Jessie Humphries - Killing Ruby Rose

I’d never stopped reaching out to her. I still didn’t want to let go.

“You had her heart, Ruby. Whatever she did to get you, I have no idea. I knew it was suspicious. I knew it was questionable. But I never doubted the way she felt about you. She may not have shown it well with her career taking up so much of her time, but I know she loves you.”

I wanted to believe her. The memories of that special bond Jane and I used to share still lingered. The way she held me, the way she sang to me, the way we used to be a family. But after all she had done, part of me just wanted to hate her.

“I don’t want to talk about her anymore.” I shook my head and wiped my eyes. I couldn’t hear any more of this. Maybe one day I’d forgive her, but not today. “I need some rest. No more truth for now.”

“Ah, so you remember what I told you? God offers to every soul the choice between truth and repose. I tried to warn you.”

It was true. She had tried to warn me. I hugged her, and she tightened in surprise, but I didn’t let go. I wasn’t sure words could convey my gratitude for what she’d gone through for me. But as she softened and squeezed me back, it seemed like she felt it.

“Well, I have just one more bit of truth to tell you before we rest,” she said, pulling away with a mischievous smile.

“I don’t know if I can handle one more bit, Dr. T.” I slumped into a love seat and clenched my teeth at the pain in my side. “I’m exhausted. Can’t you just bring whatever it is to me?” I made those wide kitty-cat eyes.

“Nope.” She gently raised me by my elbow. “Just trust me.”

“Fine, but this had better be good,” I said, following her outside to the deck stairs leading to the roof. “And there’d better not be any dead bodies.”

Looking sad, she shook her head at me.

The salty sea air replaced the tinge of black oil from Grissom Island lingering inside me. The crashing waves drowned out the residue of noise in my mind. It was like Dr. T was using her voodoo powers to heal me.

I reached the top, and she finally let go. Behind the licking flames of the rooftop fire pit, two familiar faces lit up, and my heart skipped a beat.

The boppy curls of my best friend, Alana, and the shaggy locks of the only guy who’d ever broken into my heart, Liam. My eyes fluttered between the two. I couldn’t decide who I wanted to run to first—if I could run without my side tearing open.

“It’s cool,” Liam said, sliding his hand behind Alana’s back. As though chivalry wasn’t dead, he nudged her forward. “I can wait.”

Alana came toward me with her arms outstretched. But now that I was looking, she had a small box in her hands—chocolate.

“Thought you might need some of this,” she said grinning. “It’s not your fancy European stuff, just some of my mom’s chocolate-covered macadamias from her stash.”

“It’s perfect,” I said. And it was.

Both of us took a deep breath, bracing ourselves for the lame girlie cry about being happy it was over. Instead, our eyes seemed to have a whole conversation on their own. She said she was proud of me. I said I couldn’t have done it without her. She said she missed me. I said I missed her more.

“Thanks for coming—you have no idea how much this means to me.” I squeezed her. “You guys are all I’ve got now.” I didn’t even know if I’d ever see Big Black or Gladys and the Pips again. Which I told myself was OK since I had the three of them. People not things. Dr. T would be so proud.

“That’s not true.” Alana pulled away. “You have millions of supporters.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Rubik’s Cube, the whole nation is on your side. Sure, you have your share of critics, those far-right fanatics and the hard-left lunatics…but you’re kind of the Taylor Swift of justice. At least that’s what this week’s issue of Teen People is calling you. You should see the Santa Claus–sized bag of your fan mail downstairs.”

“Fan mail?” That didn’t sound right.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about dropping out of school and becoming your publicist or manager or something. So far, every single major news channel has contacted me to get an interview with you. I don’t know why they called me, exactly. Maybe because they found out we were besties…but, Ruby, you wouldn’t believe how much money they’re offering.”

I glanced at Liam. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and was smiling at Alana’s energy. I honestly didn’t want to hear what the nation thought of me. Or how much money they’d give me to continue keeping the truth from them. I just wanted to go to him.

“Come on, Alana,” Dr. T said, suddenly at her side. “Let’s go get that bag of fan mail sorted and let Liam and Ruby have a minute, shall we?”

Alana’s excitement bubble popped. “Sure, of course,” she said, taking in the way Liam and I were looking at each other. “Awkward,” she chimed to Dr. T.

“We’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to come down,” Dr. T said, leading the way.

As soon as Alana’s head dipped out of sight, I turned back to Liam, and suddenly he was holding me, pulling me in, like we couldn’t get close enough.

I nestled my head in his chest and let his heartbeat tell me what I wanted to know as I breathed in his minty-fresh smell. I hoped I didn’t smell like hospitals or death.

“Ruby Rose, I missed you,” he whispered in my ear. The goose bumps fired across my neck, with every hair standing at attention under his warm breath.

“I don’t even know what to say.” I pulled away to look up into his eyes. “I’m so sorry for dragging you into all of this…and for what my mom did to you…and the media—”

“Stop,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about any of that right now. All I want to do is be with you.” He held my face in his hands.

“Does your mom know you’re here? Tug and Christian must hate my guts.”

“She knows I’m here,” he said with a wide smile. “And no, they think you’re amazing. They don’t know the whole story, of course, but they know enough to understand how brave you were.”

“The whole story, huh?” The thought of explaining the whole story made me tired. “Where do I start?” I asked.

“I already know everything,” he replied. “I pried it out of Dr. Teresa. I hope you don’t mind that she broke that doctor-patient confidentiality thing…and that whole CIA-sworn-to-secrecy thing. She thought I deserved to know that the guy I supposedly killed is the one who did all of this to you.”

“No, of course I don’t mind. I think sacrificing your life to save hers and mine earned you a pass to know what really happened,” I assured him.

He smiled. “Anyway, she told me about your bio mom and bio dad. Man, I didn’t see that coming.”

“Me neither.” Though my split-personality theory made a lot more sense now. Martinez set me up to hurt me, and Damon cleaned up behind us to protect me.

Talking about it drained me all over again. It must’ve shown all over my face, because Liam grabbed my hand and led me to a lounge chair by the fire.

“Come on, you need to rest,” he said, helping me lie down. He grabbed a blanket, slid in behind me, and covered our bodies chin to toe. The ocean breeze swirled around us, making the fire bend.

The horizon was no longer brilliant shades of primary colors. Instead, it had faded to a navy blue, with wisps of silver outlining the clouds. Again, it felt like someone was creating this piece of art just for me. Here was my silver lining: Liam.

As we watched the last traces of light dip into the dark waters, I twisted to face him. The only thing that could have made Liam’s lips any more tempting was if they were dipped in chocolate.