"Mum! Dad! I'm home!" I yell out, slamming the front door shut. It's Friday so I know both of them are back from work, ready to spend the weekend together. Once a month, we always head off to our cabin house in Scotland for the weekend, I'm allowed to bring a friend or two.

Silence greets me and I listen out carefully, dropping my backpack to the floor.

"Mum? Dad?" I call out, using my hands to comb my long dark hair upwards so I can secure it with a hair tie.

"Are you guys getting it on? Because I really don't want to see that again. Hit the wall three times and I'll leave for an hour," I yell up the stairs. I can hear them chuckling from upstairs before Mum appears at the top of the stairs, smiling down at me.

"Hi honey, how was school?" She asks me, still dressed in her work clothes. She's wearing a smart grey dress that clings to her body, her dark hair curled prettily around her shoulders.

"It was good, I only made two teachers cry today so I've set a new record for myself," I say proudly, grinning at her. Mum rolls her eyes and walks down the stairs, fiddling with her diamond earrings.

"Ruby, you've got to start behaving at school." Mum scolds me, just like she does every morning. It's my turn to roll my eyes at her and I know we must look like twins doing it. I look exactly like my Mum beside from my smile. I get that from my Dad.

"Where's Dad?" I ask her, following her into the kitchen. She turns on the kettle and I head for the fridge, grabbing the carton of orange juice. The door to the kitchen opens and Dad walks in, beaming from ear to ear.

"Hey cupcake," he teases me, wrapping an arm around my neck and planting a firm kiss on top of my head. I grin against his chest, struggling to free myself from his tight hold.

"God, Dad. Get off me and do not call me cupcake. It was cute when I was five, not anymore."

"I'll call you whatever I want. I'm your father, deal with it." He smiles, stepping around me to place his arms around Mum. I immediately know where this is going so I turn my back on them, not wanting to see them making out.

Some things should never be witnessed by children.

"Do you guys ever spend time away from each other? You work together and every time you're at home, you never leave each other alone." I shudder, secretly loving their relationship. . .

It's cute.

If you like the soppy romantic relationship type.

"You'll understand one day Ruby," Mum says to me, placing two mugs down onto the kitchen side. I shake my head firmly and Dad does the same, his eyebrows creased together into a frown.

"No, she will not. I'm the only man allowed to be in her life," he states unhappily. I nod my head exactly the same way I've done in the past and repeat the same words —

"Yes, I know Dad. Boys will break my heart but not before you'll break their legs."

Dad chuckles, looking proud of himself.

"You got it, kiddo."

I smirk, proud of myself for managing to keep my past boyfriends a secret. What my dad doesn't know won't keep him awake at night, right?

My thoughts turn to Austin (my current secret boyfriend) and I blow out a breath, feeling like the relationship isn't what I'm looking for. I was attracted to him at first but the past few weeks, it seems to have fizzled out. I bite down on my bottom lip and head for the kitchen door with my phone in my hand.

"Where are you going? We leave in a half hour sweetheart." Mum says, glancing over her shoulder.

"I'll be two minutes Mum! I need to make a quick phone call." I respond, calling Austin and walking up the stairs as I wait for him to answer his phone.

"Hi beautiful," he drawls out in his Bad Boy Come-Get-Me voice.

It worked four weeks ago, not anymore.

"Hey Austin. I think we need to talk," I tell him, twirling a piece of my hair around my fingers as I head towards my room. I can't risk Dad hearing Austin's protests when I tell him I'm not feeling it anymore. I step inside my room and close the door over with my foot.

"Sure, what's up?" Austin says, sounding wary.

Without hesitation, I respond, already having spoken the words several times before.

"I don't think we're working out," I say apologetically, hoping he doesn't take the news too badly.

"Seriously Ruby, you're breaking up with me?"

"Yeah, sorry. You haven't done anything wrong . . . I just don't think it's working out, I need a break from relationships."

I roll my eyes automatically when Austin responds —

"You need a break from relationships? You're with someone new every few weeks Ruby!" He argues back, his voice becoming increasingly angrier. I roll my eyes again and take a seat on the edge of my bed. I've dated plenty of boys but none of them have truly shared a connection with me. I can never be myself around them and I don't want to live my life uncomfortably or in a lie.

"Exactly which is why I'm taking a break." I argue back, falling backwards on my bed. It's getting tired constantly searching for the connection I see in my parents.

"You're making a mistake Ruby." Austin snaps back at me, his tone holding resentment.

"Whatever Austin, I've got to go. Bye," I mumble, ending the call. As soon as I hang up, a text message alert springs from my phone from him.

"Wow, you're persistent," I grumble, turning my phone on silent. I shove it deep inside my jean pockets and stand up, gripping onto the handle of my suitcase I packed this morning. It's nice to get away from high school drama sometimes, I'm not a child who hates spending time with their parents.

