Ruby sat listening to Rachel talking to Charlie.
"She's awake now and you can see her," Rachel was saying. "She's barely injured at all except for some cuts on her face. The thing I can't understand is where all the blood has come from."
"Why don't you know?"
"Well there's no wound big enough for her to loose that much blood, so..."
Ruby got bored of hearing this conversation of Charlie ask questions that Rachel couldn't answer. She got up and made her way to the room where Lottie was.
"Hey Lottie," she said and sat down on the bed.
"Hey," Lottie sat up.
"How are you feeling?"
"I've been better."
Ruby nodded, not knowing what to say next. Lottie had been around for about a month now and Ruby still didn't know anything about her. She was sorry and she decided to be honest.
"I was scared when I saw you on the ground earlier," she said. "I was afraid you were actually gonna die and I wouldn't have got a chance to be a proper sister to you. It made me realise how silly I've been. I want to say I'm sorry for not being nice to you and I hope we can try to get along and just have the occasional sisterly fight."
Lottie smiled. "I'd like that."
"I'm also really sorry for the all the times I've seen you getting bullied by those girls in your year and I didn't do anything to stop them. I'd like to introduce you to my friends sometime."
"Thanks," Lottie said, surprised and very touched by Ruby's kindness. "I guess I just have to put up with the bullies."
"Someone once told me, it's this really weird saying, but it's something like, 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me'," said Ruby, wondering if this was correct.
"Yeah that is strange. I don't think I really mind the teasing, but I don't like it when they're rude about Mum."
"What do they say?"
"Not much. But one time they called her a slut, for getting pregnant twice so young. She's not."
Ruby frowned. "I know, she's not. She was raped," at this Lottie began to look exceedingly uncomfortable, but Ruby didn't really notice. "We've just gotta ignore them Lottie. We've gotta go out there and we've got to fight. We've got to fight for the Bucktons."
"Yeah."
"Another thing," continued Ruby who was on a roll with her apologies and things she had to make up, "I would really love it if you would do the album with Liam and I. It would mean a lot to me. And it would show the bullies how talented you actually are."
"Really?" Lottie asked, her eyes shining, but not quite believing it. "You'd really like me to do the album with you?"
"No, I wouldn't like it, I'd love it!"
Lottie smiled the biggest smile ever.
"There you go," Ruby grinned back, "you look better smiling than looking sad."
Then she did look melancholy again. "Ruby, you said Mum was raped right? How old was she?"
"Fifteen."
Lottie nodded and tears slowly began to roll down her cheeks.
"Lottie, what's the matter?" Ruby was genuinely concerned.
"Can you go and get Mum for me Ruby? Please, I need to talk to her."
Ruby didn't know what else to do. Lottie looked ill. "Yeah, I'll go get her," and she ran out of the room and into the reception area where Charlie was still talking to Rachel.
"Charlie, Lottie wants to talk to you," she said, but Charlie ignored her and continued her conversation.
"Charlie, Lottie wants to talk to you. Right now!" she shouted finally getting her attention and Charlie left Rachel and hurried to Lottie's room. "What is it baby?" she said, kissing her.
"I need to talk to you," she said under her breath. "Rubes, can you leave? I need to talk to Mum alone."
Ruby obligingly left.
"What is it sweetheart? Do you know what happened to you out there?"
Lottie nodded. She looked down at her hands and moved the fingers in her left hand around as though she was playing the guitar. "I know where the blood came from," she said as she imagined switching from an A chord to a G and then to a D.
"Where?" Charlie whispered.
There was a long silence and it killed Charlie. Then Lottie raised her eyes. "I was a virgin," she said, her eyes meeting with Charlie's.
Charlie stepped back, afraid. She was petrified of what Lottie was about to tell her, even though from those words she had guessed. History was repeating itself. No, correction, it had repeated itself. "Lottie, what are you telling me?" she breathed.
Lottie burst into uncontrollable tears. "I was raped."