It's been forever, I know, sorry! Here's chapter 25, hope you all enjoy it!
"Nana!" Ruby called as she and her dad pulled up to her grandmother's apartment.
Nana turned at the sound of Ruby's voice and smiled as she saw her only grandchild. "How are you darling?" She hugged Ruby as soon as the teen got out of the car.
"I'm grounded until further notice." Ruby made a face and Nana Bates looked to her son and then back to her granddaughter.
"Do I want to know?"
"I'll explain later." John promised. "Let's get you moved first."
Nana Bates put Ruby to work in the kitchen, packing up the last of the dishes and kitchen linens while the movers took the furniture to the moving van. Nana Bates then cornered John in the hallway. "What's going on with Ruby?"
John gave her the short version of what was going on and Nana nodded as he finished telling her Ruby's most current punishment. "I'll keep her busy at the house after school." Nana promised. "I'll teach her some of the recipe's my mother passed down to me."
"Thank you Mama." John said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Moving went quickly and by mid afternoon, they were back in Ripon. Ruby helped move some boxes into the apartment before making herself scarce while the movers brought the furniture in. She pulled out her history textbook and was studying for the make-up test when Nana knocked on her door.
"John has requested that I get out of the way of the moving furniture." Nana said, "any chance I can hide out in here for a couple of hours?"
"Sure." Ruby said, she gestured to the recliner in the corner of the bedroom. "My rocking chair is pretty comfortable."
Nana came in and shut the door. "How is school going?" She asked.
"Pretty good," Ruby said, but her tone made Nana Bates raise an eyebrow.
"Your enthusiasm is contagious." Nana said. Ruby then launched into a 20 minute vent about Charlie, her teachers and the punishment and then ended with "And Trevor thinks that Aunt Cora's trying to torture me, and if I didn't know her so well, I'd say he was right."
"Who is Trevor?" Nana Bates asked, when she was sure that Ruby was done venting.
Ruby blushed. "Trevor's in a couple of my classes, he and his sister Sophie are really nice. They're new here, they just moved in over the summer."
"It's nice that you've made some new friends." Nana smiled, "I know you were worried about that after Abby moved."
Ruby nodded and they continued to talk. A couple of hours later, John knocked and stuck his head in. "Furniture is moved in,"
Nana continued to rock in the chair. "Thank you son," she turned to Ruby, "I bet you could use a break from studying, I've got a couple of things of mine that I want to show you."
Ruby nodded eagerly and quickly put her stuff in her backpack. Then she got up and followed Nana Bates into the master bedroom.
John glanced into the hallway for the 5th time in as many minutes. Nana finally spoke. "Is everything all right John? You can't stop looking towards Ruby's room."
"She had nightmares a couple of nights ago, so bad she woke me up with the screaming." John said quietly. "I guess I'm a little on edge."
"Does her therapist know?" Nana asked, her voice low.
"I haven't told her yet." John said, "Ruby's next appointment is on Thursday, I'll tell her then."
Nana nodded quietly, she continued crocheting and thought deeply. "So who is this Trevor?"
John was confused for a moment. "He's Sophie's brother, who else would he be?"
"Ruby mentioned sharing a couple of classes with Trevor." Nana said, pulling up some more yarn from the basket by her feet. "And she blushed when I asked who he was."
John closed his book, "Funny, she hasn't said anything to me about anything."
"How much have you talked about Trevor and Sophie?" Nana asked.
"Not much." John admitted. "We haven't really talked much except for the punishments I've been giving her." He paused, "Or homework."
"Is there any chance that's possibly a reason why she keeps getting into trouble?" Nana asked. "She's always been a daddy's girl."
John shrugged "Maybe, we have drifted apart."
"Maybe a Father-daughter day would help Ruby." Nana suggested. "When was the last time you two went to the movies or did something together?"
"A few months ago." John said. "Work has gotten busy."
"Just an idea," Nana said, "But it's possible that spending more time with her might help."
John nodded, deep in thought and went back to his book.
Ruby waved as she saw Sophie and Trevor enter the library. They both walked over to her and sat down. "Where's your new best friend?" Sophie asked, eyes twinkling.
"If you're talking about Charlie, he's not here yet." Ruby rolled her eyes. She motioned to the seat she'd put her backpack on. "But I've saved the seat for him."
"What exactly is this punishment supposed to teach you?" Sophie asked.
Ruby shrugged and Charlie walked up, she moved her backpack and Charlie sat down. He nodded to Sophie and Trevor before turning to the front as Headmistress Crawley started the Daily Assembly. It was nearly over, when Cora said "There's going to be a dance closer to Winter break." She paused as many of the girls in the library tittered with excitement.
Ruby and Sophie exchanged an excited look. Ruby silently hoped that Trevor would ask her to the dance. But would Sophie still want to be her friend if she and Trevor went on a date?
"The dance will be held on the last Friday night before Winter break." Cora was saying, "And you can invite anyone you want, even if they go to another school."
There were a couple more announcements before they all split up to go to their separate morning classes. Charlie and Sophie went one way, and Trevor and Ruby started up the stairs to Botany.
Ruby tried to think of a way to bring up the dance without sounding like she was fishing to be asked out but couldn't think of anything.
"Hey, Ruby." Trevor's voice was low. He leaned forward, biting his lip nervously. Ruby felt her stomach flip flop anxiously.
"Yeah?" Ruby asked.
"I- ah- I forgot my Botany textbook at home, could I borrow yours if I need it in class?" Trevor asked.
"Yeah, sure." Ruby nodded as they sat down, she got out her textbook and placed it so Trevor could easily grab it if he needed it.
The day passed quickly and Ruby was soon walking into the library for Study Hall. She put her backpack down and got out her Botany homework. She'd soon completed it and slipped it back into her backpack. She glanced at the clock on the wall. There was still 15 minutes until the end of classes. She knew the rest of her homework would take longer then then that so she tapped her fingers for a moment before reaching down to her backpack and grabbing a sheet of paper.
She put everything else away and started writing,
Dear Mom…
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