Maybe it was better this way. Since his accident, her father had withdrawn into himself, so mired in his depression that he threw the love she and her mother gave him back in their faces. Maybe this was a sign that Drew was headed down the same path. And she definitely didn’t need two people like that in her life.
So ending their relationship was a good thing.
A. Good. Thing.
If only her heart could be as rational as her head.
A knock on the door pulled her away from her thoughts. “Ruby, are you in there?” Blake called.
She really didn’t want to speak to anyone and was tempted to ignore his knock, except knowing Blake, he’d look inside to check and then moan at her for not answering.
“Yes,” she replied.
The door opened, and he poked his head around it.
“Mom wants you to get the plates out and set the table for dinner.”
Ruby’s mom always insisted they eat together in the evening. No TV dinners for them but always a proper sit-down meal, with no phones and plenty of conversation. Not that her dad ever joined in, but at least he sat with them for the meal.
“I’m not hungry,” she said.
Blake walked into the room and closed the door behind him. “What’s wrong?”
His concern surprised Ruby, since they’d hardly spoken recently. Which was something else for her to feel bad about. She’d been keeping her distance a bit so that she didn’t accidentally say something about Drew and upset him even more.
“Nothing.” She glanced at him and then looked back at the ceiling.
She felt the mattress sink as Blake sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. “Truth. Even I can see you’ve been crying.”
Ruby desperately wanted to confide in him. They’d always told each other nearly everything in the past. Plus, if he knew that it was over between her and Drew, maybe he wouldn’t mind so much. She sat up and swung her legs around, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“You’re right. I have been crying.” She sniffed.
Blake leaned across and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, giving them a squeeze. “Tell me.”
“Okay, but don’t get mad.” She started picking at an imaginary piece of fuzz on her white comforter.
“Why would I get mad?” He shook his head.
“You won’t be happy.”
“Just tell me,” Blake replied, starting to sound exasperated.
Gently shaking off his arm, she stood up and walked over to her desk. She leaned against it so she was facing Blake and could gauge his reaction. “I’ve been dumped.”
The words stuck in her throat, and tears welled in her eyes again. She blinked them away, wondering if she’d ever get over it.
“I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone. Who is it? Do you want me to punch him in the face?”
A hollow laugh escaped Ruby’s lips at the thought of Blake punching anyone in the face. He wasn’t violent by any stretch of the imagination. Then again, he’d probably want to do more than that when he found out the truth.
“No. I don’t want you to do anything, thanks.” She took a step toward the door, involuntarily mapping out an escape in case things got more awful than she thought. “Drew. It’s Drew.”
She shuddered as Blake’s dark eyes went black and his face turned as red in anger as hers did when she was embarrassed. She’d never seen him look like that, ever. She instantly regretted telling him and wished she could take it back, except now it was too late.
“You’ve been seeing Drew Scott?” He enunciated every syllable, his tone cold and deliberate.
A shiver ran down Ruby’s spine. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole. Anything to get her away from the tirade of abuse which she suspected was just about to come from Blake’s mouth. “Yes.” She could barely make her voice go above a whisper.
“After everything he did. You went behind my back and went out with him?” His icy tone was scaring the crap out of her. She couldn’t face getting into a full-on fight with him.
“It wasn’t like that,” she pleaded while clenching her fists by her side.
“Really? From where I’m standing, that’s exactly what it’s like. You’ve put your feelings for that little shit above your own family. What sort of a sister are you?”
His words stung so bad, she was stunned into silence. She’d never deliberately done anything to hurt anyone in her family. She leaned against the closet for support and wrapped her arms tightly around her middle.
“He’s sorry, Blake. He’s really, really sorry,” she said. “He seemed so alone, I just wanted to be nice to him when we got assigned to the same science project group. And then…I don’t know.” She shrugged and focused on the floor.
She hated that she seemed like a pathetic mess, but how could she try and explain her actions, when she’d known all along the effect they would have had on Blake once he’d found out? Maybe he was right. She did put her feelings for Drew above everyone else’s. So she deserved everything she had coming to her.
He started pacing across her room, restless and angry. “I don’t get you, Ruby. I really don’t get you. You know what he did to me, and yet you chose to ignore it. You think Mom’s going to approve of what you did when she finds out?”
“She already knows…” Ruby slammed her hand in front of her mouth, smothering her remaining words. The last thing she wanted to do was get her mother involved. “I mean…”
Before she could finish, Blake flung open her door and stormed out of her room. She could hear his footsteps as they thumped down the hallway, and then his bedroom door slammed shut.
Ruby dropped to the floor, wrapped her arms around her knees, and sobbed.
Drew sat on the bleachers watching the football team practice. He used to be on the team but hadn’t bothered to rejoin since returning to school. It would be impossible, anyway, with his burns; he’d be in agony every time someone tackled him. He missed playing, though.
Missed the adrenaline rush.
Missed the camaraderie.
Missed feeling normal.
Blood pounded in his temples, and he turned to walk away. No way did he want to go home yet because he knew his mom would be there, so he decided to go to the library to do his homework instead.
As he walked along the outside of the main school building, heading toward the side entrance, his stomach plummeted as he caught sight of Ruby and Tiffany walking in his direction. Even though he was the one to end their relationship, it didn’t make coming to terms with it any easier. He still wanted to be with her. To do everything a normal couple would do.
But that wasn’t gonna happen. Because they were far from being a normal couple. He had no right to contaminate Ruby’s life and stop her from being happy.
He’d managed to avoid Ruby all day. Not that he thought she’d make a scene, he just didn’t want to distress her. Then again, the way she was talking and laughing with Tiffany, she seemed to be dealing with their breakup just fine. Maybe he was the only one who found it hard.
She didn’t seem to have noticed him, until she got to within a few yards in front of where he was walking, and then she said something to Tiffany that he couldn’t hear. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Ruby turned abruptly to the side and walked away, with Tiffany following.
Drew stopped dead in his tracks. “Ruby,” he called out before he could check himself.
“Leave her alone,” a voice growled from behind.
Drew swung his head around and saw Blake and his friend Tom advancing on him.
His jaw clenched. “I was only saying hello,” he retorted, annoyed that Blake had caught him in this situation.
“Well, don’t bother. You can see she’s not interested in talking to you.” Blake’s eyes narrowed, and from the way his fists were clenched by his sides, Drew braced himself for a hit. It wasn’t like Blake to get violent, but then again, Blake had never blamed someone for the death of his girlfriend before. Drew knew that if Blake took a swing at him, he’d just take the punch. Blake deserved at least one chance to lay one on him.