I wake up with a start as I hear my ringtone play loudly on the table beside me. I rub my eyes and look at the caller ID to see that it's Victoria.
"Hey," I say as I answer the call. "Why are you up so early?"
"Girl, it's not early, it's noon! You were still sleeping?" Victoria questions incredulously.
"Well, duh. It's a Saturday." I say and put my phone on speaker as I set it down. I yawn and stretch before she replies.
"Which is why we're going shopping!" She says happily. "I already invited Parker and Nova!" Parker got out of the hospital around a week ago, and he's doing much better.
"Huh?" I ask confusingly. My brain is failing to know whoever this Nova is. That's my middle name, nothing is making sense!
"Huh what?" Victoria asks.
"Who's Nova?" I ask weirdly as I rack my brain for whoever this person is.
"Novalie, duh!" She says and I immediately feel stupid. Of course, it's Novalie! Why didn't I think that? "Now get ready and text me your address!" She finishes and hangs up.
I groan and hop out of bed before texting Victoria my address. I pick out a pair of black leggings and a blue and white flannel. I throw on a black tank top before getting my outfit on and heading downstairs for some breakfast.
I make myself some toast and sit down on the couch in the living room as I wonder why we're going shopping. Then I realize that I need to get Eli a birthday present. His birthday is in a week and I haven't bought him anything yet!
I quickly run back upstairs for some more money and find my shoulder bag and wallet since I was just going to use the money in my phone case. I rush back downstairs just in time for the doorbell to ring.
I find my way to the door and open it to see Parker standing on the welcome mat in crutches. "Hey," I say quickly, wanting to leave as I didn't know if either one of my parents were home.
"Ready to go?" Parker asks me.
I nod. "Yep, let's go then," I reply and step out of the house before shutting the door and helping Parker to the car.
"Hi," I say as I enter the back seat of the vehicle.
"Hi, Ruby," Victoria says and Novalie waves and smiles at me. "Ready to go?" She questions as Parker settles into his seat with his crutches and I put my seat belt on.
"Yep! Shopping here we come!" I say excitedly and smile at her widely.
Parker gets his seat belt on and Victoria starts to drive toward the mall. I haven't been to the mall in my entire life so I had no clue what to expect. All I know is that it contains a bunch of stores, most kind of expensive or pricy in some kind of way, all competing with one another.
The ride contains comfortable silence between Parker and I and then just Tori and Nova rocking out to the pop songs on the radio. We all laugh after Tori tries hitting a high note. Her voice cracks before she even gets up to it and just gives up and starts laughing too.
We get to the mall a few minutes after that and Tori finds a lucky parking spot near the entrance. This place is packed.
I get out, then I hold Parker's crutches as he limps out of the car. I catch him by the shoulder as he almost falls face-first to the concrete.
He looks up at me and smiles. "Thanks," he says kindly.
Soon after that, we're walking through the self-opening entrance into this large place filled with bland walls but the store logos give it such a flare that my eyes widen in awe.
"Oh, this is so cool!" I say excitedly and start giggling as I jump and skip around, stopping in front of each store to look inside.
"You've never been to a mall before?" Nova questions smugly.
"Nope," I say and laugh again. "I've never been able to because of my moth-" I stop myself before I can say more and tears spring into my eyes as I turn away, my hand shooting to cover my mouth as memories take over my mind.
I quickly wipe away the tear that manages to fall from my eye and turn back to my friends. "Are you okay?" Victoria juts in.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Let's go." I motion my hand towards the hallway.
"Yeah. We came to the mall to shop, didn't we? Let's go." Parker says quickly. I mouth him a 'thanks' and we head down the hallway.
It isn't long before Nova shouts down the hallway at a group of boys that look around 12-14. "Watson! You said you were studying at the library! What the heck are you doing?"
The one boy who I assume is Watson comes down the hall with a smirk. "Hey, big sis," Nova glares at him. "Hey Victoria, Parker," Watson says and his eyes land on me. "Oh, and who is this?" Watson asks, his eyes raking up and down my body. I squirm uncomfortably.
"Watson! Don't be like that!" Nova says. She turns to me. "Ruby, this is Watson. Watson, this is Ruby." She finishes.
A sudden surge of confidence jumps through me when I see Watson's eyes focused on my chest. "Hey! Eyes up here," I say loudly and my friends look at me, their faces just as surprised as mine.
Watson looks up quickly, the cocky smirk remaining on his face as he responds. "What's a pretty lady doing hanging out with my sister?" He asks cockily.
He's just making me angry. "Excuse me?" I ask angrily. That little 13-year-old jerk.
"I said-" Watson starts, still smirking.
"I know what you said! You don't talk to random girls like that!" I nearly shout, taking everyone by surprise. All he's doing is reminding me of Max when we just met. And now Max is gone.
Tears sprout in my eyes as I'm reminded once again of the inevitable death of one of my friends.
"I-I'm going to the bathroom," I say and run off to the bathroom which I noticed while we were walking down the hallway.
