Chapter Thirteen

Ruby waited until she was sure that Charlie and Brax had gone out before waking up. Casey had noticed that she kept peeking out the window to check if they were still in sight.
"Rubes, you can't keep doing this ya know?" He said.
"Do what?"
"Don't pretend like you don't know. You can't keep avoiding her. She's your mum. You'll have to speak to her eventually."
"Yeah, eventually."
"I'm serious. Face it Rubes, it's the least you can do. Remember when we first wanted to go out and Charlie wasn't so keen on the idea? Well this is pretty much the same. I know you have your reasons for not wanting Charlie to go out with Brax, but she does. She allowed us to give it a go and look where we're at now," Casey explained. "Couldn't you at least give them a chance?"
"Dude, the only reason you care about this is because Brax is your brother!" Ruby yelled.
"Yeah, well Charlie is your mother. You should care about her feelings!"
"I do! Maybe if she wasn't such a hypocrite, I wouldn't mind so much! Do you know how she first reacted when we first went out?" Ruby asked. "She kept reminding me about how many times your family and friends have been confronted by the police, thinking that it would put me off you. Now she's not only dating one of you, but it just so happens to be your brother who's the leader of the gang."
"Ruby, I get that you're angry-"
Ruby stopped Casey talking. "Do you? Do you really?" She demanded.
Casey sighed. "I'll tell you what. Call me when the Ruby I know is back. In the meantime, just cool off would you and think about your mum and all the things she's done for you?"
He stormed out of the house without waiting for an answer.

Casey's P.O.V.
Soon after, I reached my house. I went straight to my room and lay on my bed. All I did was stare at the ceiling. I couldn't understand why Ruby wouldn't let her mum go out with Brax. If she knew him well enough, she would know that he would never ever hurt anyone he loves. He would do what Charlie wanted, as well as what was best for the both of them. That's why I understood why neither of the two wanted to tell anyone. They would both be in trouble. Charlie with her boss at the station, and Brax with the boys. Ruby, on the other hand, did not understand this. She was so use to being Charlie's only family member left, meaning that the two would always tell each other secrets. Even though Ruby wasn't always straight with her mum, Charlie always told her everything. It wasn't until now that Ruby called Charlie a hypocrite. Brax was my brother. Surely if she could date me, then she would be fine with Charlie dating Brax? For once, I didn't want to convince Ruby to be happy for Brax and Charlie. I wanted her to see what I saw from when we found out about this.

Ruby's P.O.V.
I heard someone coming home later that day. I called out Leah and VJ's name, but it was Charlie who responded. She told me she was home. No kidding, I heard her. She asked how my day went, obviously trying to pretend that everything between us was perfectly fine. She froze on the spot after dumping her keys on the dining table. I kept fidgeting on the couch, feeling a bit awkward because I knew she wanted to talk to me. I pretended to concentrate on the TV show, and laughed a bit too hard during all the "fake laughs" on sitcoms. She came over to me and tried to sit next to me on the couch. I was too quick for her, and stretched my legs out to cover the whole seat. She let out a huge sigh, hoping I would notice. I continued to ignore her. She got up and grabbed the remote off the coffee table and turned the TV off. I tried to hide the annoyance in my face and began to read the book that was next to me.
"Ruby," Charlie said. I didn't answer her.
"Ruby," Charlie said a little louder. I remained quiet and acted as if I was really into my book.
"Ruby!" Charlie shouted as she walked over to me. She pulled the book out of my hands. Ignoring her, I got up and headed to my room. A few minutes later, I heard a knock at my door. Obviously it was Charlie as she was the only one room so I just stayed still. Eventually, she opened the door. I had completely forgotten that the only room which had a lock in this house was the bathroom, damn. Charlie sat next to me on my bed. I pulled my study guide off the bedside table and pretended to read it. Like before, she grabbed it off me again. I shot her a glare.
"Can we please talk?" she asked.
"You have a boyfriend to do that with don't you? Oh wait, all he wants from you is sex," I retorted.
I could see it in her eyes that she looked hurt. I didn't apologise after all the lies she's said to me.
"I'm serious Ruby, please?" she begged. I decided to give in or else she would keep pestering me. It would be nice to hear what she wanted to say.
"Fine. Speak before I decide to leave," I said sourly.
"Can you please give Brax and I a chance? Can you please not tell anyone either?" she asked.
I could tell that this meant a lot to her. I completely lost it and started bawling.
"Ruby? Ruby, what's wrong?" Charlie asked in a concerned voice.
"Nothing, just leave it. You won't get it," I said in between tears.
"No, I'm your mum and if something is bothering you, you should tell me."
I gave up. It wasn't worth treating my mum this way. "Promise me you'll let me finish before you start saying or doing anything? I asked.
"I promise," she replied.