Angelica was sitting in the living room, Lucy and Rudy were washing dishes, and Reba was preparing to leave for her work.


    She came out of her room with a handbag in her hand and said, "Rudy, I am leaving."


    "Yes, take care, mom."


    Angelica got up and said, "Rudy, I should leave too. It''s gettingte."


    "..."


    "Goodbye."


    "Yeah."


    Reba left the house, and Angelica followed her.


    "..." Lucy nudged Rudy and said, "Shouldn''t you drop her off at her house? You brought her here, so you should drop her. And it''s already dark."


    "She can go alone. It''s not her first time traveling at night. And her house is on the way to the convenience store, so mom is kind of dropping her off," Rudy shrugged.


    Angelica had turned herself invisible and returned to Rudy''s body as she needed to rest and recharge.


    "Still, even for formalities."


    "It''s fine. You worry too much about what others would feel and think. I know I am not the one to say this, but you should also think a little more about yourself."


    "I am. And if I was leaving the house sote at night, I would obviously ask you to apany me. If you rejected me, I would drag you with me."


    Rudy washed his hands and wiped them with a towel.


    "You said you needed my help with your homework?"


    "Yes, I wille to your roomter at night."


    "It''s already night."


    "Yes, but I have things to do before that. And it''s not actually rted to my homework, I just want to study ahead in advance."


    Lucy dried the dishes and asked, "Don''t you have anything to do? Maybe go out like you always do?"


    "I don''t."


    A few secondster, Rudy''s phone rang.


    RING~ RING~!


    It was from Maria.


    Rudy answered the call with a "Wassup?"


    "Ruby is still not back yet. You said you would go find her if she doesn''t return by night." Rudy could feel panic in Maria''s voice.


    "Don''t worry, I am on it."


    "Thanks."


    BEEP~!


    Rudy hung up the call and saw Lucy staring at him.


    "Looks like you have something to do."


    "Yeah. I will be back in a few. Lock the doors, okay? And if I don''t return after an hour or two, call me. I promised I would help you with your studies, so I will," he asserted.


    Rudy left the house through the front door and flew away.


    Meanwhile, Ruby was sitting on the bench by the beach, watching the waves hitting the shore.


    "Don''t you feel cold?" Rudy asked.


    "...!" Ruby jolted in shock and turned around to see Rudy standing there with his hands in his pockets.


    At the same time, the wind howled loudly and sent a big wave their way. But they were at a safe distance from the sea.


    Rudy''s hair swayed with his clothes, and so did Ruby''s.


    Ruby turned her face to the sea and asked, "How did you find me?"


    "I was stalking you."


    "...."


    "Why would you run away like that if you have nowhere to go?" Rudy asked in a solemn voice.


    "I have many ces to go. I just decided to take a rest here and enjoy the wind and the sea."


    "Maria is worried about you. Do you like to make her worry?"


    Ruby bit her lips and muttered, "Whose fault do you think it is?"


    Rudy walked and sat on the bench beside Ruby.


    "You know… I had respect for you. You were so independent and cheeky for your age. But I was wrong. You are just a spoiled brat. You are no different than Maria."


    "Don''t badmouth Maria!" Ruby hissed.


    "I am not. I am stating the truth, and Maria knows it. She doesn''t get offended because she knows I am right. And it''s not even an offensive statement. Then why do you feel offended if it''s not the truth?"


    "Don''t try to confuse me with your questions! You can''t change my mind! I am not going back to that ce!"


    "Listen… Mia…"


    "Don''t call me that."


    "You are the one who asked me to call you that." After a brief pause, Rudy continued, "Now listen to me… I love Maria."


    "And ten other girls," Ruby remarked.


    "You are exaggerating."


    "Oh, am I?"


    SIGH!


    "I won''t try to exin to you as it doesn''t matter if you don''t want to understand it. So I will give you two options which would be the best for both Maria and you."


    "I am not letting you make decisions of my—"


    "I am not. But I can make decisions for Maria''s life, and she can make for mine."


    "..."


    "The first choice is simple; youe back with me and live with the other girls, or rather Maria. She would be pleased to have yourpany and know that you are safe and sound."


    "That''s not happening," Ruby immediately retorted.


    "The second choice is that you go away. You leave this ce and never show your face to Maria. Never try to meet or contact her. You can do anything you want… you can go to any part of the world and forget Maria.


    I will tell her that I couldn''t find you. She will be sad for a few days or even weeks, but she won''t miss you after that." Rudy looked at Ruby and added, "And I am serious about this. The choice is yours to make, and you don''t have time to think, so choose wisely."


    "To think that I thought you were a good person…" Ruby muttered under her breath.


    "Is it too hard to choose? If you keep on running like this, you will hurt Maria. She only wants you to be happy. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made. You have to let go of one thing to get another," he uttered in a solemn voice.


    "And what did you sacrifice, huh?" Ruby furrowed her brows at Rudy and asked, "What did you let go?"


    "...."


    "I know you are thinking of Maria''s well-being, and I want the same thing. But I am not going to be a puppet of your options. I won''t do what you want me to do. Thus, I have a better and neutral proposal that would work for both of us."


    ====


    Edited on 01/01/2023- Happy new year to everyone reading this!