“I don’t care. She can touch him all she likes.” As I say this, he looks up, his eyes immediately finding mine.
“I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll see you both later.”
I don’t waste another second of my time watching as Krissy shamelessly grinds up against him as if she fucking owns him and I storm off, ready to go and hide and try to forget everything about this day.
Tears burn my eyes as I fly down the hallways, my heart pounds and my hands shake as I try to contain everything that’s threatening to burst out of me. The anger, the devastation, the regret.
I fly through the gym doors and find it as empty as it was first thing this morning before I push through the hidden office door around the corner.
As I expected, it’s empty. Miss Kelly is nowhere to be seen as usual. I slam the door behind me but despite the bang being loud, it does little to make me feel any better.
33
Ashton
Before I get a chance to push Krissy off me, a voice rings out through the team.
“Put the new boy down, Krissy. You don’t know where he’s been,” the pregnant cheerleader barks, coming to stand in front of me.
She wraps her fingers around Krissy’s upper arm and all but drags her from me.
“You,” she says, pointing right in my face. “You are playing a very dangerous game.”
My chin drops as silence surrounds us. I swear to God, the entire cafeteria is holding their breath to see what is going to happen next.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” she asks as Ruby’s two friends come to stand beside her. “So, Ruby didn’t just run out of here because this slut decided you belong to her?”
I glance at Krissy, who doesn’t even react to the insult.
“You don’t know shit about me and Ruby.”
The team moves over behind their girls, showing where their loyalty lies, not that I thought for a million years they’d stand with me when they’ve just met me, but it makes me wonder if becoming one of them is going to be a bigger mountain to climb than I first thought.
“Claim her, or let her go,” she warns, her eyes boring into mine, ensuring that I’m unable to look away. “But if you hurt her, you can bet your ass we’re all coming for you.”
Tension crackles around us as our stare holds.
Who the hell is this bitch?
“I’m Chelsea, by the way,” she says with a smirk as if she can read my mind. “And we,” she says, gesturing to herself and everyone around her. “Own this place. You make one wrong move, and you are done. Family or not. Ruby is one of us, you never have to be.”
I want to laugh at her threats. Compared to what I’ve lived through in Seattle, they are child’s play. I’m used to guys—and girls—having knives and guns and not being afraid to use them.
But something about how she narrows her eyes at me hits deeper than having any weapon waved in my face and I know it’s got everything to do with the girl they’re warning me about.
“Where is she?” I ask, assuming that they’re going to tell me to go to hell and leave her alone.
“I don’t know for sure, but I can make a good guess. Follow me.”
“Baby,” one of the guys from the team calls out before walking around the others and pulling her into his side. “I’m so fucking hot for you right now,” he whispers not so quietly in her ear.
“Really? Can you just fucking lead the way?”
They both turn on me, eyes narrowed.
“Thin fucking ice,” Chelsea growls. “Thin fucking ice.” Before she takes the guy’s hand and starts marching out of the cafeteria and expecting me to follow. Which of course I do because she’s about to lead me to Ruby.
“So this is where the magic happens then?” I ask as we step into the gym who is covered in cheerleading paraphernalia.
“Ashton,” Chelsea growls. “I might be taking you to her right now, but don’t be under any illusion that it’s because I like you, because I don’t. You hurt her and until you make it right, we’ll never be friends whether you get your ass on the team or not. My girls are my priority, and my future captain is top of that list.”
A little bit of pride washes through me as Chelsea insinuates that Ruby is going to step into her shoes in the coming months. Having watched her up on that stage over the weekend and her passion when things didn’t go their way, I have no doubt that she’ll be incredible.
Chelsea pokes her head around the corner and then nods at me.
“She’s in there. Can we trust you with her?”
“I’d never hurt her.”
Chelsea places one hand on her waist and juts her hip out.
“Not physically.” I can’t promise that whatever comes out of our mouths might not sting because we have a way of cutting each other down with words.
“We’ll be out here.”
“You don’t have to babysit us.”
“No, but we might need to beat your ass.”
I roll my eyes at her, briefly glance at her boyfriend who mostly just looks amused and turned on by her being all fired up and I turn away from them.
The second the window to the office comes into view, I see her curled up on the office chair, hugging her legs to her chest with her head on her knees.
She looks so tiny and helpless and all I want to do is pull her into my arms and tell her that everything is going to be okay.
The click of the door opening startles her, her entire body flinches as I step inside.
“Please, just leave me alone. I’m fine.”
I stare at her for a few more seconds as guilt swamps me.
I did this.
I blow out a breath as I prepare to say the words I need to say to her.
“I’m sorry, little one.”
Her head snaps up so fast I’m surprised she doesn’t hurt herself.
“Get out,” she seethes, her eyes narrowing as she looks at me.
“No, not until we’ve talked.” I close the door at my back to make a point. We’re not leaving this office until we’ve either sorted things out or killed each other. I guess only time will tell which comes first.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you, so I suggest you walk straight back out and go and find your little slut.”
“I don’t want her, Ruby.”
“Just like you didn’t want Nat? You had a funny way of showing that too.”
“I don’t...” I sigh, my hands coming up to my head.
“Nothing happened with Nat.”
“Aside from what I saw.” She raises a brow at me, uncurling herself from the chair and standing to her feet, preparing to fight.
“Y-yeah, aside from that. I made a mistake, Ruby. I was... I was lost and needed someone.”
“You had me, Ash. I was right there with you through all of it, and you pushed me away when you needed me most. You never even needed to be anywhere near her. You could have got in that car with me and we could have gone anywhere.”
“I know. I fucked up,” I admit, holding her gaze so she knows how serious I am.
I can make all the excuses I want about my state of mind that day, but at the end of the day, I fucked up. I sent away the one good thing in my life and fell back into old habits to drown out my bullshit.