Hello friends! Part two here, hope you all enjoy.
Elena Rosewood passed away shortly after her accident. And unfortunately for the foodbank, she hadn't edited her will in a long time. While certainly elderly, the woman had been in great health, and certainly had decades left in her natural life. Death wasn't something on her mind frequently, and she liked it that way.
With her money gone to its inheritors, the food bank was forced to shut down. Not enough donations were made to keep it afloat, and the best the church could manage was organizing a large collection to give needy families a few good meals around the holidays. For some, the burden could be endured, albeit uncomfortably. Luckily for Yang and Ruby, the older sister still managed to provide for them-admittedly with some cutbacks.
Everything seemed to be returning to normal. Or a new normal, at least. The transition to eliminate unnecessary spending took time, and cut into their savings, but the pair managed it all the same. All seemed well… and then the car broke down.
Yang had been hunched over the table for hours, staring blankly at the sheets of paper before her as if time would reveal a magical answer hidden between the lines. Sitting in the same place that she'd assessed their budget nearly a month ago, Yang searched desperately for a way to save some cash. This time, however, she wasn't as successful.
"I can't do it," the woman whispered to herself, "I can't afford to fix the damn car." Her nightmares had come to pass. She'd been pushed up against the edge, and after managing to get by for weeks, she'd finally been pushed over it. And now, now she felt lost. The sisters had already been forced to sell things around the apartment, and their savings were just about gone; there was nowhere left to draw from.
Ruby chose that moment to step out from her room and walk up to Yang. "Sis, is everything going to be okay?"
Yang feigned a yawn, using her apparent tiredness to rub her eyes. She managed to wipe away the tears that had been welling up, and she could only hope they didn't look too red as she turned to face the redhead. "It's… well, I'm working on it, okay? I'll figure something out, you just keep doing well in school, and take care of yourself. Now don't worry about me, I was about to call it a night anyways."
After a quick hug, the younger sibling went back to their room. Yang ran a hand through her hair as she sighed again- she was acutely aware that she'd been doing that a lot lately. She wasn't sure whether lying to her sister was the right thing to do, but she didn't want to worry Ruby. The girl already had enough on her plate with school, and Yang refused to add to that.
Ruby already had to walk to school now- it wasn't too far, but it'd be less and less comfortable as winter set in, and it meant the girls had to wake up even earlier. "Well, at least we're saving on gas." Yang chuckled mirthlessly before her frown returned. "Things will get better... they have to…."
As it turned out, getting to work became a serious issue. No buses stopped anywhere nearby, and none of her coworkers ever came close to this neighborhood. The walks to the bus stops got worse and worse as the temperatures outside plummeted, and then one day Yang had the misfortune of spraining her ankle. She knew enough to immobilize it with a splint, but it would take weeks to heal.
Having been increasingly concerned about Yang making it on time, her manager saw this as a warning. Whether or not it was her fault, Yang Xiao Long could not be counted on to make it in whenever he needed her. She had to work around the bus schedule, and she was much more susceptible to weather and injuries keeping her at home.
"If you can find a way to make sure you're in on time consistently, I'll see if I can fit you back in. Until then, Yang, I'm sorry. I need employees with more flexible schedules."
She knew that wasn't easy for him to say. He'd been kind to her, and she genuinely wasn't to blame, but charity didn't help the restaurant, and he had to look after everyone else there. If Yang was paid, but couldn't be counted on to pick up hours when needed, the rest of the would have to pick up her slack. It wasn't fair to them.
Still, the feeling of hopelessness sank in as she waited for Ruby to get home from school. They had no car, no savings, and now she was out of a job. Even Ruby had tried looking for a part time job somewhere, but there wasn't anyone hiring. The end of the year is generally one of the slowest when applying for jobs, and the scarcity of offerings in the area made the competition incredible.
Yang began to cry, something she'd held back time and time again. The stress was finally beating her down after everything she'd been through over the past few months. Summer and Tai were gone, that useless drunk Qrow was nowhere to be found, and Raven… who even knew about Raven? She'd dropped off the face of the planet when Yang was born, and it would appear she tried hard to keep it that way. The sisters were on their own, and it seemed they'd finally run out of luck.
"Cardin, please, give me a chance!" Yang was pleading with the building owner, the notice of eviction held loosely in her hands. "I've paid on time for years! You know that I'm not trying to screw you over here! I'm looking for a job, please, just give me a couple weeks! I'll pay it all back, I just need some time!" Yang was aware Ruby was probably listening right now. After months of pretending everything would be okay, offering her sister assurances that she'd figure something out, Yang was giving up the charade.
They were in trouble, serious trouble, and keeping her sister calm wasn't possible anymore. It hardly mattered if Ruby saw her like this- desperate and pleading. Her pride wasn't worth losing their home, and any chance she had relied on the man before her being charitable.
But as she'd known deep down, it wasn't meant to be. "You've got three days to pack up and get out."
At least her boss had been unhappy with their decision, the straightforward reply was like a slap to the face. "But… but it's winter! Where are we supposed to go? It's freezing outside, what do we do!?"
