Page 190 of Show Me

I stand there staring at it all. A few nights ago, this room felt safe. Like, hiding out here together solved something.

Now it feels temporary. Like I’d gotten comfortable somewhere I was never supposed to stay.

Squirt noses my calf, impatient. I kneel beside the overnight bag and start packing before I can think too hard about any of it.

By the time I step back into the living room, Ben is sitting on the couch pretending not to monitor me, obviously. “You leaving already?”

“Yeah.”

He hesitates. “You sure you’re okay staying back at your place tonight?”

My chest tightens at the question. Because honestly? No. Not really. But I can’t stay here either. “I’ll be fine.”

Ben doesn’t look convinced. Still, he nods once. “If you need anything, you call.”

“I will.” And I mean that. Ben has always been a good person.

I carry the bag back outside and load it into the car before settling Squirt into his seat and sliding behind the wheel. The drive home feels longer than usual.

When I pull into the driveway, the new window gleams as the late afternoon sun shines down on it. The house looks the same. But it doesn’t feel the same anymore.

I carry my bag inside and lock the door behind me. The silence presses in. Too quiet. Too empty.

Squirt trots toward the kitchen while I lean back against the wall, trying to steady the tight feeling in my chest. Maybe this was always going to happen.

Xavier warned me from the beginning he wasn’t someone who stayed. I was the one who started hoping this was becoming something different. I push away from the wall and move toward the kitchen.

There’s still pigs to feed. Work waiting tomorrow, whether I’m emotionally wrecked or not. Life keeps moving. And if Xavier wants me to be a friend…. That’s exactly what I’ll be.

Chapter One Hundred

Xavier

Something’s off the second I walk into the office. Ruby’s desk is empty. Chair pushed neatly in. Her computer turned off. No purse. No coffee mug. Nothing.

My stomach drops to my feet. “Where’s Ruby?”

Dad doesn’t look up from the paperwork spread across his desk. “She left.”

The words land wrong. “Left where?”

“Home, I assume.”

“When?” Ben should be there, so she should be okay.

“Couple hours ago.”

Except, what if she went to her house? A knot forms low in my gut. No. She wouldn’t have done that. Right?

Fuck. What if my stupid mouth did more than ruin things between Ruby and me? What if she’s put herself in danger by returning home? By herself. And it’s my fault.

I stare at the empty desk. “She say anything?”

Dad looks up at me over the rim of his glasses. “Wasn’t feeling well.”

That tight feeling in my gut gets worse. I rub a hand across the back of my neck. “Did she say when she’d be back?”

Dad studies me too long before leaning back in his chair. “You screw something up?”