Alright, first, I did not forget about this story. I actually worked on it quite a bit in my absence. Nothing that can be published yet though. Except this.

Also, my mom took away my computer for three months for talking back, and then when I got it back we moved. So I do have some excuse.

So I was just going to upload Ruby's day and then the meeting, but then I decided I didn't like 14 year old me's writing. So I'm just going to edit it a little bit, hopefully it will be a looong chapter.

But in the meantime, I decided that maybe before their meeting I could give you guys some history. Like for example, the day Percy left.

When I wake up that morning, the morning that my universe implodes, when my heart breaks, the day that everything changes, I think to myself, "It's going to be a good day."

Surrounded by mountains of fluffy sheets, with the warm sunlight filtering through the window, I just feel comfortable and satisfied with life.
I lightly stretch before rolling over to greet my husband, only to find the other side of the bed empty. And unslept in.

He couldn't have left already. The alarm clock said it was only 7:45. Percy didn't leave until 9.

Confused I slide out of bed holding my stomach, put on my robe, and walk slowly down the stairs.

It's possible that he got home late and crashed on the couch. He's been known to do that on weekends. But this was a Tuesday.

The house is unnaturally silent, eerie even. I breath a sigh of relief when I hear the coffee maker running in the kitchen. My anxiety flees in an instant.

Ruby, you silly goose. What were you worried about anyway? I think to myself, shaking my head as I push open the swinging door on the kitchen, ready to greet Percy and make myself a cup of tea. "Hey hon I-" I freeze, my anxiety rushing back. The kitchen is dark and empty, the coffee maker bubbling by the cupboards, a thermos and piece of paper on the counter.

I don't bother turning on the light, instead I make a beeline for the counter where I sit myself on a stool and pull the paper towards me.

It's okay Ruby. There was probably a misunderstanding with the graveyard shift and Percy had to fix it. His employees didn't know what they were doing. I feel immediately better. That wouldn't be the first time it happened. And Percy was always forgetting to turn the coffee maker off. And he was always forgetting his coffee. It was just a normal day.
Dear Ruby,
How long ago was it that we met? A year? Two? I can't remember, can you? But that doesn't matter. I'll tell you what I do remember. Our wedding.

I begin to smile.

It was small, and simple, but it was happy. Everyone dear to us was there. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, friends. Tons of friends. I thought you were going to be sad about your parents. But when I asked, you smiled and said, "They know. They know I'm happy."

I absentmindedly twist my wedding and engagement rings around my finger as I read, re-living that day.

I was afraid then, that I wouldn't be able to keep you happy. But a few months later, when you found out we were going to be parents, I had never seen you happier.
I had never been happier.
You were a beautiful bride, and you'll be a perfect mother. You have an amazing personality also. And I'm not just saying that. You have a love for life, a vibrancy that no one can copy. When I see you, tending to your flowers, or painting or writing, with that little half smile, and that happiness in your eyes, I feel satisfied.
But then something happened to take that away.

I stop, surprised, and read the sentence over again to make sure I had it right. I had.

A few days ago something happened that made me realize how unworthy I was to have you and our daughter. Of how much I didn't deserve this perfect life.
Ruby, you are perfect and amazing and you deserve someone who has unwavering faith and loyalty in you. You deserve someone who loves you so much, they couldn't imagine a second without you. You deserve someone who didn't have second thoughts about not running of with their ex.
I'm am not right for you Ruby. God knows I love you so much, but he also knows that I am a sinner. For I doubted my life with you.
I love you Ruby, forget me, find someone who is worthy.

-PERCY

I don't know how long I sit there. It could have been minutes or hours. But I sit there, reading the letter over and over again, somehow hoping that the letters will re-arrange themselves, or that I will wake up.
But that doesn't happen, instead, the aching pain in my chest gets stronger, like the blade in my heart is sharpened each time I finish reading through the letter. And the numb cotton feeling in my head threatens to overwhelm me as panic rises in the pit of my stomach and it gets harder to breath.

Forget me, find someone who is worthy.

Finally, slowly, I rise and walk towards the coffee maker, walking softly, because I'm somehow afraid to wake up the ghosts that have moved in my home.
For a long while I simply stand in front of the little red machine, watching the small red dot blink at me, and the bubbling the only other sound except for my painfully loud thoughts that seem to be getting clearer.
Eventually, with a surprisingly steady hand, I reach out and flick the off switch, and the bubbling and humming of the machine stops.
And then I break down.