SHE

SEVENTEEN

"Hen, get ready, we're going for a run," I peeked out of the door, informing Henry.

He raised an eyebrow, as I rolled my eyes: "yes, dad knows, he's coming with us."

"Running with you two? Sounds like you want me to die, miss Gold," he murmured.

I grinned: "love you too, Hen."

This was a tradition for us ever since I can remember. Of course, at first I would ride a bike next to them as my legs physically couldn't keep up with 2 grown-ups, but around 12 I started running with them. At first, it was hell, but I soon beat them both, Henry always staying behind me and dad, cursing under his breath.

As for Eden, 2 days had passed, and I started to think my plan failed. She'd leave her house early in the mornings and come back late at night. I assumed the gang was having problems. But maybe I actually messed up, pushing it too far.

I went to the kitchen, where my mom was reading a book, eating grapes.

I saw M&M's on the counter, grinning, as I opened the package.

"We're going to run to the shop, do we need anything?" I asked.

Mom took off her glasses, staring at me: "I assume not the one that's 2 miles from here, but the one that's 6 miles?"

"You got it right," I grinned.

"Ru, they're older than you, you should go easy on them," mom said, concerned.

Right then my dad walked in: "are you kidding me? Your man is the strongest one there is out there, I can handle 12 miles, that's nothing."

Mom smiled at him amused, while dad grabbed a water bottle, walking out: "we're leaving, princess."

"Kick their asses, Ru," mom smiled, winking at me, putting her glasses back on.

I smiled, walking out of the house. Henry already looked like he wanted to kill me: "just let me ride a bike, please," he pleaded.

Whenever Henry was out of his formal suit and assassin looking sunglasses, he stopped with the other formalities, like, "miss Gold".

"Come on, Hen, you can do it, we used to do 18 miles," I warmed up.

"Yeah, Hennessy, don't be a p***y," my dad teased, playfully hitting his shoulder.

I laughed at the two of them: "Watch that mouth, old man," I started running.

"Old? I'll show you old, princess," dad mumbled, following after me.

"I'll seriously resign if you make me run more than 5," Henry shouted from behind.

///

5 miles later and 2 overgrown babies who gave up later, I was still running towards the shop.

Of course, there was a car not far behind, making sure I was safe, while the other had taken my dad and Henry back home. Dad was barely walking the last mile, they had to forcefully drag him in the car, he was that stubborn. I guess it's clear who I got that from.

~Baby this is Russian roulette ~

~And it ain't my gun ~

~Hallelujah I ain't dead yet ~

~and I'm still going strong~

~I don't know about tomorrow ~

~But the battle ain't done~

I was listening to "let it be" by Labrinth, deciding to run as fast as I could for the last mile. Listening to music while running made it so much easier, following the beat of it.

The reason I loved running was that, just like being on Edens bike, it cleared my head, made me feel like there wasn't a thing that mattered more than this moment. And since you were forced to focus on your breathing, your brain was less likely to think about other things.

I was already near the shop, progressively slowing down my pace. I walked in the shop I knew like my house, immediately heading for ice cream aisle. Digging in the freezer, I tried to find my favorite ice cream, eventually realizing there were none left. Life really wasn't making it easy for me right now.

"Great..." I muttered.

"Sorry, I think I took the last one," a boy from my right smiled apologetically.

I smiled weakly: "it's alright, I'll just run to another shop."

"I have an idea," he smiled, taking out his phone, "your number in exchange of this delicious Ben&Jerry's Half baked ice cream."

I didn't even think about it for 2 seconds. Eden was being stubborn, and as far as I know, I could do whatever I wanted. Besides, it was half baked we were talking about.

"You got yourself a deal," I smiled, typing in my number.

"May I know what name to add to this beautiful face?" he asked, looking me up and down.

