Chapter 6

RUBIE'S P.O.V.

It's morning. I'm still lying in my bed with my eyes closed, but I can hear my family downstairs talking.

My door suddenly opens, and I feel someone sitting on my bed; I open my eyes slightly, and it's my mom.

"Mom?, Good morning. What's wrong" I say to her.

She smiles and runs her hand through my hair "Nothing...... I just didn't want to wake you, and I'm making sure you're real; I haven't seen you in years, dear. It's just surreal," she says, tearing up.

"I'm here now, and I'm a real mom," I say to her, cleaning her tears.

She sniffs and gets up.

"I've made breakfast now, so freshen up, eat, and we'll now talk," she says, leaving the room.

I'd like to know what we'll talk about.

After breakfast, Ryan and Dad left for their respective places. I walk to the living room, sipping a cup of juice while my mom stares at me. "So, Mom, you said you wanted to talk?" I say, sitting next to her. "Yes, now that you're here and you'll be gone in a few days, I wanted to show you around Winnipeg if you want to?" She said, looking at me expectantly

"Yeah, I'd like that!" I say smiling

"That's good, 'cause I wanted us to go out as a family."

"Like old times, Mom," I say, holding her hand and smiling

"I missed you so much, Ru~" she says, rubbing the back of my palm on her cheek

"Me too, Mom." We stay silent for a while before she speaks again

"So, where do you want to go?" She asks, getting up and walking to the kitchen; I think for a while before replying

"How about the amusement park? I can't remember the last time I was at one of those," I say, walking to her

"Yes, yes, the last time we were there was before Ryan was born," she giggles.

We talk a lot more about the memory and other things before she has to go to the restaurant to open it up for business; I'm about to join her when I get a call....from Brooke.

"Hello, co-worker," I say to her smirking.

"Hey there, I thought you lost the ability to use this device called a phone," she says sarcastically.

"I'm sorry I didn't call Brooke; just been settling," I say, and she scoffs.

"So how's Canada, your mom, your dad, your brother," she says

"They're all good, Brooke; how are you too. How's work without me" I say, and she just sighs

"It's just working, I know, boring," she says, and we dive into all the gossip and how she apparently has a new boyfriend and misses me. It's funny how I made a friend when I was leaving. After the call, I joined my mom in the restaurant, and it was exciting; I cooked, took orders, and served customers. The restaurant is lovely, and they are really well; the customers are ALOT that I wonder how my mom manages it independently.

The customers are many, but according to Mom, they are smaller than the average amount of people that come, and we had to close early; Mom went to freshen up and nap while I completed the restaurant. I go into the kitchen and make myself brownies and cookies with chocolate milk; I leave them on the counter to get my phone. By 6:00pm, it had been an hour since we closed, but Ryan wasn't home yet. I'm about to call him when he walks through the door, "where have you been?" I ask him

"I went out with my basketball team; I told Mom," he says, raising his gym back as proof. "Whatever. Anyway, mom's napping, so we'll be making dinner soon; go freshen up and rest; I'll call you when it's done."

"Okay, sis," he says, grabbing my brownies and chocolate milk from the counter and running upstairs, I chase after him, but he's too fast. "You.. know you shouldn't eat that as a basketball player; it's too much... calories!!!" I shout, panting with my hands on my knees. "Thanks for the advice," he calls back. "This child. At least I still have my cookies."

I mumble and sigh, returning to the counter where I see my mom eating them, "Mom," I whine, and she just smiles. "You make the best cookies, Ru," she says, walking back to her room with the plate, "Great," I sigh and roll my eyes.

~time skip~

By the time Dad returns, dinner is done, and he goes to freshen up. I go to call Ryan to eat, but honestly, I don't want to call him cause of the stunt he pulled earlier, but as the good person I am, I go up to his room to call him downstairs. I walk into his room, and he isn't there; then, I hear the tap running in his bathroom. "Hey, Ryan. Come down for dinner!!" I shout, then go back downstairs, where I find my mom opening the door for someone who apparently knocked, and it was Bri. Ohh, this is gonna be fun.

