Page 45 of Wild Card
She’s avoiding me. Ruby is doing everything in her power to avoid me, and it’s driving me insane. I’ve thought about fuckin’ one of these club sluts just to try and cleanse my brain of her, but every time I go to do it, something stops me.
“You good?” Zander slaps me on the back when he joins me at the clubhouse bar.
“Yeah, just wanna get this situation sorted so I can bail,” I admit.
“The drug situation… or the female situation?” he asks, raising his eyebrow at me accusingly.
“There ain’t a female situation,” I assure him, knowing he ain’t buying the shit I’m selling but refusing to get into it with him. The thoughts I got are much better in my head.
“Well, tonight is gonna be the perfect opportunity for you to let loose. It’s Wraith’s birthday, and this place is gonna be crammed full of desperate pussy.
“Wraith don’t seem like the partyin’ kind.” I glance across the room to where he sits, a few of the others surrounding him areplaying cards, but he ain’t participating, he’s just staring at the table with heavy dark eyes that look full of torment.
“Well, no, but… Any excuse.” Zander shrugs. “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Give us a chance to really suss this charter out.” He nods his head over to Cass, who stops writing in her notepad to grab him a beer.
“Not all of us judge a charter by the parties they throw.” I huff a laugh at him. I’ve never understood why Zander chose the nomad life; he’s everyone's buddy, and one of the most sociable guys I’ve ever met. Maybe he just bores easily and likes a change of scenery.
“So how do you judge this one?” He leans in closer and lowers his voice.
“I don’t. I’m not sticking around long enough to care,” I tell him, getting up and making my way over to a table where no one is sitting. I’d much rather be alone to wallow in my self-pity.
Zander wasn’t lying when he said the club would be full of desperate pussy. The place is heaving full of women all wanting to wear a Royal Bastard badge of fuckin’ honour. You can barely see across the room, for people, and the yard outside is just as crammed. Malice is manning the grill, and Zander’s taking his own advice, talking up two girls at the same time. All while the birthday boy sits in silence, drinking his beer.
“Why the long face, ya not heard that this is a party?” Hack slides into the booth beside me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. “Dude, that cute little redhead has had her eyes on you all fuckin’ night.” I can tell he’s already wasted, so I forgive him for his lack of attention to my personal space and smile at him.
“I ain’t in the mood for it,” I tell him.
“Who is ever not in the mood for pussy? Come on, man, it’s like Freshers’ Week in here when we open the clubhouse doors. Wearing the cut is a guaranteed first-class ticket to Pussyville. Look at her batting those lashes at ya…” He looks over to the redhead and raises his bottle. “She’s yours for the takin’.”
“I don’t wanna take,” I tell him firmly. I’m really starting to think that Ruby has ruined every other girl for me. No one compares to her, and it fuckin’ sucks.
“This is about our Ruby, ain’t it?” He laughs at me.
“OurRuby?” I check I heard him right.
“Hell, yeah, our Ruby! That girl is the spirit of this town; everyone knows her momma was a whore before she came here, but they all loved her, too. Ruby and Josie are good people. Good, honest, genuine people. Whole town was devastated when she died.”
“What happened to her momma?” I figure asking Hack while he’s drunk will save having to explain why I care.
“She got sick. Too stubborn to see a doctor, and by the time she did, it was all too late. Ruby nursed her through it. Never gave up hope.” He smiles sadly, making me feel guilty for killing his buzz.
“You knew her well?” I ask
“Everyone knew Josie; she came to this town lookin’ for a fresh start for her and her girl, and she changed it. Her kindness became infectious, and Ruby…she sure is somethin’. You know she spends every Friday afternoon picking up prescriptions for the elderly folk in town?” He takes a sip from his bottle. “Kinda makes you feel like ya oughta do better.” His face creases up thoughtfully.
“You know why she’s marryin’ that asshole?” I ask him.
“What? Apart from the obvious?” He chuckles.
“Ruby ain’t marryin’ Brett Porter for the money, she ain’t like that.” I shake my head, refusing to believe it.
“No, she ain’t, but Brett can offer her stability. Chicks dig the cut brother, but only when they’re lookin’ for a good time. It’s easier just to accept that as fact, and enjoy what we can.” He looks back at the redhead and winks at her.
“Is that what you're doin’ with the Porter girl, accepting you can’t have her?” I decide now is a good time to call him out on it.
“Esmé?” He throws his head back and laughs. “What makes you think that?” He doesn’t give me a chance to answer before getting up and making his way over to join the girl on the other side of the room.
I continue to sit alone, taking everything in. There's no sign of Byron or Grizz. Cass is busy working the bar with some help from the club whores, and everyone else is being sociable. Everyone except Wraith, and he’s looking like he wants company even less than I do.