My parents are pretty cool.

I mean, where do they think I get it from?

"Hey Dad, can we go hunting again when we get to the cabin?" I yell down the stairs, pulling the suitcase along. I can hear his heavy footsteps before he pauses, thinking hard.

"As long as you promise not to try and shoot me again. You almost killed me Ruby," Dad scolds me, his eyebrow raised high. I can't help but giggle behind my hand, finding the situation funny.

"It was my first time with a gun Dad and I apologised over and over again."

Dad shakes his head, climbing up the stairs to take my suitcase from me. He lifts it effortlessly with one hand and I silently wish I had his strength. Mentally and physically.

"Do you want to get changed before we go cupcake?" Dad asks me, glancing down at his watch. I look down at my outfit, shaking my head. I'm wearing my grey hoodie, black skinny jeans and doc martins.

"I'm comfortable like this," I tell him, walking downstairs and ignoring the constant vibrations coming from my phone inside my pocket. Dad places an arm around me, kissing the top of my head again.

"Let's go trouble."

"Right behind you Daddy," I smile.

"Are we almost there yet?" I groan, staring aimlessly out of the window as trees continue to surround us. We've been driving for the past few hours yet it seems like I've been inside the car for days.

"Ruby, you've asked that seven times in the last ten minutes, shut up." Dad says, looking up at me through his mirror. I stick my tongue out at him and narrow my eyes and he mirrors my exact face, both of us chuckling at how ridiculous we look.

"Are any of your friends staying over?" Mum asks me, looking up from the book she's reading. I scowl at the book in her hands before answering.

"Just Tori," I reply, scrolling through my phone. I reply to a few text messages from Tori and grimace as I read the ones sent from Austin.

Austin - I really like you Ruby, can we give this another go?

My face remains emotionless as I text him back. This boy sure does have separation issues. We've only been official for four weeks but I'm just not feeling it anymore.

Me - Sorry Austin, I'm away for the weekend. Can't talk, see you in school.

His reply is almost instant. I want to hit my head against my phone and throw it out the window but I don't. I simply turn it off and stash it inside the backpack next to me.

"Are you okay cupcake? You have a face like thunder," Dad asks me, a slight frown on his face. I mask over my features immediately, the usual cheeky sparkle returning to my eyes.

"Is that your subtle way of saying my face is permanently angry? Because Mum has the exact same face, you're insulting both of us."

"Jake, leave our faces alone," Mum scolds him without even looking up from her book.

"I didn't do anything!" Dad protests, turning to glare at me. I return his glare but can't help giggling.

"You are unbelievable, Ruby Melvin."

I scrunch my face up in disgust, shaking my head.

"Don't call me Melvin, it's Wentworth Dad."

The car grows silent as the tension rises and Dad shifts uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding my burning eye contact with him. Mum places a hand on his arm, speaking softly.

"Don't argue against it Jake, it's her choice."

"I just don't see why she doesn't want my surname. It's the one on her birth certificate," he mumbles in protest, turning into the forest trails. The car bumps slightly but I remain seated forward, listening to their every word.

"You guys are doing that thing again where you're talking about me as if I'm not here. I mean, cmon. How can you miss this beautiful face?" I say sarcastically, glancing between the both of them. They ignore me and Mum continues to look at Dad, having some sort of silent conversation solely through their eyes. I exhale deeply and throw myself backwards into the seats, rolling my eyes.

"Dad, it's no big deal! I don't ever see your side of the family anymore and after Uncle Tobias practically abandoned us, I prefer Mum's surname."

A stab of pain hits me in the chest as I mention Uncle Tobias. I grit my teeth angrily and stare out of the window incase my parents see the emotion in my eyes.

"You never see your Mum's family either," Dad says quietly, his gaze fixed on the roads ahead.

"Out of the two, I prefer Wentworth Dad," I tell him for the millionth time.

"Uncle Tobias didn't abandon us honey," Mum says softly, turning around in her seat to look at me. I shrug my shoulders, my face emotionless.

"Yeah, he did. I'm almost sixteen Mum, you don't need to treat me like a baby. I know when I'm being abandoned. He doesn't ever see me anymore and the very few times he did, Dad almost took his head off."

At the mention of the almost killing my family member moment, Dad clears his throat.

"That was a mistake, violence is never the answer Ruby," he says firmly. I let out a scoff, my eyes widening in disbelief.

"Oh my god, you hypocrite!"

"Ruby, don't speak to your father like that," Mum frowns at me, using her stern voice.

"I'm just saying! Both of you act like I don't have any hearing. I know what the entire town says about you. All of my friends parents remember you when you were kids! Both of you kicked ass regularly and now you're telling me violence is never the answer."