I looked at him, he was definitely eye candy and judging by his looks aka the tattoos, he was quite far from the typical guy you'd see in this town. But no matter how dangerous he looked, there was still a friendly and peaceful aura around the guy. You just couldn't help but get pulled in, the same to how it was with Eden.

"Ruby," I replied.

One of his eyebrows shot up, making it obvious he knew who I was: "it's my pleasure, I'm Andre," he said, not making a big deal out of who I was, which I appreciated.

"It goes both ways," I smiled, "so thanks for the ice cream."

"No, thank you," he grinned.

"Alright, I guess I'll see you around then?" Andre nodded at me, walking away. As I started to walk away, I heard Edens voice coming from behind me.

"What do you mean, you lost the ice cream?" her voice was annoyed.

Sighing, I turned around, waving at her with the ice cream: "my fault."

She looked at me, her mouth opening and closing as she looked between me and Andre.

I quickly walked away, grabbing a bottle of water and paying for them.

I honestly wanted to enjoy my run back, but that would mean possibly crossing paths with Eden, which I didn't want. She had to be the one coming to me. So I made my way towards the securities car, hopping in.

"Sorry to bother you all, can I ride with you?" I asked, smiling.

The guys nodded at me, and we headed home.

Andre had to have something to do with the gang. It seemed to be their look - every person in the gang looked like fashion models, dangerous, mysterious, and I realized that all of them had tattoos, it must've been their signature.

I should have been worried about another person being in the gang, because now it meant I had to be liked by 5, instead of 4, however it made me feel more assured. Now that I had their names, I had to put it all together, research this thing.

"We're here, miss Gold," one of the guards said, opening the door for me.

"Thanks," I nodded, getting out of the car.

Henry and dad were inside drinking smoothies, laid down on the couch as if they were dead. Rolling my eyes, I slapped their butts, hearing them curse in pain. Leave it to men in their 30's to act like little babies.

"Ruby, let the babies rest!" mom shouted from the kitchen.

I laughed when dad cursed again, not willing to accept defeat.

"I brought half baked," I put it on the counter, "want some?"

"I'm on a diet," mom said, still reading the book.

"Mom, how many times do we have to tell you you don't need diets? Your body is way better than mine yet, may I remind you, you are 23 years older than me?" I grabbed myself a spoon, sitting next to mom.

"Thanks, Ru, but your momma can make her own choices," she said, ending the discussion just like that.

"How come you're back so soon?" she asked, her eyes not leaving the book.

I shrugged: "didn't want the ice cream to melt."

She raised a brow, looking at me: "yeah, right. What happened?"

I laughed: "I met Eden at the store and didn't want to risk the chance crossing paths on the way back."

"Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"No, it's only temporary," I replied. It was, right?

She looked back at her book: "Ru, there's this one thing your grandpa used to tell me - don't ever lose yourself just because you've found someone. I never understood it, I thought you're meant to sacrifice for a relationship to exist, to grow."

She smiled: "but then I met your dad. Boy, was he trouble, he was a hurricane, swept me off my feet. I won't lie and say it was always easy, because it wasn't. But when I was with him, and still, when I am with him, I can't help but feel like I am the most myself I could ever be. Never did I sacrifice something for him, instead we grew together, he helped me find myself while being so lost in him."

"What I mean to say is that the second you feel like you need to destroy a part of you, for the other person to stay, that is the second you need to leave. Because the right person will only add to who you are instead of taking away from it."

I processed the words in my head, thinking about the number of times I had already given up my comfort to fit Eden's pace, or the number of times I decided not to push, even when the answers were crucial to me: "Thanks, mom."

I might have thought about the times, but it certainly didn't mean I was willing to question Eden's fit in my life. Sure, we had issues, secrets, so many unanswered questions and territories that I was not allowed to cross, but I was falling for this girl, the first one to ever make me feel like this. Nothing in the world would make me question us.

She laughed: "thank your smart ass grandpa, dear. He might have been an i***t at times, but he sure was a smart one."