Leaning back in his chair, he stays silent for a moment before saying anything more. “Fine. However, you better tell her what she’s in for and how’s she expected to behave. And if she doesn’t or you try to leave the family business…I’ll have no problem sending you back to the cage.”
Squaring my jaw, not liking his form of blackmail to keep me under his thumb, I agree. Then, I fight back a smile thinking about how that conversation will go with her sassy mouth and strong will. “First she has to agree to be mine.”
13
Ruby
“No,” I whisper so quietly it’s almost inaudible. Tears sting my eyes and my hands begin to shake as I hold the letter from Julliard sealing my demise as a dancer.
“That can’t be right,” my mom says. Powering to stand closer to me, she snatches the paper and reads for herself. “There has to be a mistake.”
Shaking my head, I scoff at her words. “I’m not good enough. They didn’t pick me. It’s done, Mom.”
“Ruby, don’t say it like there isn’t anything else. We’ll figure this out.” She tries to comfort me, but I can tell she’s hiding her own disappointment.
“We won’t do anything. I’m done.”
“You can’t mean that. Dancing is your life.”
Lifting a shoulder, I look at her as a tear slides down my face. “Then I guess I’m dead, because my life as a dancer just died.”
“There are more places to dance and audition for. Look at Jade! She and Sergei have begun to make a great career for themselves outside of any company,” she says, bringing up a girl from my dance studio and her partner.
“That may make her happy, but it won’t make me happy. My dream was Julliard. Without it, there’s nothing left to try for.”
With that, I leave my mom in the kitchen, where she’s yelling for me to come back. But I can’t. I’m done.
Locking the door to the bathroom, I crumble to the floor. My chest feels tight, and I can hardly catch my breath through my cries, and an all-too-familiar feeling rushes in. Crawling to the toilet, I lift the lid and watch as my tears hit the water, leaving ripples in my reflection. I stare, fighting everything inside me screaming to regain control the only way I know how.
Losing the battle and my will to fight in the moment, my fingers go to the back of my throat. Having made myself throw up for so many of my younger years, it takes a lot for me to finally be able to gag. But as soon as I do, I stop and begin to cry more.
Pulling my phone from my back pocket, I call Sonny.
“Hey, Tink, it’s not a good—”
The sob I failed to hold back comes through the phone, cutting him off. “Sonny,” I weakly cry for him.
“Where are you? Are you alright? Are you hurt?” He rapid-fires questions at me as I hear him move around.
“I’m at home. I’m not hurt physically, but I’m not okay, Sonny. I need you. Please?” I beg into the phone.
I hear a car door shut before I hear his answer. “I’m on my way. It’s going to be alright, Tink.”
“I broke my promise.”
“What promise did you break?” he asks. I can tell by his voice he’s trying to talk softly to comfort me, but I can hear the tension in it.
“I haven’t retched since you first left. But I tried to just a little bit ago. I’m so-sorry,” I cry harder.
“Shhh…I’m almost there,” he soothes.
“I didn’t get into Julliard. I’m not good enough for them. They don’t want me.” I tell him the same thing I told my mom.
I hear him mumble a “fuck” when I hear a door shut and another one open before I hear my mom yelling at him.
Standing up, I run downstairs to where I know he is fighting with my mom. He ignores her and starts to walk away from her when I drop the phone and run to meet him, jumping into his arms. I bury my face in his neck and cry as he holds me close. He soothes and comforts me, his fingers tracing up and down my spine.
After my cries begin to settle, he sits down on a step with me still wrapped around him. Pushing my hair out of my face, he smiles at me and kisses my forehead. “You’re okay,” he whispers against my skin.
“Sonny, you shouldn’t be here,” my mom has the nerve to say to him, making me snap.
Turning my head, I shoot daggers her way. “I called him. I want him here.”
“You called him?” she asks, sounding confused and hurt. “I don’t like him, Ruby. I don’t like this sick hold he has over you.”
Untangling myself from Sonny, I get to my feet and walk to stand in front of her. “Sick hold? You still don’t get it, do you?” I begin, tilting my head to the side. “He’s the only one who sees me for who I really am. He’s the only one who truly cares about what I want. Well, him and Dez.”
Dismissing me, she looks at Sonny, who’s now standing behind me. “Get out of my house and stay away from my daughter.”
“Funny thing is, I don’t take orders from you. Unless Ruby wants me to leave, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Funny thing is, this is my house, not Ruby’s, and last time I checked, she was my kid. Now, I’m not going to tell you again. Get the fuck out of my house, or I’m calling the police. And with your recent stay behind bars…” She trails off, and I hate her. In that moment, I hate my mother more than I’ve hated her before this moment.
Sonny looks from me to my mom before kissing me on the head and turning for the door. But I stop him. “Wait! I’m going with you.”
“You aren’t going anywhere!” my mom yells.
“Funny thing is, Mom.” I take a step closer to her. “I’m not a kid. I’m a legal adult, and you can’t stop me from leaving.” A smile slowly grows across my face as I stare at her shocked expression. I wish I could bottle that up and save it for later. It’s not often that the Ice Queen herself, Tatum King, is shocked by anything and gets her ass handed to her. “Bye, Mommy,” I add for good measure before walking past Sonny and out the front door to his car.
“What the hell was that?” Sonny asks as he catches up to me.
Looking at him, I smile and say, “That was me taking control without making myself retch for once.”
Reaching his car, he pushes into my space until my back is against the cool door, his own wicked smile on his gorgeous face. “I’d kiss the hell out of you right now if your mom wasn’t screaming and threatening to have me arrested again.”
A giggle bubbles out of me at his words and playfulness in this moment that is anything but. Opening the door behind me, he helps me inside and then makes his way to the driver’s side. He gives me another one of his rare and killer smiles, asking, “You sure about this?”
“Absolutely,” I reply, and with that, he takes off.
As we drive farther and farther away from my house, I feel lighter and lighter. I can breathe with ease for the first time in what feels like my whole life.
Maybe this would be scary for the average person—walking out on their mom, fighting against everything they’ve wanted for you. But for me, in this moment, I know without a doubt I did the right thing.