Ruby and Will

“Lore, get your ass over here and poor me another beer damn it!” He was drunk again, as usual. I could see him from the kitchen, lying on the couch and watching re-runs of Gunsmoke, and could see stale bread sprinkled over his untrimmed beard. “I said poor me some beer bitch! What the hell are you doing in there?” I grabbed the pitcher from the fridge, and went over to the couch. “You better not be drinking my alcohol.” He growled as I approached him.
“I’m not.” I mumbled. If I spoke any louder than a whisper he would freak.
“Good, you better not.” His face settled for a moment and for a second I thought I could see into his soul; thought I glimpsed sadness. When he looked at me again, his face wrinkled up like a pug dogs’ fur, and any sign of what I had thought I witnessed had vanished. I resented ever looking.
“A close friend of mine is upstairs, don’t disturb him.” He warned, looking hostile where the lamp light grazed his face. I nodded and brought the beer back to the fridge, then retreated to my bedroom. As I lay on the rock hard mattress and closed my eyes to think. I thought of my life so far, and how each stranger that entered our house always left with a sick grin. I remember being four years old and sitting on the staircase, listening to my dad scream at my mom. I remember hearing him call her nasty names, and plates shattering.
I heard something smash in the other room, and then Janie scream. My heart wrenched in my chest because I knew what was going on, and every nerve in my body wanted it to end. It was almost unbearable to hear my sister cry out, and know at the same time that I could not make it better. My father had many ‘close friends’ as he liked to call them. Men who couldn’t get laid would literally pay anything.
I heard a moan, and covered my ears. I couldn’t help keep away the unwanted feeling of self pity.
My father always said that I should thank him for all the love he gives me; all the love that he gives us. It is not love though; it is his sick fascination. He did this to my mother too, but when she died Janie, Monica and I were called upon.

I woke up to Anna nudging me, and telling me that my hair was finished. I had fallen asleep, and dreamed of my secret scars that only my sisters knew of. In that moment I felt like crying, but I held back the tears and swallowed the lump in my throat. Instead, I looked up to the mirror to see myself. Shock ran through me as I looked at the unfamiliar girl in front of me then. Her hair was no longer past her shoulders, but chin length, and her red hair was dyed to an auburn shade with caramel streaks. I looked completely different, and I loved it. Loraine, the whore was just a vague memory now.
“Do you like it?” Anna asked with a smile.
“I love it” I said back, and looked at her in the mirror. “Thank you so much. This is exactly what I wanted.” Anna stood there, pleased with herself. I pulled the money out of my back pack and handed her the right amount, plus an eight dollar tip.
“I didn’t catch your name,” Anna said, still smiling. She looked like a child with her tight blond ringlets and dimpled smile. I thought quickly to make up a false name for my new look.
“My name is Ruby.” I always wanted to change my name to Ruby. I don’t know why, but Loraine never really did it for me. Ruby, I said silently to myself. It rolled over my tongue nicely, and I liked the aftertaste of it. How it made me think of the sun, like a golden gem in the sky.
I slid off the chair and left the salon, smiling and waving. I felt brand new.