She enjoyed being with him, but always at the back of her mind was the nagging sense that Blake should be told, but every time she had tried to broach the subject with Drew, he totally dismissed it. He always said that everything was good the way it was and they shouldn’t change things. She felt so guilty about deceiving Blake that any conversation they’d had recently was even more strained than usual because of it. She had no idea if Blake noticed any change in her. Being a guy, he probably wouldn’t, but that didn’t make her feel any better.
When Drew had dropped her off at home, they’d managed to make out a little, but nothing like the first time. She was beginning to think that all they would ever have was a few rushed fumbles and kisses. The science project was now over, so she didn’t even have an excuse to talk to him during school hours. It was driving her crazy. She thanked goodness she had Tiffany to talk to about it. Not that Drew had any idea that Tiffany knew about them. She still hadn’t plucked up the courage to bring it up. She guessed, what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Just as her voicemail was about to pick up, she answered her phone. “Hey, Drew.”
“Hi. What are you doing?” he asked.
“Actually doing, or meant to be doing?” she quipped. She glanced down at the textbook opened on her left and the magazine opened at the horoscopes page on her right.
“Let me guess.” He chuckled. “You’re sitting on your bed reading a magazine, and you’re supposed to be doing your math homework?”
“How the heck did you know that? Have you bugged my room?”
It never failed to amaze her that he knew her so well. Then again, how many years had they known each other? And it wasn’t exactly unheard of for her to be distracted by checking out her stars or by celebrity gossip. Even though she’d happily made the decision to work hard this year, she was finding it more difficult than she’d anticipated. Especially when her thoughts seemed to focus solely on Drew and when she’d be seeing him next.
“Yep. I crept in the other day when the family was out and planted one in your bedside lamp.”
A lump formed in the back of Ruby’s throat. She loved hearing Drew tease her, and she’d never have imagined when they’d first started talking this year that it could ever be so easy between them. She would never tire of it. Ever. “Of course. And you managed to avoid Dad in the process, because you know he never goes out.” Her voice dropped while thinking about her dad and how he’d hidden himself away for so long. It was such a waste of life, and it cut her to the core thinking about how things might have been if he hadn’t been injured or if he’d reacted to it differently.
At least Drew wasn’t like that.
Or is he?
The thought pushed its way into Ruby’s consciousness, and she shuddered. Just because Drew could talk to her about the fire and his injuries didn’t mean that he wasn’t hiding. Keeping their relationship a secret was a form of hiding from people. It might not be exactly like what her father did, but it was hiding nonetheless.
“Okay. You got me there. I took a guess, and knowing you, it wasn’t hard,” he said.
“I’ll have you know that this year I’m working my butt off to get good grades. If you’d have called half an hour ago, then I’d have been concentrating on my homework. I only just stopped to take a short break and—”
“Ruby, stop. I was only joking. I know you’re working hard. Sorry.”
She rested her hand on her forehead. She was such an idiot. Of course he was joking. She really needed to get her crap together and stop being such a jerk, or he would have good reason to drop her. “Forget it. I’m being silly. Too much algebra totally screws with my sense of reason.” She laughed, and he joined in.
“I called to see if you could get out later?”
Disappointment flooded through her. “I can’t. I promised Mom I’d look after Dad while she goes to the mall for late-night shopping.”
She clenched her fist in frustration and thumped the bed. She just couldn’t catch a break. It was like something was conspiring against her. She didn’t resent looking after her dad. Well, to be honest she did get the occasional niggle, but she soon got over it because she knew how much her mom depended on her.
“Can’t Blake look after him?”
“He could if we knew where to find him. He hasn’t come back yet from school.”
“That’s late,” Drew said.
“He must have gone somewhere. I don’t know where, though. He doesn’t speak to me much these days.” She jumped up from her bed and began pacing the floor, then stopped at the window and stared out. She’d much rather be outside with Drew than stuck in her bedroom pretending to do her homework.
“I’m sorry. It must be hard. I know how close you used to be.”
“Yeah. I try not to think about it. I’m sure it will all get sorted out eventually.” She didn’t really believe the words she’d just said, but she didn’t want to alarm Drew in case it made him feel even guiltier, since he already blamed himself for everything that had gone on with Blake. “Can we go out tomorrow night instead?” she asked, wanting to change the subject.
“Sure. I’ll call you,” he replied.
A knock on her door made Ruby start. “There’s someone here. Gotta go. Bye Drew.” She went over to her door and opened it.
Her mom was standing there. “Are you going out already?” Ruby asked. She had planned on finishing her homework before her mom left, especially now that she’d arranged to go out with Drew tomorrow.
“Not yet. Can I come in?” her mom asked.
Ruby frowned. Her mom was acting weird, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. “Yeah, sure.”
Her mother stepped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. She had a strange expression on her face. After a few seconds of silence, she locked eyes with Ruby. “Who were you just talking to?”
Ruby swallowed hard. “No one,” she replied and then wanted to kick herself. Why the hell hadn’t she just said Tiffany? It was obvious that her mom had heard her speaking, or she wouldn’t have asked.
“Don’t lie to me. I heard you. Who was it?”
“Tiffany,” Ruby said, her voice about three decibels higher than it normally was. She glanced at the floor, not daring to look at her mother.
“Ruby. Tell me the truth.” Her mom had that way of making Ruby feel guilty without actually saying anything. She never shouted at Ruby or Blake; she didn’t need to because they would always bow under the extraordinary, invisible pressure she somehow managed to exert.
“Drew. It was Drew,” Ruby muttered. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. Drew was not gonna be happy when he found out that she’d told her mom about them. If she told him.
“As in Drew Scott?” her mother asked, arching her right eyebrow like Ruby always did when feeling skeptical or surprised.
“Yes.” Ruby nodded.
“I see.” She perched on the end of Ruby’s bed and leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. Ruby leaned against the closet door, facing her.
“Why did you ask?”
“I heard you answer your cell.”
Ruby frowned. “But that was ages ago. Were you listening to our conversation the whole time?”
A guilty expression crossed her mom’s face. “I hadn’t intended to. But I heard you say ‘Drew,’ and I only know of one Drew in your life and Blake’s.”
“Mom. How could you? After all you’ve told us about respecting people’s privacy.” Ruby forgot about hiding her conversation with Drew because she was so shocked by her mom checking up on her like that.