Dad slams his hands down on the steering wheel, causing me to jump. He turns around, his jaw locked as the car comes to a halt in the middle of nowhere. Beside him, Mum is equally as angry, her eyes narrowed at me.

"We did what we had to do, okay?"

Dad's tone is firm, serious. He's using his 'don't fuck with me' voice and so I nod repeatedly, chewing the inside of my lip.

"Everything your father and I did was for you. To give you the best life possible, to keep you away from danger and keep you safe. Everything we have ever done is for you Ruby. You shouldn't listen to rumours, there's always two sides to every story." Mum says firmly, her brown eyes fixed on mine.

"Sorry Mum, sorry Dad." I mumble under my breath, pulling my knees up to my chest. Another awkward silence falls upon us inside the car and I simply stare out of the window for the remaining part of the journey.

*****

"Yooo, what's up T-Dog?" I grin, slamming my shoulder into Tori. She giggles loudly, stepping back as she waves goodbye to her parents. They drive off, leaving me standing with her outside the cabin. She turns back towards me and grips me into a deathly hug, crushing my body against hers.

"Ruby, don't speak like that," Dad scolds me, his eyebrow raised high as he pulls the suitcases out of the boot. I shrug my shoulders, walking a few feet away from him and dragging Tori with me as I go.

"I broke up with Austin," I reveal to her in a hushed whisper. Her large green eyes widen and she lets out a small gasp —

"No way! Aw, poor Austin. He'll be heart broken. How did he take it?" Tori asks me, flipping her bright red hair over her shoulder. It's long and always curled at the ends. The teachers at school don't allow brightly coloured hair but Tori swears it's all natural. . . It's not.

I've known her since she was five. Five year old Tori has mousy brown hair, not fiery red. But I like the red so I agree with her. Plus, she's my best friend. I swing my arm around her shoulders and waltz towards the cabin door, a wide grin on my face.

"He wants to give it another go but I don't feel the spark anymore. Is that normal?" I ask her, frowning. I really did like Austin to begin with but now. . . I'm not so sure. I want to feel excitement when I catch a glimpse of him in the crowd, I want to feel alive when I'm with him.

"It's normal Ruby. It just means you haven't found someone you're crazy about. Plus, Austin is kind of a douche. That's a major turn off."

I nod my head, agreeing with her.

"Will I ever find anyone that I'm crazy about?" I ask her, playing around with the curls at the bottom of her hair. She hates it when I uncurl them but I can't help it, I have to have something to constantly fidget with. I can't sit still for longer than 3.5 seconds, trust me when I say my parents have tried.

"Yes you will, hopefully. In the meantime, work on getting your kissing technique down for Mr Perfect," Tori grins, waggling her tongue at me. I snort and slap my hand over my mouth, giggling behind it.

"I'm already a great kisser," I state, giving her a teasing glare.

"Please, I've seen you kiss multiple boys. It's like a leech with a tongue, gross." She pretends to gag and I laugh loudly, shoving her softly.

"Excuse me, when was the last time you had a girlfriend?" I tease her. A sparkle flashes through her eyes for a brief second before she masks it over however the smirk plays on her lips. I let out a gasp, bouncing up and down as I stop her from walking any further.

"I know that look! Tell me! Tell me everything!" I scream, my excitement getting the better of me. I'm a very hyper active child, I blame my father. Tori grips my arm tightly, hissing under her breath.

"Shut up Ruby! I don't want the whole world finding out!"

I raise my brow and glance around at the multiple trees surrounding us.

"Erm, hello? We're in the middle of the woods right now. It couldn't be more private if we tried."

"Oh yeah, my bad." Tori apologises, glancing around. She leans towards my ear, her cheeks flushed a little pink as she begins to fill me in.

"Please leave out any over PG details. I'm still a minor," I warn her and she scoffs, looking exactly like me as she does it. It's why I love her, we're so similar.

"A minor? Puh-lease. If only Daddy and Mummy knew how corrupt their little cupcake actually is." Tori teases me, pinching my cheeks. I swat her hands away, a wide grin on my face.

"Bitch."

"Double bitch, I still love you though."

"Dad, can I talk to you?" I ask him, standing by the doorway. He stops stirring the food and dusts his hands off, turning towards me.

"Of course, what's wrong?"

"Privately?" I suggest, giving him an apologetic look. He nods at me, his jaw still clenched slightly as I step outside onto the porch. The wooden decking creaks underneath me and I take a seat on the swing, staring aimlessly out into the dark woods. Despite it being pitch black and resembles something from a horror movie, it doesn't scare me.

Dad silently takes a seat next to me, the swing creaking from the weight of both of us. I turn towards him, chewing nervously on my bottom lip. I rarely get nervous.

"I'm sorry."

