Four

Ruby didn't know how far she had walked, from the restaurant to her house, but she did, with the box that was packed at the restaurant in one hand and her bag in the other. 

She walked to her apartment and got into the elevator. Thankfully, it was still working. If she had to go up to her apartment through the stairs to the third floor, she would have been exhausted. 

Finally, she got to the door of her apartment and unlocked the door, the bunch of keys already in hand. As she pushed the door in and walked by it to enter into the apartment, the edge of her dress pocket was caught in the knob, pulling her back and making her fall down flat on her ass. Thankfully, the box of food she was holding wasn't that much affected, but the content of her bag was scattered on the floor. Frustrated, she sat there instead of getting up and letting lose the wail she had been suppressing in her. 

She began to shake uncontrollably, crying as she remembered everything she had gone through in a day. Her day had started in a nasty way when her boss had started with complaining about how she was dressed and how her clumsiness was irritating, taking a toll on her already stressed brain. 

After that, he had continued to frustrate her; sending her randomly to get coffees for meetings, picking up his clothes from the dry cleaner, and being an ass about it. 

Mr. Randal had always done that, and she had always put up with it, but he had never fired her like he did today, and that was what made it a very bad day for her. 

Now, as if that wasn't enough, she had been humiliated by her boyfriend, well, her ex-boyfriend. Everything he said back at the restaurant kept ringing in her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to wail. 

She hated that she had made herself an object of ridicule because of the way she dressed, and then because she had been so blind she didn't see him for who he was.

“Ruby?” she heard someone call and she looked up to see Olivia wrapped in a white towel, her hair wet, telling her that she had just gotten out of the shower. She had a frown on her face as she looked at her, and Ruby swallowed down the lump in her throat. 

God, she had forgotten all about Olivia telling her that she would be waiting at home. She didn't know whether she should be grateful to her or not for being home right now. She hated people seeing her cry, but Olivia had seen her at her worst, so that want the problem. 

The fact that she was crying over something like this was what she found pathetic, and she knew Olivia would see that too the moment she told her. She knew she would never judge her, but the "I told you so” in her eyes would kill her even more. 

“What's going on, Ruby?” she asked and she walked to the front door to close it shut. She turned back to her and crouched in front of her with one knee on the ground. 

She touched her shoulder and asked again. "Is this about your job?” 

Ruby shook her head with a bitter smile and then she looked at Olivia. "No, Livy. This is worse.” She said. "It's literally breaking my heart, but I don't even want to talk about it. Talking about it makes it even more real than it was.” She said. 

Olivia’s frown deepened. "I'm not going to let you keep whatever is making you cry like this in your mind, Ruby, so please, out with it.” 

Ruby dropped her head and shook her head. "It's Roy, Olivia. He broke up with me over his birthday dinner.” She said at last, after a stretch of silence. 

Olivia wrapped her hands around her left arm and started to pull her up. "Get up, Ruby. Let's go into the living room.” She said. 

Ruby blew out a long shaky breath, and then she used the sleeve of her blouse to clean up her face. She would have used it to blow her snort as well, but Roy’s words came back to haunt her. Ruby wasn't a dirty person, she hated dirty and unorganized things with passion, Olivia could testify to it. It was the reason she was the one that did most of the house chores, including washing the toilet and bathroom in their apartment, almost every day. 

Somehow, Roy had made her doubt herself, which should make her happy that he had broken up with her because she didn't need that sort of person in her life, bringing her down. 

They sat down on the couch that was facing the small screen television that was on the shelf pushed against the wall. Ruby looked at Olivia and the look that was on her face made her break right down in tears again. 

Olivia didn't have to say it, but she could see that she was sorry this had happy, but most especially, the look that she had told her so, that she could have avoided her heart shattered like this, was what got to her. There can only ever be the memory of heartbreak when she thought of the first person she had ever dated and kissed.

Roy was her first for a lot of things, and he had made the memory a tainted one. He had been so cruel with it that he spoilt even the best ones they had shared as a couple. He might have told her that not having sex wasn't the reason for what he did, but everything he had told her, boiled down to it, right from the way she dressed and what she couldn't give. 

Although, he was right about that, but what she was sure she gave was her loyalty, her time, her love, and devotion. She had done the things she knew he loved, the things that he cared about, even things she disliked that he loved. This was what she got for all of that. 

Maybe she might not have been in love with him, but she had loved him, and respected him as well. 

“You have to stop crying and tell me what exactly happened. What did that asshole say to you?” Olivia said, asking. 

She looked at her cousin again, and this time, she found the courage to go over everything again, from the insults to the confessions of cheating. He had told her plaining that he had always cheated on her, even though she had no clue. 

She wondered why he had told her that when she had never suspected anything. She guessed that he just wanted to hurt her even more than he already had by breaking up with her. 

After she was done narrating everything, and how humiliated she had felt, Olivia shook her head and pulled Ruby into a tight hug. She needed it, as much as she could get, she thought. 

The poor woman had not only lost her job but she had also lost her boyfriend on the same day. If Olivia was being honest, then she would admit to herself that she was happy the latter happened. Not only was the man an asshole, but there was something about him that smelled evil to her. He was just a very bad person, and even though he had always tried to conceal that, Olivia had seen right through him. 

She had the knack for seeing people for exactly who they were, it was a gift and she had always used that to choose her friends or partner. 

But, one thing she couldn't do was tell Ruby that she had always warned her because it would hurt her even more than she already was. She used her right palm to pat her back as calmly as possible to give a calm effect to her, but she wasn't even close to that. If anything, Olivia was feeling so angry she could bust the ass’s nose and hit him for as much as her nurse’s hands would allow before she had to stop so that she could go to work. 

She wouldn't want to ruin her hand because of some man that doesn't even deserve to breathe the same air as she does.