Colder than ice

'Acceptance is the key, to be truly free.'

Monday 6th April 2037

'Remind me how we got roped into having everyone here?' Ruby asks her mum, jumping up on the side of the work surface. 'Like I don't really see why we have to do this?' The older woman shrugs, putting the pizzas in the oven, and opening a bag of salad, clearly in an attempt to look like she's made an effort.

'Nor do I sweet pea.' She smiles at her old nickname. 'I have things I'd rather be doing, but it's important to your dad, so it's important to us.' She rolls her eyes, grabbing the hoodie from the breakfast bar stool and tying it around her waist. 'Are you going to put socks on?'She looks down at her child's attire, she looks pretty.

'No.' She flicks her curly hair to the other shoulder and then looking to her mum. 'I am wearing this.' She tells her defiantly. She's wearing a plain t-shirt, and tracksuit bottoms.' They aren't the stereotypical tracksuit bottoms, these are the ones that look like she should have come back off a trip from Bali or somewhere. To complete the look, she has an ankle bracelet and red toenails. When she first saw her daughter ankle bracelet, she was confused, but her daughter seems to wear it every day, and she quite likes it now. 'I like this.'

'I like it too, I was just wondering.' She smiles at her daughter. 'Surely your feet are cold?' Her daughter rolls her eyes, running her hand through her dyed blonde hair.

'Are they all coming?' She's talking about her cousins, whom she doesn't really like that much.

'Yeah.' The younger girl lets off a groan.

'Ava's okay, Ella is just all over me.' She sighs, looking down at her phone and smirking. Sometimes Dianne wonders what's so funny, but  she's not sure if she will like the answer. 'She thinks we are friends or something.' Dianne rolls her eyes, all the adults are aware of the way Ella idolises her cousin, the five of them have an okay relationship. The closest pair is Theo and Ella, and Ava and Maddie get on okay. Ella always tries to get Ruby to join in with her, but the student doesn't really join in.

The knock at the door symbolises that their guests are here. Ruby frowns as she hears everyone pile into the kitchen, slapping on a smile as she has the obligatory hugs from her aunt and uncle and grandad. Her cousins come through too and bringing up the rear is her siblings.

'So Ruby, how is uni?' The young woman smiles brightly, 'I heard you joined a sports team?'

'Amazing.' She beams. 'Yeah, I'm on the women's hockey 1st team.' She gushes, 'And I'm on the cheerleading team.' She smiles, none of them notice but the hoodie reads that she is on the hockey team.

'And where did you go during reading week?' Her dad asks, coming over with the drinks. 'That I paid for.'

'Oh, I went skiing in the alps.' She reaches out for the lone glass of tap water, the other glasses being filled with either a fizzy drink, or an alcoholic drink. 'With the snow team.'

'Oooh fancy, how was that?' She nods, reaching out for her phone, to show them the photos she took.

'It was amazing.' They start talking to Theo as she turns around to find her cousin next to her, smiling. 'Oh, hi Ella.' They make small talk,

'Why do you only drink water?' Her cousin asks, eyeing her glass up suspiciously. 'You did it at Christmas too.' She pauses for a moment, before squealing, 'Oh my god, are you pregnant?' The whole room falls silent, all eyes on the eldest grandchild, who is now rolling her eyes. Of course, that's the first conclusion her brat of a cousin would jump too.

'Good god no.' She looks over to her mum and dad, her eyes reassuring them. 'I drink water because I don't drink when I'm home' She tells everyone. 'That way my liver can breathe.' Dianne smiles at her daughter, she had questioned it at Christmas. 'I am most certainly not pregnant.' She tells everyone, once again for good measure. She walks over to her mum, linking their hands together, as her mum throws her a sympathetic look. She can see that Ella has gone to bother her younger brother, the pair disappearing off, probably going to play the latest video game. Ava and Maddie had also disappeared somewhere. 'Well that was awkward.' She mutters, watching her mum stifle a laugh.

'I know sweet pea.' Zoe comes up to join them. Ruby then proceeds to fill her aunt in about her life at university, about the amount of nights out she's had at university.

'I remember the thrill of going on a night out.' Her dad comes up behind her, kissing his daughters head. 'Oh my god, there was so many.'

'In Bath?' His daughter raises her eyebrows, as the pair nods. 'I mean.' She grins, she had been on nights out in Bath, but they couldn't beat the university nights out in Birmingham.

'Slam Thursdays were good.' Joe smiles. 'That was at.' He pauses for thought, pulling the face that his daughter pulls when she's thinking. Clearly an acquired gene, if face pulling can be considered on. 'Was it third bridge?' Zoe wracks her brain. 'Second bridge, that was it.'

'Yeah it was. Near the station, right?' Dianne answers, the pair of them going on many nights out before they hand Ruby.

'Oh, I don't think I ever went there.' His sister tells him.

'Nah Zoe, you never went on a night out. We had great fun.' Ruby snorts a little. 'Got anything to say Ruby?' She shrugs.

'You and mum were together.' She tells them, 'It's not as fun.'

'And what's that got to do with anything?' She shrugs, her parents clearly not getting the reference. She isn't sure if she should explain it, but she's being watched, and she feels pressured into explaining.

'I mean I don't do this.' She lies to her parents, not that she thinks they believe her, but she feels as though she needs to tell them this. 'But when we go to a club, we have a competition on who can pull the most.'

'Ruby Amelia Sugg I did not need to know that.' Her dad exclaims, as her grandad is laughing.

'Not saying I do it dad.' He frowns at her. 'I'm the responsible one.' In hindsight, this memory would resurface again for all members involved. Each of them at a different time, it would be at the forefront of their memories soon after she died. The line, 'I'm the responsible one,' haunting them. They would never know if this was true or not, no one would be able to know the truth, the accident suggests that this was a blatant lie, bit factoring everything else in, it is also plausible that this is the truth. Now, they would never know.

A/N Thoughts???