He remains quiet and the guilt inside of me increases. I sigh deeply and swallow my pride, taking his hand in mine.

"I shouldn't have called you and Mum hypocrites. I know I shouldn't listen to the rumours about you two. I want you to know I really am grateful for everything you've both done for me, I'm just a teenager with hormones that get in the way sometimes," I mumble. The corners of his lips twitch slightly and I know he wants to make fun of the hormonal teenager thing. Before he can, I continue -

"The only reason I don't want your surname is because of Uncle Tobias. He really hurt me Dad... I love your name, you know I do. It's just that whenever anyone mentions it, it reminds me of him. Do you understand that?" I ask him, clinging onto his hand tightly. He squeezes it in response and nods slowly.

"I understand Ruby."

I let out a small sigh, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my head on his shoulder. His arm automatically wraps around my shoulder and he places a kiss on my forehead just like he's done a million times before.

"Thank you for apologising." He says quietly, both of us glancing out into the dark shadows of the trees. The sound of owls and grasshoppers fills the silence between us and I close my eyes, feeling comforted by it.

"I love you Dad."

"I love you more, Ruby Wentworth."

He doesn't turn to look at me but if he did, he'd see the corners of my lips turn upwards into a small smile.

*****

"Ruby, go help Tori with the fire please. We need more wood." Mum smiles, poking the fire pit with a stick. I nod and push myself off my chair, heading into the woods with Tori.

"I'm so glad you're coming with me, these woods creep me out so much," Tori shudders and I chuckle, taking her hand in mine.

"It's not creepy, I come here all the time. If anything does happen, I'll scare them off. Rawr!" I yell into the darkness and Tori giggles, squeezing my hand in hers. We both continue walking and stop at a clearing in the pathway. I begin to pick up sticks and pieces of wood that we'll need for the fire and Tori does the same.

"Are you scared of anything Ruby?" Tori asks me, her voice echoing through the dark trees around us. I pause for a moment, thinking hard about her question.

"I'm scared of being lonely."

I nibble nervously on my bottom lip and frown at myself in the dark. I don't like to show people my weaknesses, even my best friend.

"Lonely?"

"Yeah, I'm scared of losing my family and friends. I think the worst feeling in the world is to feel lonely." I say quietly, keeping my back turned to her. I can hear her breathing behind me and the occasional rustle as she continues to collect wood from the forest floor.

"You're always surrounded by people, girls like you and guys like you too. You won't ever be lonely..." she drifts off, her voice also becoming quiet. It's rare that me and Tori ever have deep conversations with each other. We usually play fight, call each other bitches and gossip.

"Let me re-phrase my answer," I turn, smiling slightly.

"I'm scared of losing people who I can be myself around, not crazy Ruby. I like crazy Ruby too but it's exhausted to do that all the time. People in school like crazy Ruby, they don't know the real me." I reveal, running my free hand through my dark hair. Tori watches me intently, her head slightly tilted to the side.

"Where do I belong?" She asks me quietly. Even though we're surrounded by darkness, I can see the glimmer in her eyes.

"Do you even have to ask?" I respond, shaking my head. When she remains silent, I answer her question.

"You're someone I'm afraid of losing, you're someone I can be myself around Tor."

A beaming smile spreads across her face. She walks up to me, one hand clutching a pile of sticks. I watch as she stands inches away from me, looking directly into my eyes. I'm about to ask if we can cut the soppy behaviour when she does something that takes me by complete surprise . . .

She leans forward and presses her lips against mine.

My eyes widen in shock and I quickly spring backwards, stumbling on a piece of wood.

"Shit!" I curse as I land painfully on my ankle, squeezing my eyes shut tightly. I ignore the flare of pain and look at Tori instead who's standing over me, her hand slapped over her mouth.

"Oh god, Ruby, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, I am so sorry." She apologises, hesitant whether to help me up or not. I grimace as I push myself up off the floor, my ankle throbbing painfully.

"Tori, it's fine, honestly."

"No, it's really not. I don't know why I did that, can we take it back? Oh god, this is so awkward," Tori babbles, her cheeks blushing dark red. I've never seen her blush before.

"Tori!" I yell at her, snapping her out of her babbling state. She immediately silences and turn towards me, her eyes wide. I hold her stare for a few seconds, my face expressionless.

"It's fine, I promise."

She's my best friend. I don't want her to feel awkward around me because of one silly kiss. Tori exhales deeply, her shoulders slumping in relief. I let out a small chuckle, hobbling on one leg due to my sprained ankle.

"I guess you couldn't stay away from my leechy tongue, right?" I joke, sticking my tongue out at her. The awkward air between us completely dissolves as she chuckles loudly, her laughter ringing through the air and trees.

I smile because I'm good at what I do.

Making people laugh to forget about their worries.