“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask, my memories all too fresh still.
Her smirk turns to a smile as she leans down and presses her lips against mine. “I’m okay, Caleb,” she whispers against my mouth. “I promise.”
I want to tell her that I think she’s amazing, the strongest person I know, but my words are cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. Ruby pulls back as I let out a groan, reaching for it on the side table.
Ed’s name lights up the screen and when I glance at Ruby, her eyes widen. Answering, I put the phone on speaker as I say, “Hey, Ed. I’ve got you on speaker phone with Ruby.”
Ed exhales. “Good, I wanted to speak to both of you. First things first, how are you both?”
I turn to Ruby who’s smiling as she says, “Good, glad he’s finally been caught.”
I shake my head in amazement at how unbelievably resilient she is, at how strong and amazing and selfless this woman can be. “Yeah, I’m good,” I chime in, my words not quite as enthusiastic as Ruby’s.
“Good, good,” Ed says. “I just heard what happened when I got into work. Seems things have taken quite the turn now.”
“This is good news, right?” Ruby says, sliding off my hips as she sits beside me, pulling the covers up. “I mean surely the case against Caleb will be dropped and things—”
“Slow down, Ruby,” Ed replies and that tiny seed of hope I was allowing to take root suddenly stalls out at his words. Ruby and I share a look before she turns back to the phone, still lying on the bed between us.
“What do you mean?” she now asks, a frown on her face.
I reach for her hand, holding it in mine as Ed continues. “The case against Caleb is still pending,” he says, his words measured. “But given the evidence they now have, the security camera, the statements from you, Meagan Wade, Kate McMillan, I’d say it’s going to be hard to make it stick. I’ll petition for it to be dropped, but he’s still being questioned and we have no idea what the charges will be. I’m cautiously optimistic, okay?”
“Okay,” Ruby says warily as she squeezes her hand in mine. “When we will know?”
Ed exhales again. “I wish I knew the answer to that,” he says. “But I’m going to speak with the police and the DA soon and I promise to let you know as soon as I know more.”
I run a hand over my head, exhaling as I realize yet again that all of this is far from over. Ruby must sense my worry, squeezing my hand again as she mouths are you okay? at me. I nod, as I open my mouth to speak, “Thanks, Ed, really appreciate it.”
“Hang tight,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “This will be over soon.”
After we hang up, Ruby and I get up, pulling on some clothes and walking out to the kitchen to discover Reid and Sienna standing together as they both watch the coffee brew.
As soon as Sienna sees us, she pulls herself from Reid’s embrace before walking over and pulling first Ruby and then me into her arms. “Are you guys okay?” she asks as she looks from Ruby to me and back again.
We hadn’t spoken much when we finally got back last night, only enough to fill them both in on what had happened. Reid had poured all of us a very generous shot of whiskey and after that, it was like the events of the day had caught up with both me and Ruby and we’d collapsed in bed, exhausted.
“Yeah,” Ruby answers, slipping her arm around my waist as she leans her head on my shoulder.
Reid watches us, a look of concern on his face. “Any word on what’s gonna happen with Keller?”
I fill him in on the phone call with Ed, watching as both of their faces fall when they realize this isn’t over yet.
“I don’t get how the fuck he can possibly get away with any of this,” Sie cries and I know exactly what she means.
“He won’t,” Reid says firmly as he pulls her against him. “The fucking university will fire his ass and he’s gonna end up in jail, just like my asshole father. There’s no way his suit against Caleb will stick. No fucking way.”
I glance at him, a half smile on my face. “I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” he says, giving me a smirk.
Chuckling, I gesture toward the coffee. “Any chance of a cup?” I ask, as Ruby pushes up on her toes and puts her mouth to my ear. “Don’t forget about…” She trails off and when I look down at her, she raises a brow in question. Leaning down, I brush my lips against hers. “I will,” I murmur. “Later, okay?”
After we’ve sat around, drinking our coffee and catching up on the events of last night and what it might all mean, I excuse myself to go and take a shower, knowing I’ve got an appointment with Liz soon. Ruby wanders into the bedroom as I’m getting dressed, watching me as she sits on the end of the bed.
“You want me to come with you?” she asks.
I smile, leaning over to kiss her. “I’m okay, babe,” I say, actually meaning it. “But maybe you should think about talking to someone?” I suggest. “After last night?”
Ruby’s brows shoot up, her eyes wide as her mouth falls open. I chuckle, my fingers under her chin as I tip it up.
“What?” I ask in mock surprise.
“Caleb Parker,” she says, emphasizing her words. “Are you actually suggesting that therapy might be a good thing?”
I burst out laughing now, unable to stop myself as I lean in and kiss her again, deeper this time. “I don’t know,” I murmur, my mouth against hers. “Someone might have told me once that talking about this stuff is a good thing.”
“Oh?” Ruby says, brow raised. “And, is it?”
I grin, pulling her bottom lip between my teeth. “Dunno,” I tease. “I didn’t think so, but that someone can be very persuasive.”
“Can they?” Ruby says, smiling against my mouth.
“Uh huh. And damn fucking sexy too,” I add, kissing her again as I push her back onto the bed and cover her body with mine.
Ruby laughs and it’s fucking music to my ears, even as her hands move to my chest. “Don’t you need to get going?” she asks.
“I can always make time for you,” I murmur, biting her bottom lip.
She lets out a low groan, as her fingers curl into my sweater, pulling me closer before she eases me back. “Go. We can pick this up when you get home.”
I bury my face in her neck, inhaling deeply, her scent both calming me and grounding me. “I love you,” I whisper, my mouth at her ear. “So much.”
Liz greets me with a wide smile that has me wondering if she’s heard about what happened yesterday. I haven’t even checked the news to know if it’s been mentioned, but I guess Ed could have told her. But when I take a seat in my usual chair and she asks me how things are, and I respond with “Have you heard?” her expression tells me she hasn’t.
So I fill her in on everything that happened. All the details of Keller attacking Ruby, the security camera footage from the lecture hall and our neighbor, the other students who have made similar complaints about him, everything.
“Wow, this certainly changes things,” Liz says when I finally finish, clearly surprised.