"Sorry," he said in a way that clearly showed he wasn't, "you've got three days to pack up and get out." The disinterest in his voice was maddening. Yang wanted to punch him in the face, maybe then he'd at least regret something he'd done that day, but the last thing she needed was to get in more trouble.
She tried to appeal to him again, but Cardin cut her off. "Do you need me to say it a third time, blondie?" Yang's face fell, and she stared at the floor at a loss for words. With her silence as his answer, the man turned around and marched down the stairs without another word. Yang's eviction had just been another item on his checklist, and he could finally get on with his day.
The woman closed her door and leaned her back against it before sliding to the floor. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them as she sobbed. She felt lost, hopeless, powerless. Yang couldn't even choke anything out as she felt her sister rush to her side with a warm hug. All she could do is sit idly as the dam holding back everything that had been building up finally gave way.
"Ruby wake up, you've got school, get a move-on." Yang shook the girl bundled up in sweaters in an attempt to rouse her. The two of them had settled on an abandoned building a few blocks away to stay in. Luckily for the two of them, the building was still in one piece, so it was at least slightly warmer than outside. The two had sold whatever they couldn't take with them, and tried to keep the rest of it hidden in a small room there. They also made every effort to make sure they weren't seen coming here.
They'd never needed to fear being found in their sleep before, but the area wasn't very safe and there was no telling what might happen if someone came across them. Originally the building was locked tight, keeping everyone out, however Yang figured out that she could reach a window if she pushed a dumpster against the wall. Once inside, the older sister unlocked the door and let Ruby in. The building's new accessibility had yet to be discovered by anyone else, and the pair could only hope it remained that way.
"Ruby! Come on!" Yang was met only with a quiet groan. The younger girl still attended school, it was in everyone's best interest to keep kids off the street, and so even homeless children could still attend school. The school also promised to help all its students apply for college, so Yang kept urging Ruby to succeed in her academics. How she'd get there, how they'd afford it if she didn't receive full-ride scholarships, and dozens of other questions were left unspoken.
Yang had no answers, and Ruby knew that if she voiced her concerns then her sister would likely break down into tears again. It was a hopeless situation, and they both knew it; but they kept quiet and worked toward unattainable dreams, it was all they could do to keep from giving up entirely.
"Ruby Rose, now is not the time to be lazy! You know this is all we've got left, so like it or not you're getting up!" Yang's shaking had steadily increased in strength until now Ruby's whole upper body twisted back and forth.
"Ugh… Yang… stop it…." Ruby was never this hard to get up, never. Yang took off the thick gloves she'd worn to stay warm, and brought her shaking hand up to Ruby's forehead. She gasped at the warmth, and her fears were confirmed- Ruby had a fever, a bad fever. She wasn't going to school, that was for certain, but her sister making it to class was the least of Yang's worries.
Asking her sister question after question, Yang came up with a list of symptoms that concerned her greatly: Sudden chills, frequent coughing, stabbing pains that came from simply breathing. She wasn't a doctor, but even Yang knew this wasn't a simple cold.
She had no idea what to do for Ruby. She knew they needed medicine, but there was no way she'd be affording any. She knew Ruby should see a doctor, but again, she had no way to pay for it. Whatever Ruby had, she doubted she could take care it of in their current situation.
Desperate, Yang thought. She knew there was a homeless shelter several blocks away, but there was never an opening for them. Perhaps she could leave Ruby there inside for the day, just while she went about looking for some way to get the help needed? Deciding that anything was better than leaving her sister in the cold, the blonde threw an abandoned tarp over their belongings to try to hide them from anyone who might pass through, and helped Ruby to her feet. The girl was almost limp in her arms, but Yang wasn't about to give up on Ruby.
Getting a good hold on her younger sister, Yang started the long walk to the shelter.
Getting Ruby inside had been relatively easy. She managed to pretend she was just carrying Ruby around since her sister was tired, and said that she was coming to visit someone she'd met on the street not too long ago. He'd seemed nice, and though she didn't exactly know him, he was her best hope.
Making her way around the maze of cots, she eventually spotted a familiar face- a homeless man that had lived in a nearby alleyway. "Miss Long? Is that you? I haven't seen you in a while. But what're you doing here?"
"Xiao Long, actually," she corrected, "My sister's sick, and I needed to get her out of the cold. If you can just keep an eye on her and pretend to be talking with her so they don't kick her out, I'll try to get you something while I'm out. Okay?"
The old man chuckled. "That's fine, I've got plenty of stories to tell, not many people to tell them to. I'm sure I can go on all day if I have to. I hope you can find something to help her feel better." With an appreciative smile, Yang slipped out the side door, and started looking for a pharmacy.
'Desperate times call for desperate measures.'
I just want to say that I've learned that some of you, or people that some of you know, have gone through an experience like this (or at least some aspects of it- I hope not everything Yang and Ruby deal with). I don't take this lightly, and it really makes me hope that I'm keeping this in good taste. I don't want to downplay any struggles they face, nor do I want to throw cartoonishly bad obstacles in their way as if anyone struggling to get by suffers from incredible bad luck.
It may just be my self-consciousness, but this is something I really take seriously; so I hope that everyone likes what I have written so far, and I'll see you in the next chapter.