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Ruby: I’m off the call with my mom. I’m just going to go to bed. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
Her phone buzzed with a response almost immediately and when she looked at the message, she saw it was Zane who responded.
Zaddy: What’s wrong, baby? We can come get you and take you home with us.
Letting out a sigh, she typed a response back and then lay down on the stiff couch.
Ruby: I just need to sleep now. I’ll talk to you in the morning. I’m fine.
Turning her phone to silent, she dropped it onto the ridiculously expensive coffee table and closed her eyes, fading off to a fitful sleep.
The sound of her intercom buzzing repeatedly woke her. Blinking her eyes open, she squinted toward the floor to ceiling windows. It was ridiculously bright outside, which was completely opposite from the mood she was waking up in.
When the intercom buzzed loudly again, she groaned and scrambled off the couch to go answer it.
“Yeah?” she asked.
“Miss Montgomery, there are two men here to see you by the names of Jace and Zane. May I send them up?” Andrew, the daytime lobby attendant, asked.
Letting out a sigh, she leaned her forehead against the wall.
“Miss Montgomery?” Andrew asked when she didn’t answer him.
Tapping the button on the device, she finally spoke. “You can send them up, Andrew. Thank you.”
She stood near the door to her apartment fidgeting. Were they mad at her because she didn’t go to their house the night before? Was she in trouble? Were they there to break up with her? Would they take one look at her apartment and decide she was, in fact, a spoiled little rich girl?
A swift knock on the door made her jump and she rushed to open it. As soon as the door swung open, Zane stepped in and swept her up from the floor, holding her tightly against him.
“We’ve been so fucking worried about you, baby. What happened with your mom?” Zane demanded.
Jace stood looking around the apartment with a look of distaste. “This is where you live? They make you live here? They didn’t even let you decorate it and put your own style into it?”
Huh.
Wrapping her arms around Zane’s neck, she let out a sob and then another one. He strode over to the couch and sat, Jace coming to sit beside them.
“What happened, baby?” Jace said more gently, reaching over to grab her hand.
She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she continued crying for a long time until she felt completely drained again. Sitting limply in Zane’s arms, she rested her head on his chest as he stroked her back.
“Oh, baby girl. Fuck. I hate that you’re so sad. Talk to us, please. You’re killing us right now,” Zane finally said.
“My mom wants me to cut my hair off for their party. She said I look like a lazy hippie and that she would schedule a haircut appointment for me at her salon and she is sending a dress for me to wear which I know I’ll hate so much. And then she told me that if I embarrass them in any way or don’t show up, they will cut me off completely because why should they pay for my expenses if I don’t make them look good.”
To her surprise, Jace let out a string of colorful curse words as he sprang off the couch and started pacing the room. Zane didn’t say anything, but his hold on her tightened and she could feel him clench his jaw as it rested on top of her head.
“I was so upset last night after I got off the phone with her that I was exhausted and ended up having a panic attack. I just needed to sleep,” she whispered.
“You slept in your clothes, baby girl? Did you sleep out here?” Zane asked, looking at the throw blanket she’d used to cover herself through the night.
She nodded. “I was too tired to move.”
Realizing she still hadn’t gone potty, she began to squirm as she realized how full her bladder was.
“What’s wrong?” Jace asked, suddenly staring at her.
“I need to go to the bathroom. I was still sleeping when you guys got here. What time is it?” she asked.
