Chapter One
Ruby
“I’ll get you a lawyer! Don’t say a fucking word!” Reid yells as Caleb is placed in the police car. Everything about this feels surreal, like it’s a huge fucking nightmare and I can’t seem to wake up.
Sienna has been hysterical since the second it happened and it’s clear Caleb isn’t the only one suffering from the effects of their lives growing up. All three of them are struggling with what happened and the similarity of what has just gone down with Professor Keller and what happened when they were back home in Rhode Island. The parallel of events is weighing heavy on all of us.
Reid has taken control of the situation, ordering Sie and I into the truck, and as if we’re on autopilot, we both do it. The sirens continue to blare and a few police officers remain at the scene. It’s not a scene; it’s not a fucking crime scene knowing what happened here. It’s the alleyway of our house, a place we were supposed to feel safe, but all of that has been violated by Professor Keller and his stalking.
Everything makes so much sense now: the trash can constantly being knocked over, the sound of someone lurking in the night and the silver Audi that nearly ran me over. I search my memory for anything else that I brushed off as nothing, but now realize was far from it.
My brain feels cloudy and heavy, and no matter what I do, all I can picture is what would’ve happened had Caleb not caught Professor Keller outside the window. Would he have broken into the house? It was just Sie and I home, but luckily Reid came home at the right time. Without him to stop Caleb I don’t know how far things would have gone.
As soon as I sit down in the truck, I break down. Away from the prying eyes of the officers and detectives, the sobs come hard and fast.
“You both need to pull it together,” Reid tells us, his voice firm, but he still reaches back and rests a comforting hand on my knee, while pulling Sie close to him. “They’re going to need to get statements from us…”
Reid continues talking, but it’s like a blur of words and noise that I can’t comprehend. I’m a fucking adult and I should be able to handle this, but I suddenly feel like this is beyond my realm of understanding. I want to call my parents. I want to beg my dad to come here and help me, help Caleb.
“My dad’s a lawyer,” I announce, like Reid and Sienna don’t already know this. “I should call him.” I nod my head furiously, like this should’ve been the first thing I did before the police even rolled up.
“Call him, Ruby,” Reid affirms, but then adds, “He’s a corporate lawyer though, right? Maybe he can give you a number of someone who can help us.”
I don’t waste another second, immediately hitting my dad’s number on the screen as I try to compose myself.
He picks up on the second ring, greeting me, but before he can even say my name, I’m wailing down the line.
“Dad,” I say, only able to get out a single word.
“Ruby, Ruby, what’s wrong?” he asks, the panic blanketing what he’s just said.
I’m not supposed to be the one to call him crying. I’m not supposed to be the one asking for advice on lawyers and police. That’s Mila. I’m the responsible one. The one they don’t worry about.
“The police arrested Caleb for assault,” I spit out, my words coming out in a rush because if I don’t say them fast enough, they’ll get lost in the sobs.
My parents know about my relationship with Caleb and in just a few days, we were all supposed to be spending Christmas in Lake Tahoe skiing and drinking and being fucking college kids.
“Whoa, okay, Ruby. Tell me what happened,” my dad says completely composed just like I knew he’d be. “A fight at the bar?”
“No, it wasn’t at the bar. A professor…” I try, but again fall short and the tears take over.
Reid reaches into the backseat, gently taking the phone from my hand and giving me a small nod of his head.
“Hi Mr. Collins. This is Reid. I’m Ruby’s roommate, Sienna’s boyfriend.”
He stops talking, and I wish I could hear what my father is saying, but putting him on Bluetooth or speakerphone is an awful idea with Sie and I wailing. Reid waits, listening and still somehow completely composed as he drives and creates a plan with my father.
“We’re on the way to the station right now. I imagine we’ll have to bail him out,” Reid now says and that causes Sienna to tug at Reid’s arm.
“How much will that cost? Do they take cash? How the fuck do you even bail someone out of jail?” Her questions are fired out rapidly and desperate. Neither one of us are thinking clearly or logically.
“Sie, please,” Reid says, turning to her, trying to keep his tone sympathetic but firm. Returning to my dad he now says, “Okay, yeah, can you text Ruby the number and I’ll call on the way to the station?”
He now hands the phone back to me and I swallow hard, trying my best to keep it together. The police need a statement from me and going in like this isn’t going to help anything. If I can’t even talk to my dad, what kind of mess will I be at the station?
“Ruby, listen to me,” my dad says in a clipped tone. “The police are not your friends in this situation. Caleb assaulted someone and whether it was warranted or self-defense, it doesn’t matter. They will look for anything to make him guilty. You are not to speak even if all they ask you for is your statement. Do you understand?” he pauses and waits for me to answer and I give a muffled, “yes” in response. “I have a lawyer for Caleb and everything is going to be alright, I promise.”
Just hearing his voice has helped me pull myself together. The girl he raised isn’t the kind who hides in the corner when things turn to shit and there’s not a chance in hell I’m letting Caleb go through any of this alone.
I’m not giving up on him.
“They can’t make me give a statement, right?” I ask, but not waiting for my father to answer, I quickly tack on, “And we can get Caleb out today?”
“No they can’t make you and they can’t hold you. As for Caleb, I did a quick search and other than the bar’s bankruptcy filing he has no other court records. You should be able to take him home without having to post bail since he doesn’t have a record, but I have someone on it. A friend of mine from law school is meeting you at the station. I told Reid everything.” He lets out an exasperated sigh and I mistake it as disapproval.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” I say, hating that I’ve now added to his stress, added to his worry. That’s Mila’s gig.
“Ruby, no. I’m glad you called me. You’re an adult, yes, but navigating the legal system isn’t something you or Reid or Caleb should be doing alone. Ed Warwick is my buddy and he’s on his way there now. You’re in good hands.”
I hang up with my dad feeling better about the situation. There’s no way anyone could possibly convict Caleb of anything. Professor Keller was outside my house in the dark, watching me through a window. Caleb feared for my safety and came to my defense.
But as I relax back, the adrenaline wearing off and the exhaustion taking over, I realize it’s so much more than just about Caleb defending me. It was about his safety too, something he’s constantly in fear of being compromised.