My Brother's Best Friend

Chapter 9

She opens her mouth to complain but closes it once I give her a stern look. Turning away from me, she takes a seat on the opposite side of the counter to Matt, while complaining about how grumpy I am.

Once I have the piping hot cupcakes on a wire tray to cool, I take a seat beside Ruby. I take her hand in mine and entwine our fingers together, smiling as she blushes.

"How was the gym?" she asks.

"Great," Matt replies enthusiastically. "They got new equipment yesterday and they had just set it up this morning so we got to try it out. It was pretty neat."

"That's good."

"Yeah, so are you excited about tomorrow?" Matt's face pales as he realizes exactly what he's said. I glare at him. I should have known that he'd ruin the surprise.

"Yes," she squeals, surprising us both. How the hell does she already know about tomorrow? I made sure that she couldn't find out!

"You are?" I ask.

"Well of course I'm excited about it. You should be too Ryan, it'll be your first time to see her."

"I-I am excited, Rubs," I tell her, letting out a sigh of relief when I realize that she's talking about the doctor's appointment. I really want her to be surprised tomorrow. I can't risk her finding out what I have planned. I wrap my arm around her and pull her close to me, kissing her cheek softly. "I can't wait to see her."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, Ruby and I each wrapped up in our own thoughts, while Matt stares longingly at the cupcakes his sister made. I mentally run over the plan for tomorrow in my head, making sure I haven't forgotten anything.

As soon as we leave the clinic tomorrow we'll head t-

"Don't you have a game tonight?" Ruby asks cutting off my train of thought.

"Yeah, we do. It's at six I think. We should be heading off soon for it." She smiles up at me. "What?"

"It's a home game, right?"

"Yeah..." I throw Matt a look, wondering if he knows where Ruby is going with this. He just shrugs his shoulders in response. "Why?"

"Can I come to watch?"

"No!" Matt and I practically shout at the same time.

"Why not?" she pouts.

"Ruby, you're pregnant!" Matt exclaims.

"I think we've established that at this stage, Matt. Just because I'm having a baby doesn't mean I have to stop living!" She pushes off the counter and slides off the stool. Pacing the room, she runs her hands through her hair in frustration.

"What do you mean?" I ask, shocked at her sudden outburst. She turns to face me, her hands on her hips. Man, she looks so good!

"I mean, Ryan, you and Matt practically baby me the entire time. I can't step foot outside the house without either of you having a nervous breakdown." Matt stares at me gobsmacked. Neither of us have ever seen Ruby so worked up. She continues to pace the room. "It's driving me insane! How the hell is that anyway for someone to live? I feel like you're suffocating me!"

"Ruby, we're only trying to look after you. We're worried about you," Matt says softly.

"Oh, don't give me that 'we're worried about you bullshit', Matthew Walsh. I'm sick of it." She storms towards the door.

"Ruby, where are yo-" I start.

"I'm going to my room. Is that okay, Dad?" I feel like I've been slapped in the face. That was a pretty low blow. Do I really treat her that horribly? Am I that much of a hindrance to her?

"Ruby, I-" I try to keep the hurt out of my voice.

"Save it, Ryan. I'm not in the mood for it."

I run my hand along my jaw as Ruby loudly makes her way upstairs. At the sound of her door slamming shut, Matt decides to speak.

"It's probably just the pregnancy hormones getting to her." I don't say anything, just stare at the stairs, hoping that Ruby will re-appear. Matt and I both know that he's lying to himself. We both know that it's more than just pregnancy hormones.

I run my fingers through my hair. "I've never seen her like that before. Am I really that horrible to her? Do I really suffocate her?"

"No, man. She just," he pauses.

"She just what?"

"I don't know. I really don't know. Maybe you just need to let her cool off for a while, you know? Maybe just leave her be for a bit."

"Matt, I feel like I never get to spend time with her. I don't want to lose her. She means too much to me." I pause and swallow a lump in my throat. I know I sound like a girl but I really don't care. Ruby means so much to me and I'll do anything to make her happy. "I hoped that tomorrow would even give her an idea of how much she means to me, now I don't know if she'll be even talking to me tomorrow."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, neither of us knowing what to say. Ruby's reaction, which may seem like nothing to those who don't know her, has shocked us.

"Come on, man. We'd better get going. We don't want to be late." I open my mouth to protest but Matt cuts me off. "I know what you're going to say, Ryan, but there's no point. She needs time on her own. You being here is not going to do any good."

Reluctantly, I nod my head knowing that he's right. I grab my gear bag and pull on my jacket while Matt goes up to tell Ruby we're leaving. I follow him out the front door and make my way towards the pick-up, hoping that when I return Ruby and I will be on better terms.

As we make our way down the road, I close my eyes and sigh, wracking my brain for ways to fix things with Ruby. Matt suddenly swerves as a black jeep with tinted windows comes racing down the narrow road. He shakes his head in disapproval at the driver as he continues on.

Usually I'd be concerned about such a strange vehicle travelling on this road, but today I'm too concerned about Ruby to pay any attention to it.

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I'm not 100% happy with this chapter so I'd love to hear your thoughts or suggestions. Even my silent readers, I'd love to hear your feedback. Don't be shy. You never know...one of you may get a dedication next chapter...

This chapter is dedicated to pebble-in-the-pond just to say thank you for a very touching message she posted recently. I'm sure you know Tessa what message I'm talking about. Thanks again, it meant a lot xx

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