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It’s snaking down my arm in ribbons and dripping down my now dirty jeans.
Farrah materializes behind me. “For God’s sake, Scarlett. Are you okay?”
I turn to face her and expect to meet a pair of concerned eyes, but instead, her cheeks are flaming, her gaze cutting into Joanna.
Joanna?
Farrah grips my elbow and turns me toward the house. “I saw that, Joanna.”
Everyone around us looks to her.
Joanna doesn’t know what to say, so she blushes. Sips her drink and turns around.
“The little cunt tripped you,” she explains, loud enough for everyone to hear. And they honestly seem more appalled by that than Joanna tripping me.
“Ruby!” she calls to the left of us.
She doesn’t answer, but Farrah must have her attention because she says, “We need you, honey.” And I guess Ruby is on her way because Farrah turns her attention back to me. “I can’t believe she did that.”
I would have never known how I tripped if she wouldn’t have seen it. “Thank you,” I say, my voice more fragile than I like. I don’t know why it shook me up so bad.
The blood.
It’s all the blood.
The last time I saw this much…
Farrah tightens her hold on my arm to keep me steady, and by the time we make it to the kitchen door, a butler is waiting for us and wraps a towel around my hand. Ruby shoulders her way in front of us, between us and the butler, and grasps my shoulder, assessing the damage. “What the hell happened?"
“Joanna,” Farrah says flatly, picking stray grass blades out of my hair.
Ruby scoffs. “I don’t know why Mom still invites her to these things.” She meets my eyes. “Anything else hurt?”
I shake my head. Just my pride.
“Let me take a look.” Slowly, she peels away the towel, and though it looks like absolute carnage to me—blood rolling out of the tiny cuts, a long one near my wrist bone, shards of glass and dirt mingled in with glossy red—it doesn’t seem to faze her.
I, however, start to feel queasy.
She quickly covers it back up. “Thank you, Farrah. I’ll take it from here.”
Footsteps approach from behind, and I immediately recognize the perfume as it wafts over us. Magnolia. “What on earth happened?”
“She’s fine,” Ruby clips. “Did someone get Nanna?” She doesn’t say it lovingly. She says it like she’s had enough of the crazy old lady’s shit. Maybe this isn’t the first time she’s tried to make a getaway with Harris.
Is she crazy, though? Or just a concerned mother? Like Preston was concerned last night about Ruby doping Harris up. Ruby did seem awfully defensive.
Or, maybe I’m just getting desperate to find anything I can for Claudia. But first…the blood.
My knees start to quiver, and I lean into Farrah. “Do we need to call an ambulance or something?” Farrah says.
“She’ll be fine,” Ruby replies. “Let’s get her inside.” She then grasps my upper arm with more care than I ever thought her capable and motions for the butler to open the door.
We start forward.
“Farrah, dear,” Magnolia says. “Can you come with me?”
“I’ll stay with Scarlett,” she replies.
