Read Online Ruby Unscripted by Cindy Martinusen Coloma - Free Book Online Page B

comes on.
    I leave a message: “I can’t believe you deserted me! You need to call me soon.”
    I try my dad’s house, then Carson’s best friend, Marty’s house, only to find out that Carson headed up to the mountains after school.
    He’s not ignoring me, I do know this. My brother is one of the least techie people to live in the twenty-first century. I created his MySpace for him. His friends often complain that they can’t reach him, or he forgot to turn on his phone, or he let the battery go dead. If he’d been born several hundred years ago, Carson would be exploring the New World. That’s my brother. And when life gets hard or stressed, he goes to the mountains.
    So that’s where he is now. Driving back roads, music on. Maybe he’ll go for a long hike to one of his favorite lakes with a fishing pole in his backpack. I’ve gone with him a few times, and I follow the unspoken rules. We stop and get snacks; then he turns on some music, and we don’t talk except on rare occasions. And there’s something about driving those long mountain roads that gives a sense of freedom and escape and washes away the bad for a few hours.
    Sometimes we talk on the drive home; other times we come back in continued silence as the reality of life returns. I rode with my brother after Dad told us he’d gotten married, and when Carson and his first girlfriend broke up, and again when Mom first told us about Aunt Betty giving us the house.
    The boxes cluttering my room press in around me as I lie on my bed.
    If Carson were here, I’d ask for a drive. I want my brother to be my brother still. With him there and me here, it’s like suddenly we aren’t siblings, or it’s like he died but no one is really sad about it yet. Thinking of Carson dying reminds me of Little Tony.
    My head feels foggy as I pull a blanket over me. Foggy and sad and thinking of Carson driving and driving on some mountain road and trying to remember exactly what Little Tony’s face looked like—he had freckles, I remember, but what color were his eyes? What does it matter now that they will never look around the world again?

    I wake to darkness with my cell phone vibrating next to my ear. It’s Kate, which makes me realize that I never read her other texts.
    KATE: So what did you think?
    ME: I forgot to read it
    KATE: Hell?! Earth to Ruby.
    ME: Was in a guidance counselor appt
    KATE: Yeah, yeah. K then, recap. Nick doesn't want to go with Nikki but feels bad telling her. He was caught off guard when she asked. It'd be so fun if you went with him. We'll get a limo and go to dinner at Nello's or...
    ME: So you're going for sure?
    KATE: Probably with jeffers-as Mends only.
    ME: Hands Jefters? I'll be your bodyguard.
    KATE: Yes, though you might want to keep your attention
on your boyfriend.
    ME: LOL, we're a bit presumptuous, aren't we?
    KATE: Speak human please.
    ME: Sorry. Hey, have you seen my brother?
    KATE: Yeah. At school and at Marty's house when my
brother picked me up.
    ME: What did he say?.
    KATE: I didn't really talk to him. But my brother said he'd
be crazy to move now with only one year left. He's gone to school with everyone since kindergarten.
    ME: Like me.
    KATE: Like you.
    ME: Tell him I keep trying to call him.
    KATE: K. Sorry Rubes. But back to important-what do you
think about Nick?

chapter eight
    I have this recurring daydream.
    It’s a secret to everyone except Kate.
    The closest city to my hometown of Cottonwood is Redding. It’s not a big city; it’s just the only city within several hundred miles. According to my parents, who’ve lived there most of their lives, Redding has experienced a cultural awakening. They’ve renovated the downtown area and the old Cascade Theater and other stuff that adults get excited about. All I know is that Redding’s mall is embarrassingly small.
    But Redding has the coolest bridge I’ve ever seen. The