Chapter Ninety-Nine
Ruby
I stare at the same invoice for nearly five minutes before realizing I haven’t typed a single thing. It feels like my heart has been stabbed, knife twisted and yanked back out.
My fingers hover uselessly over the keyboard. Every time I try to focus, my brain drifts back to the job site. Lindsey’s voice. Xavier’s words.
She’s a friend. My stomach twists again. Part nausea. Part disgust. At myself.
Of course that’s what this always was. That’s what he told me from the beginning. No labels. Nothing serious. No expectations.
I was the one who started pretending those rules didn’t apply to us anymore. The worst part wasn’t even Lindsey. It was how easy the words came out of Xavier’s mouth. How honest and unwavering he was.
I press my palm against my stomach as another wave of nausea rolls through me. “Seriously?” I mutter under my breath while trying to force my attention back to the screen one more time. Numbers blur together.
The office door snaps open a second later and I stifle a gasp. Shit. My heart thumps against my ribs as Xavier’s dad steps inside carrying a clipboard.
He pauses when he sees me. “You alright?”
I blink and straighten in the chair. “Yeah.”
He studies me for a moment longer than I’d like. “You look pale.”
“A smell at the vet clinic got to me earlier today.” That part is at least true. I’m not about to tell him what a mess things are with his son. I don’t need another person feeling sorry for me.
He grunts. “Animals do that sometimes.”
“Apparently.” I try to smile. It feels stiff.
My gaze drifts around the office instead. The neat stacks of paperwork. The smell of fresh lumber. It feels safe here. Or it did. But the thought of sitting across from Xavier tomorrow pretending none of today happened feels impossible.
I swallow hard before speaking. “I think I’m going to head out early.”
His brows lift. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I’m not feeling great.” Again… true. Just not completely.
“Alright.”
No interrogation. No pressure. No pushing. Another reason I like him. He respects people when they need space.
“Get some rest,” he says.
“I will.” I grab my bag before I can second-guess myself.
The drive across town passes in a blur.
By the time I pull into the driveway at Xavier’s house, I haven’t figured out what I’m going to say if he’s home.
Thankfully, Ben answers the door instead. “Ruby?” Concern flashes across his face. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” That word is doing a lot of heavy lifting today. “I came to grab my stuff.”
Ben steps aside. “Sure.”
The house is quieter than usual. No TV. No yelling from the kitchen. No Xavier. Relief and disappointment twist together painfully in my chest.
Ben watches me walk toward the hallway. “You need help with anything?”
“No.” I hesitate for half a second before adding, “Thanks, though.”
His expression softens. “Of course.”
I barely make it halfway down the hall before I hear the familiar shuffle of little hooves on hardwood. “Hey, Squirt.”
He rounds the corner at an awkward trot, ears perked, tail swishing so hard his whole back end wiggles. He bumps into my shin with a happy grunt before circling my feet once, waiting for the scratches he expects every time I come home.
My throat tightens. I crouch, rubbing behind his ears. “Hi, sweetheart.”
He looks up at me like he’s waiting for whatever comes next.
“Yeah,” I whisper, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “We're leaving, and I have no idea what comes next.”
I clip his leash onto his harness before pushing open Xavier’s bedroom door. The room looks exactly the way it did this morning. The blankets tangled near the foot of the bed.
My phone charger plugged into the wall. The drawer he’d cleared out for me hanging open.
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.