Tobias

I watch her mustang as it drives away. "Who was that? She's pretty." Natalie says with a wide smirk. She is pretty. So pretty. "She's a friend of mine." I say. Is she? I enter the shop. We start to clean as customers start to show up. The shop starts to feel less crowded as all only young people show up to hang for a treat or two. "At last!" I hear Elite's voice as she enters the shop. Fuck. "Why aren't you returning my calls or texts?" She shouts. God this is so embarrassing. I grab her arm and pull her to the back door of the shop. "Stop shouting!" I ask her. "Stop shouting? Are you fucking kidding me, Woods? You didn't come home last night! Where the fuck were you?" She shouts again. I sight. I don't want to hurt Elite. She's always been here. When my mother left. When I left Ruby. When I was all alone. But, I don't love her. I can't love her. I love Ruby. I have loved her for the last five years. I never stopped loving her. "I didn't want to come home." I say. "Then, where the hell were you?" She asks. He voice is lower now. "I went for a couple of drinks." I say. "Then?" She asks. Her foot is tapping the ground in anger. I sight. "You didn't cheat on me, did you?" She asks as her arms cross. "No. I just....I...I saw Ruby...again." I say. I confess. Her face falls. Her arms fall to her sides. She never liked us to talk about Ruby, since we started dating. "Last night?" She asks. "No, I saw her the night before. But, I told her to leave. Then... then...we.....met again.....last night." I say with my eyes fixed on the ground. "You still love her, don't you?" She asks with a lot of pain within her voice. I promised Elite before we started dating that I stopped loving Ruby. But, she kept on coming. In my thoughts, my dreams. Then she showed up again and it changed everything. "No!" I mutter. "Liar." Elite says. "No, Elite. I like you." I say. I look up at her. Her eyes are full of tears. I pull her into my arms. "If you do, then don't see her anymore." She whispers as she hugs me gently. "Okay." I lie. I will see her again. I need to see her again.

Elite left for her work after she was all calmed down. Nat leaves the shop in the afternoon to get to a couple of classes. I can't stop thinking about them both. I can't keep one with hurting the other. I shouldn't have left Ruby in the first place. God, I am so stupid. I also shouldn't have started dating Elite. God, this is a lot of trouble.

"See you tomorrow, Mr. woods." Natalie says as I close the door of the café. I watch her as she takes a taxi. I start to walk back to the apartment. I don't really want to go home. I don't want to have dinner alone. I don't want to put up with Elite's shit. She will bring Ruby up. Again and again and again. She won't get sick of it. She kept on asking me all the time when we moved to New York. She kept asking if I forgot about Ruby. If I still love her. I always got the thought that she was jealous of Ruby since she first met her. Well, Ruby is something else. Specially for me.

I find myself stopping in front of her building. Fuck. This is wrong. This is not fucking right. I should leave. I told Elite I won't see her. "Tobias?" God, it's been too long since I last heard her say my name this way. I missed it. I missed her. God. I turn to face her. She looks happy. She's smiling. Her smile. "What are you doing here?" She asks in a worried tone. "Are you okay?" She asks again. I nod as a grin starts to creep to my lips. She smiles as well.

We go up to her apartment. As we enter her cat Blade meets us. She squats to pet him. I stand to watch her. "Close the door, It's cold." She says with a chuckle. I close the door while watching her hang her jacket. She walks to the kitchen. I take off my jacket and hang it on top of hers. I look down at Blade who looks up at me. "She's cool, isn't she?" I say to him in a kind of a whisper. I pet his head softly as he purrs. "Pizza or Chinese food?" She says as she stands at the kitchen door. Her hair is loose. "Well, pizza is my favorite and you know it." I say with a smirk. "Well, could have changed . Five years can change a person." She says as her shoulders give a small shrug. My heart aches. I really did fuck up, didn't I? She walks back inside the kitchen. I look at the cat who is sitting and staring at me with green wide eyes. "She hates me, doesn't she?" I whisper to it. It just gets up and walks to the kitchen. Bad idea talking to a cat.