I get to the bathroom, make sure there's no one in any stalls, and lock the door.
I look into the mirror. "Eli?" I ask, knowing my bathroom mirror worked and hoped it would work here.
The large mirror changes and I see my wonderful boyfriend's face. "Ruby? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" He asks and more tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks.
"Y-yeah, I think so," I start, smiling and I notice how happy he makes me. "I just needed to calm down, there's a lot I need to fill you in on. I'm so sorry I haven't talked to you in a while."
I hear loud knocks on the door. "Ruby, come out, please? Are you okay?" I hear Parker's voice.
"I'll be out in a minute," I call loudly back, making sure he can hear me. I turn back to Eli once I hear Parker's retreating footsteps. "I have to go, can we talk once I get home?" I ask Eli.
"Yeah, of course. I can tell you're busy with your friends." Eli says quietly and I see a pang of hurt flash through his face.
"Look, I would much rather be talking to you right now, okay? Just, they're probably already worried enough, I'll make up for it once I get home." I say sympathetically.
"Okay, I love you," Eli says.
"I love you too," I say lovingly and give him a wide grin before I unlock the bathroom door and walk out, not wanting to worry my friends any more than I already have.
I immediately notice Watson running toward me as I'm walking back to the group. "Ruby," he calls out. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that my words could make someone so upset, especially you. I'm sorry," Watson finishes, looking at the floor with shame.
"Watson," I start, and he looks up at me with regret. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault. I was just reminded of a couple of painful memories. I forgive you, okay?" I say kindly, giving him a slight smile.
He nods and embraces me in a hug. I'm shocked at first but immediately hug him back. Only a few seconds pass before he lets go of me. "Thank you," he says and I nod before he runs back to his friends and I start walking back to mine.
When I get to them, Novalie's the first to talk. "Ruby, I'm so sorry about my brother! Are you okay?" She asks worryingly.
I give her a wide smile. "Yep. It wasn't Watson's fault anyway. I was just reminded of someone," I say, not wanting to bring everyone's mood down by mentioning Max. "Now let's shop!" I finish excitedly.
🌼🌼🌼
After we hit a few clothing stores and a video game store for Parker, I ask if we could head into an art store I noticed a few stores down and they gladly accept.
I figured I could get Eli some art supplies for his birthday since he enjoys drawing and painting sometimes. I also already bought him his favorite movie and a few books to go with it, so I'm going all out for his 18th birthday.
As we pass a large white table with a sign stating "clearance", I'm stopped by the wonderful price for a pack of three canvases. They're Eli's favorite, and I'm immediately drawn (pun intended) to a sketchbook, some paintbrushes, and colored pencils sitting nearby.
I pick them up, and Parker quickly questions me. "You like to draw?" He asks.
My response is immediate. "Uh, no. They're for a, uh, a cousin whose birthday is coming up soon." I lie. They can never find out about Eli in the mirror. I decide that I'll grab some pencils and paints and then check out.
Once I grab them and check out, we're headed out of the mall once we decide we spent enough money for the day.
Overall, the trip was really fun, I should hang out with my friends more often.
Now to go home and talk to Eli.
🌼🌼🌼
The car ride home was equally as fun as we all rocked out to the song that was playing on the radio. They discovered that I could sing and encouraged me to sing along to the next song on the radio which I just so happened to know every lyric to.
Once we reached my house, I waved goodbye and skipped up to my front door happily. I use my key and get the door open before heading upstairs to talk to my boyfriend about what's been going on.
"Eli! I'm back!" I say happily as I walk into my room.
The mirror changed quickly to Eli's relieved face. "Hey, Ruby," He says kindly and smiles at me. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah, we went to a bunch of stores and it was cool to have time to hang out with them. It was my first time to the mall too," I explain, my excitement going down as I realize I have to talk about the stuff that's been happening. "So, I have stuff to tell you. There's been quite a bit happening so I didn't wanna leave you hanging," I say quickly. "Also, can I try to enter your little living space? It probably won't work but it's worth a try, y'know." I finish.
Eli nods. "Yeah, sure. Why wouldn't I let you?" He answers with a laugh.
"Uh, alright, uh I'll just-" I start as I start heading towards the mirror. I go to put my foot through and it- it works! "Oh my gosh!" I exclaim ecstatically. "Oh my gosh! It works! It works!" I shout as I leap through the mirror.
Eli's face is stricken with happiness and surprise as I run towards him and engulf him in a large hug.
"Oh my gosh! You have no idea how much I've missed you!" I say excitedly and look at him before planting a kiss right on his lips. We pull back and he grins before kissing me again.
The kiss starts passionately as my skin tingles where his hands land on my waist. We make it to the couch and then we're laying down, still kissing, with him on top of me. His tongue slides along my bottom lip as he asks for entrance. I eagerly allow as his tongue explores my mouth.
Once neither of us can breathe, he pulls away and grins at me. I grin back and we lay next to each other, his arm around my waist as I smile even larger and realize what an amazing boyfriend I have.