One night, an unfinished story. Two choices

Ruby sat up agile, awake, and aware of everything. Her waves lay beautifully around her light olive face, shadowing her eyes that gave her away more than she would ever admit. Oh no, not again. The words slipped out with a groan, heavy with frustration, like the weight of an old mistake returning to haunt her. “No, no, no, no, Ruby, why?” Saying to herself while rubbing her temples. This time, she remembered; she remembered it all. His voice, the way he said her name, trembling, haunted the quiet room like a storm gathering in the distance. His strong arms, the way he held her when she broke down. HIS FACE, hard, full of angles she could never forget, his sea green eyes burning with that specific haunted intensity only he could show. “Oh my God, I remember his face.” How could she forget? It would forever be embedded in her head. Snapping out of her daydream. “I need to get out of here,” she said. She looked around quickly and listened to hear if he was home. It was silent. Its marble floors stretched endlessly, reflecting the faint golden hue of the sun as it slipped through the window crack. She picked up everything that was hastily discarded the night before, hand brushing against antique furniture too pristine, too perfect, reminiscing just a little, how good it felt. Hurrying out and taking one final look at the penthouse, she hadn’t noticed before the way it seemed both majestic and scary at the same time. She hailed a taxi and got in. “Where to?” “35 Walson Street” Careful not to wake her friends up, as she knew they had crashed at hers. She slowly tiptoed in the dark, trying to find her way, but wasn’t careful enough. “Ho ho ho, look what the cat dragged in,” Betty said with a smirk on her face. Even in the dark, Ruby knew her friend so well. Even in the dark, Ruby knew her friend very well. Round cheeks, left side dimple when she grinned. Shoulder blond hair glinting faintly from the twilight sneaking its way through the crack in the window. “If it isn’t the one-night stander,” Grace followed, her voice cool and dramatic. Tall and poised even when slouched against the couch, Grace's presence filled the space. Her pin-straight black hair fell against her angular face, eyeliner smudged but still making her almond-shaped eyes look piercing and amused. She was always neat, always in control, even when mocking. “That’s not even correct grammar.” Ruby retorted snarkily, tossing her waves back, her sharp brown eyes glinting with that restless fire that never let her rest. “Who said you could speak?” Grace countered smoothly, her words laced with practiced dryness. “Sorry, can I turn on the lights now? I can’t see.” “You shall turn on just one light and one light only,” Grace said dramatically, stretching her words. Ruby rolled her eyes dramatically, struggling to find the switch in the dark. “Now tell us, how it went?” Betty said excitedly. She and Grace were scurrying towards Ruby. “Gals, gals, chill, it was beautiful. And guess what, I remember everything.” “That's odd. The last time this happened, and you met your crazy ex, you didn’t remember much,” Betty said. “I know, and I don’t know why I do. I remember everything, except his name.” “Oh, foolish child, how would you remember everything but his name? How are we supposed to look him up now?” Grace said dramatically, throwing her head in her hand like the heroine of a tragedy. “Well, who cares? Not like I would want anything to do with him anyway. I mean, that’s why it’s called a one-night stand,” She said, trying to convince her friends and herself. *********** The annoying buzz of her alarm cut through the thick Monday air like a saw on metal. Ruby groaned, dragging the blanket cover over her head, wishing she could rewind time. Her body clung to the warmth of the mattress, resisting the inevitability of another week. “Back to the grind.” She thought, forcing herself upright. The apartment still carried the faint smell of Grace’s ‘hangover cure’ soup, which lingered in the kitchen. It was an odd combination of banana, ginger, cloves, and other things she couldn’t bother to remember now. Ingredients that should never have met. She slid past it like it was an enemy. Ruby wrinkled her nose, holding her breath as she crept past the kitchen with her glass of water. Betty’s snoring rumbled through her closed doors. Ruby winced at how loud it was; how a human body could produce that much sound still surprised her. “She could drown out an airplane,” Ruby thought as she tiptoed down the hallway. Her phone lit up at 6:42 am. A few hours left to become a responsible adult. By the time she drove out of the apartment complex, coffee in hand, the city was already buzzing, horns blaring, street vendors shouting over each other, and people colliding at once on the sidewalk. And somehow, Ruby was part of it, her fingers tapping the stirring wheel in resistance to her exhaustion. “Morning, Ruby.” Paul, the office clown, called from the front desk, far too excited about a Monday, like he’d been waiting for this exact moment to unleash his cheer. “Morning," she replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Someone’s in a pleasant mood.” She added out of habit, already regretting it. “Oh yes, yes, yes, my…” Ruby didn’t wait to hear the rest. She made a beeline for her desk, mentally scolding herself for opening the conversation door, knowing how talkative he was. At her desk, she dropped her bag with the precision of someone who’d done it a thousand times before. “Muscle memory,” she thought. Her inbox was already a battlefield: 42 new emails, two meeting requests, and a reminder that she was presenting at the 10 am meeting. Ruby sighed, taking a long sip of her coffee. “You signed up for this, you wanted this. Focus.” As she clicked on the first email, it happened. A flicker. A slip. Him. The flash of his eyes: sharp, unwavering. The slight drop of his voice curled through her memory like smoke. Ruby froze, hand lingering above the mouse. It was ridiculous how quickly he invaded her mind, like an unwanted guest. Her chest tightened. She shook her head violently, dragging herself back to her text on the screen, still typing a reply, her thoughts betraying her. Even as she tried to shake the feeling, the memory, he was there, as present as the unread messages pulling into her inbox. Her phone buzzed on the desk, a jolt that pulled her deeper into unease. She glanced at the screen. A number she thought she’d never see again. Ruby hesitated. Something about that unread text pinned her in place. Her thumb hovered above her screen, heart hammering while sinking. She didn’t move. Seconds later, curiosity got the best of her, and she clicked her screen, just five words. “We need to talk. Tonight.” Ruby’s breath caught in her throat. The coffee in her cup suddenly became bitter. Her head spun. Why, just why? Why would he contact her after 6 months? And for the first time that morning, Ruby wasn’t sure she wanted to survive the day.