"Good evening," Bri says

"Evening dear, who are you darling," my mom says politely

"Uhm, I'm here to see Ryan. I'm he's a girl--"

"He's project partner," I interrupt her walking in with the bowl of fruit salad.

"Oh, hi, Rubie," she says, waving at me

"Hey, Bri," I say, smiling

"Do you know her, Ru?" my mom says

"Oh yes, I met her when I got back," I say, and at that moment, Ryan walks with wide eyes as he takes the scene in front of him and gulps.

"Ryan, Bri is here," I say, smirking

"Oh...hey, Bri," he says, staring at her

"Ryan, we were supposed to go out, right," Bri says

"Oh, aren't you staying for dinner, Ryan? Is it a date," my mom says, smiling

"No...uh, I..well," he stutters

"I'm sure they're going to...uh get... materials, yes materials for their project," I say, lying on the spot as I drag my mom to the kitchen to get something, then coming back to Ryan and Bri. When I walked around, he whispered, "I told you to wait for me at the beginning of the street."

"But your mom was cool about the idea of us on a date; why are you hiding us," she says back to him, but he hushes her.

I clear my throat, and they turn to me

"Thanks a lot, sis," he says, smiling

"It's not free, hun; you owe me."

"Yes, yes. I'm going now," he says, briefly kissing my cheek, and I shoo him and wave to Bri, who is still fuming about him not introducing her to our family. I know Ryan. He isn't serious with that girl, he's a player, and I get no action; opposites right.

After dinner, Ryan still isn't back.

"Where did that boy run off to," Dad says, shaking his head

"I'm sure he's on a date with that Bri girl. So cute," Mom chirps

Dad scoffs "he can't even handle the subjects at school, and now he wants a relationship," he says, sitting in the living room

"Dad, really. This again," I say, glaring at him. My dad and I don't have the best of relationships, not just because he wasn't always around cause of work; I couldn't blame him for the absence, but also because he pressures us daily to always be better and our studies and every other thing is a distraction, when I broke up with my ex he was happy because now I'll focus on school work. Even spending time with his children was seen as a distraction. Now, he's doing the same to Ryan.

"What, Rubie? He doesn't ever concentrate on his studies; it's either basketball or girls. At least you cut those things off early and earned yourself an academic scholarship to Cali," he says, bringing it up again.

"I didn't end things. Brad cheated, which never hindered anything. I thought you'd have stopped this by now, Dad. You aren't always around; when you are, you blame us for what is not going right in our lives and how 'distracted' we are instead of how you'll spend the little time you have with us. It's exhausting, and I'm tired dad, don't just make Ryan feel the way I feel about all you did; you're one of the reasons I'm happy I don't come home," I say, grabbing my phone and walking out while my mom just looks lost.

I felt terrific telling him off; I've kept it inside for too long and hope he realizes what he does soon.

It's been close to 30mins, and Ryan is back; I assumed because I haven't left my room since my outburst.

My AirPods are plugged in, and my eyes are closed when I hear a knock on my door.

"Come in!"

"Hey," my dad says, walking in

"Hi," I say, removing my AirPods

"Can I sit"

"Yes, Dad," I say, and he takes a sit

"I just came to apologize dearly...I- well," he stutters, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I say a lot of things and blame you guys a lot, and I'm sorry, you're right. I should be spending the time I get with you guys. I don't see you guys often, so I have to cherish the little things," he says, holding my hand.

"Yes, I'm happy you realized it early and don't do what you did to me to Ryan. Basketball is not a waste of time; it's good; he can get a basketball scholarship to a prestigious university as well, pops, and he has the right to have a girlfriend," I say, rubbing his hand; he nods, "Yes, I know. Thank you for opening my eyes, and I'm sorry I made you feel that way." We hug.

"Your mom told me you guys were planning a trip to the amusement park this weekend" he changes the topic, smiling.

"Yes, it's been too long. Since I was 4 or 5, I can't remember," I say

"I'll like to come along. I'll close early tomorrow, so in the evening?"

"Oh, cool, then it's a date," I laugh.

"Okay, dear, I'll leave you to sleep. Love you," he says, kissing my head and walking out.

I feel so satisfied that I got my heart out, and he listened, and we resolved the issue immediately. I go to sleep with a smile.