Page 35 of Because I Liked A Boy
“See. Progress.”
I open my mouth to retort, but the office door slams.
“Fuck you.” Ruby’s voice is ragged and furious as she barrels past us, tears streaking down her cheeks.
Instinct kicks in. I wrench free of Hunter and reach for her. “Ruby.”
She stumbles into me, clutching my arm like it is the only thing holding her up. Mascara streaks down her face, her chest heaving, eyes wild with betrayal. “I cant Belle, I just want to leave.”
Hunter is already moving, keys in hand, but Ruby’s grip tightens like iron and she pulls me toward the exit. “Not with him,” she snaps, voice cracking. “I do not want to be around fuckboys right now.”
The words hang sharp in the air. Hunter’s jaw flexes, but he does not fight it. He stands there and watches as Ruby drags me out, offeringsilence where he would usually give fire.
Ruby’s nails bite into my skin as she yanks me toward the door. Her chin is high, unbroken even as she trembles.
“Ruby.” Theo’s voice booms behind us, desperate and cracking. “Ruby, wait.”
She does not. Her pace doubles, boots slamming against concrete like she is trying to stomp the sound of him out of the world.
“Don’t you dare,” she shouts over her shoulder, every word cutting the lot in half. “Do not you dare say a word to me, Theo. You had your chance this morning. You do not get another.”
Theo bursts out of the office with a rag in his hand and grease smeared across his jaw. He looks frantic and pleading, nothing like the composed arrogance he wears at work.
“Ruby, please,” he tries again, voice strangled. “Just let me explain.”
She spins so fast I nearly collide with her. Fury and heartbreak fight in every breath. “Explain what? That I was nothing? That you cannot even send a text? No. I do not need explanations. I need distance.”
Her grip finds my hand again, harder this time, and she drags me toward the daylight.
Behind us I hear Hunter’s boots move, steady and measured. He is not chasing Ruby. He closes around my wrist and pulls me back a fraction so I do not trip on Ruby’s momentum. His eyes flick to Theo, then back to me.
“Let him go after her,” he says, low and certain. “You are not getting draggedinto their fire.”
My chest tears in two. Ruby is breaking. Theo is begging. Hunter’s hand is the only solid thing left.
Theo pushes forward, voice raw. Hunter shifts and steps between us and the chaos, positioning himself like a wall.
“Isabella, look at me,” he murmurs, drawing my gaze back to his. “What do you need right now?”
The truth claws out before I can dress it up. “I don’t know.”
Ruby rips her hand from mine and storms down the street, Theo right behind her, shouting and pleading. Their words blur into the traffic. Please, Ruby, listen. Then her reply, fractured and furious. I am not some game to you.
I freeze on the pavement, torn between running after them and standing where Hunter holds me. Hot tears spill before I can stop them.
Hunter tilts my chin up and brushes the wetness away like he has every right to. His touch is steady and it anchors me. “Hey. Do not do that. Do not let their mess tear you up too.”
“But she is my friend. I cannot just—”
“You are here,” he says, firm and soft at once. “That is enough.”
Ruby’s voice splinters again in the distance. Theo curses after her. My body jolts like if I do not move I will shatter.
Hunter does not let me. He curls my hand into his and presses his car keys into my palm. “Get in the car, Princess. I am taking you home.”
Fuel To The Fire
The drive is quiet, my forehead pressed to the cool glass, Hunter’s hand never leaving my knee. Silence fills the car but it isn’t empty. It hums—the low growl of the engine, the blink-blink of the indicator at a red light, the faint squeak of leather when he shifts in his seat. All of it wraps around me, steady and grounding.
