“I am?” Her voice is quieter than usual, hand shaking as she lights, the orange glow of her cigarette indicating where she is.
“The smokes.” I indicate what I mean. Did Ruby think I was hitting on her?
“Oh. Right. Weirdo.” A breath full of smoke heads my way.
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter.
“Where’s Sara?” she asks.
“Haven’t got a clue. Hopefully she’s found a new friend.”
Ruby snorts softly to herself. “I’ve lost a bet then.”
“What?”
“I bet Sara you’d fuck her.”
“Why the hell do that?”
“No reason.”
I’m pissed off; wish I’d never touched the girl. “Do you think I’m a man whore?”
“You tell me.”
“Think what you like, most people do.”
“I will.”
I’m tempted to walk away but this is the first time I’ve been alone with Ruby since the first night I saw the band. She’s not moving either.
“Where’s Dan?” I ask.
“Inside.”
“Wow, he let you out of his sight?”
“What the hell does that mean?”
So much. I want to tell her to get the hell away from him, that I’ve seen this too many times, but I can’t get involved. Not again. My involvement is helping Ruby Riot on the path to success, then she might see the light and kick the guy to one side.
“I mean he’s possessive,” I say.
We both know what I mean. I saw what happened that night and she continues to pretend I didn’t. “He loves me,” she says quietly.
This softly spoken girl in the dark is different to Ruby. Hidden in the shadows, she could be someone else. The girl beneath the persona.
“Can I ask you something?”
She blows smoke in my direction and I laugh at her attempt to get me to move. “Yeah, I might not answer though.”
“You said Ruby wasn’t your real name. What is?”
The couple finishes smoking and head back into the house, door closing behind. She jerks her head round in alarm, but nobody else appears. We’re alone with the plastic chairs and rusting metal and glass table.
“Tuesday.”
“Your name is Tuesday?” I can’t help my incredulous tone.