situation. Just as Chanel wanted to be able to go about her night's plans (which was entirely understandable), Ruby wanted to be able to do the same for herself. She didn't want to be lying in bed listening to every tiny noise, wondering if it was Makayla returning, and maybe it was due to her profession, or simply just her personality, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do anything constructive tonight if the situation wasn't resolved. She would feel too anxious and worried to even think or relax.

"There is actually a situation, though," Ruby said carefully after a pause, considering Chanel's words. "She was saying that she should have left her in foster care or something, and then cursing at her. Even if I misinterpreted her body language and she hadn't been hit, speaking to a child like that is an issue in itself, especially if the source of the problem is as solvable as not being able to get home from school." Ruby didn't know the entire story involving this afternoon's adventure, but she was under the assumption that Holly likely went to school a few blocks away. She completely understood what Chanel was saying, and in the short term scheme of things, letting Holly relax and then go to bed made sense. Like she said, Makayla would come back to a quiet and peaceful scene, and things would fizzle out. Ruby's issue with it all was that that wasn't healthy in the long run. Someone needed to check Makayla because if the solution to an incident like this was to brush it under the rug, she had to wonder if this was the first time it had happened or not. It wasn't Chanel's responsibility any more than it was hers, but they were both in a strange position here given that they were roommates with the two. "Do you know of any family that they have that might be able to take care of her for a few days? Even just to give Makayla some time to collect herself. She was so angry and upset; it really seemed like she needs a break or some time for herself." If they had family, Makayla, a twenty-something-year-old likely wouldn't have been stuck caring for the teenager, but Ruby didn't know their situation well enough to speak on that. "I could bring her uptown for the night to stay at my parent's place, but I'm not sure if that would be adding fuel to the fire."​