𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 - (sequel to 𝐂𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐍 - 𝐕𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐑

-012-

-Liz POV-

I'd been washing dishes late at night, because i couldn't sleep. Vance came downstairs. "You're washing the dishes?"

"Yep!" I smiled at him, finishing a plate.

"It's almost midnight."

"I'm almost done."

"We talked about this...overworking could seriously hurt your health."

"So could smoking..." I mumbled.

"Heyyy. I stopped."

"You're right." I sighed, drying the wet plate. "How does overworking hurt you? Just gives you lack of energy is all..."

"Heart disease."

"Don't you have that?"

"I have lung cancer. Completely different."

"Don't remind me..." I frowned. He'd gotten kind of better so far, I think the medicine is working.

"Is Ruby in bed right now? I was gonna sneak in a new guitar and bracelets she'd been wanting for a while..." he asked.

I shrugged. "I think so. If she went out she never came inside, but if she did then I probably wasn't home for it."

"Alright..." He sighed, heading upstairs.

I put all the dishes away, then began wiping the table.

"Liz."

I looked up from the table, giving him another smile. "Mhm?"

"Ruby isn't in her bed."

My smile faded. "Maybe she snuck out again...I'm gonna kill her."

"Nope, the rave is closed tonight. They're renovating the place."

"Friend's house?"

"She would've told us."

"Maybe she snuck out this time." I pulled the phone off the wall, dialing her friend's house number. Her mother answered not too long after.

"Luce! Sorry to bother you so late at night, but we can't find Ruby and we were hoping she'd be over at your house?" I leaned against the counter.

"No, she hasn't. The rest of the girls are having a sleepover but Ruby said she didn't want to go. She said she felt too tired to do anything and went home. Did she not call you?"

My stomach dropped and my voice shook as I responded. "No, no she didn't."

"I would try and call Mae. She works at the 7-11, maybe she knows something."

I nodded. "Alright, I will. Thanks, Luce."

"Of course, Ellie! Have a nice night, stay safe?"

"I will. You too, Luce."

"Night."

"Night." I hung up, then called Mae, but Ruby isn't at the store either. Vance had already been panicking. He stormed out of the house as soon as I told him Mae hadn't seen her all day.

"Vance wait!" I zipped up my jacket, for once, it had been freezing cold in California. And I meant Colorado cold.

"Mhm?" He turned, his eyes widened with anxiety.

"Look, maybe she's hiding somewhere?"

"Liz I can't-...I can't do this. I promised myself Ruby wouldn't end up like- it wouldn't...it wouldn't happen again. Not with my kid."

"She won't. She's probably hiding or maybe she went to stay at Jack's."

He looked away. "Jack would tell me if Ruby headed over there."

"Katie?"

"Katie too."

"Vance..."

"Something happened, liz."

"We're gonna find Ruby."

We didn't. Months passed, no sign of Ruby. The whole family helped. Till finally, we looked at the one building we never checked. It looked abandoned, old...the paint was torn off and the bricks were all dirty and moldy. I went inside with Vance, but the place was empty.

I looked around, then stumbled upon a random guy. His hair looked overgrown and he had a beard. He looked like he hadn't been outside in years.

"May I help you?" He groaned.

"Sorry...We're looking for our daughter and-"

"Not here." He said automatically.

"Well, can we at least look?"

"No."

I blinked. He looked suspicious. We decided we'd leave it alone for now, then went back home.

I walked to the kitchen to grab a snack, then Vance sat on the couch to watch TV for hours again, like always. He's done this since Ruby went missing. It consisted of mostly cassettes of them together. I don't think he ever cried...Nevermind. Make that one time. He cried right then.

"Vance?" I sat next to him.

I looked at the TV, and it was Ruby. Her curled, dirty blonde-purple hair and an old guitar, playing in what seemed to be her bedroom.

"I taught her how to play..." he mumbled, frowning.

Cassette-1995-

She finished the little song she played, then looked at the camera. She flipped it off, then Vance laughed.

"Ruby!" I groaned.

"Whattt? I always do that."

"Good job. Pretty soon you'll be the lead guitarist in a band."

"Yayy!" She smiled, putting her guitar away.

Cassette 2-1993-

Vance had been secretly recording the whole thing, to make a fun video with it.

"Ruby will be suspended for three days. Please get your daughter under control." The principal folded her hands in front of her.

"We will. We will punish her greatly when we get home." Vance said, then the video switched to the grass. The camera lifted onto Ruby's face.

"You recording this?" Ruby smirked.

"Yes. So, fight, huh?" Vance said from behind the camera.

"Yeah."

"Did you win?"

"Vance!" I hissed in the video.

He laughed.

"Yeah. She was just saying stuff..."

"Good job. Wanna get ice cream after?"

"Yeah!"

I shook my head, facepalming in the video. Then the video cut out.

-1997-

Vance stared at the TV, expressionless and zoned out like always. Which wasn't healthy. I rested my head on his shoulder, and watched the rest with him.