CHAPTER TEN - "I’ll never forget that."

"So who are you?" I ask him, stuffing my face with a bag of hot Cheetos from the vending machine. The irony of coming to a gym to simply eat junk food causes me to chuckle quietly under my breath. I'm sat on a window ledge, swinging my legs as I make polite conversation with Woody.

"I told you, my name is Woody."

I roll my eyes at his sarcastic response. "You know what I mean Cowboy."

He looks up from his phone, dark eyes looking slightly annoyed at me. I frown at him in return and he sighs heavily, putting his phone into his back pocket.

"Cowboy?" He questions, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms over his chest. I try an keep my eyes trained on his face so I don't drool over the muscles in his arms.

"Like Woody from Toy Story." I smirk, knowing he's probably heard this a million times before. Woody sighs heavily, letting out a small groan.

"I'm more of a Buzz Lightyear girl myself. I reckon it's because he's all shiny and brand new." I grin, licking the Cheeto's dust from the tips of my fingers.

"Oh great," Woody mutters unhappily, pushing himself off the wall and walking towards the weights in the corner of the room. He begins to tidy them up, stacking them neatly on top of each other.

"I think he's cute," I shrug my shoulders.

"Cute?" Woody questions, his back turned to me. I nod my head even though he isn't looking in my direction. "Yeah, cute. Not Buzz Lightyear kind of cute but still cute. I think it's those scrawny arms and his personality."

Woody pauses and spins around, amusement flashing through his eyes. I can see the corners of his lips twitching and I grin back at him, giving him my best smile. He suddenly flexes his right arm, one eyebrow raised at me.

"I definitely don't have the scrawny arms sweetheart," he winks before spinning back around. I watch him for a few seconds, my mouth slightly open so I quickly snap it shut.

"Hey! Don't sweetheart me!"

He chuckles under his breath before turning around, amused at my words.

"Why? Is that Daddy's pet name for his little girl?" He smirks, enjoying teasing me. At the mention of my Dad, my eyes darken and my expression turns neutral.

"Whatever," I mumble, jumping off the window ledge and heading for the door. His hand quickly wraps around my wrist, holding me back. When I turn around briefly, he's looking at me seriously, his eyes intense.

"That was a shitty thing for me to say."

"Yeah, real shitty." I snap back, yanking my wrist from his hold. He quickly grips onto it again, holding it tighter. "Wait — "

"One thing you should know about me Woody, I punch like a twenty year old guy on steroids. You should probably let go of me now." I say bluntly, ignoring the heat travelling up my arm from his touch.

I expect him to drop my hand but surprisingly, he doesn't. Instead he takes a step forward, closing the distance between us slightly.

"One thing you should know about me Ruby, your uncle practically adopted me. Which means I know how to defend myself just as good as you know how to punch." His words are low and threatening, a quiet rumble. I look up at him from under my lashes, my breathing becoming heavier by the second.

"Let - Go." I repeat, feeling my anger and adrenaline cursing through my blood. Woody stares back at me for a few seconds, his dark eyes never blinking.

"Are you going to punch me?"

His question is lined with humour and I find myself raising my eyebrows at the amount of guts this boy has. Either that or a death wish. His hold on my wrist begins to tighten until I hiss under my breath. A small victorious smirk flashes across his face and I narrow my eyes at him.

"You asshole," I mutter, already swinging my left arm back so I can strike him hard. It won't be as forceful as my right punch but it would have to do. Woody immediately drops my wrist and takes a step back but it's too late, I'm already aiming my punch for his jaw. Out of nowhere, my left arm is yanked behind my back and I'm forced to my knees. Behind me, Uncle Tobias has a tight hold, pushing me to the floor.

"Get off me!" I yell at him, wincing as I land hard on my knees.

"Calm yourself down." Uncle Tobias commands down my ear, his voice stern and low. I breathe heavily, struggling against his tight hold. In front of me, Woody is watching me with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Is this entertaining for you? Would you like to go grab some popcorn whilst you're standing there?" I snap at him, shaking my arm free from my uncles hold. I clutch it against my chest, turning around to glare at Uncle Tobias.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was me stopping you from making a mistake. Woody is like family to me Ruby, you can't hit him whenever you get angry!"

I suck in a breath, struggling to contain the anger building up inside of me.

"Woody isn't a child and I can clearly see he has a mouth of his own to defend himself! I'm your family too Uncle Tobias or have you forgotten that?" I snap at him, standing to my feet. My legs are shaking slightly but I find enough strength to stand up tall.

"I'm right here," Woody mutters, giving us both a half hearted wave.

"Not now," Uncle Tobias shoots back at him, his eyebrows knitted together with frustration. He looks back at me and sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair.

"I don't want you two attacking each other," he says quietly, his voice strained. "She started it!"

"He started it!"

Woody and I both yell out in unison and turn around to glare at each other.

"Wow, real mature kids." Uncle Tobias says sternly, giving us both a hard stare. I roll my eyes for the billionth time today and storm out of the room, wanting to put as much distance between Uncle Tobias and I.

"Asshole," I mutter under my breath, pushing open the gym doors and heading for the brick wall in front of the building. I hoist myself up on it, grunting a little from the effort. The sky is beginning to lighten completely, the sun rising to start the day off. I close my eyes and tilt my head back as far as it can go, soaking in the scent of the crisp morning air.

"Ruby."

I groan, running a hand through the long strands of my dark hair. The curls are slightly knotted and I brush them out, turning slightly to face Woody.

"Go away Cowboy."

"I'm going to pretend like you never said that," Woody murmured, climbing up to sit on the wall beside me. His legs lightly brushes mine and I turn my face away from him, focusing on the road in front of me instead.

"Do you smoke?" Woody asks me, nudging me slightly. I turn back to find him clutching a cigarette and lighter in his large hand. I scrunch my face up in disgust and shake my head.

"No way, smoking is disgusting. I find no attraction whatsoever." Woody chuckles softly, placing the cigarette inside his mouth.

"I agree with you which is why I'm trying to quit. I'm down to three a day now," he mumbles, handing me the lighter. I glance down at it with a blank expression, unsure of what to do with it.

"Light me up," he smirks slightly, gesturing at the cigarette balancing between his lips. I raise one brow at him and quickly yank it from him, jumping off the wall onto the floor.

"Hey!" He protests but I've already thrown it to the floor, stomping on it as much as I can.

"You did not just do that to my cigarette." Woody says bluntly, narrowing his eyes at me. I give him a toothy smile, shrugging my shoulders.

"Oops, silly me."

He scoffs and reaches up with his hand, running it through the front of his dark hair. The muscles in his bicep tense and I notice the little flutter inside my stomach once again. Woody shakes his head at me and jumps down effortlessly, landing right in front of me.

"You took something from me Wentworth." He says quietly, dark lashes fluttering as he blinks. He inches closer until his face is hovering in front of mine, warm breath hitting my bottom lip. He opens his mouth to speak, his words a soft whisper —

"I'll never forget that."