Ruin
I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me.
That thought keeps running through my stubborn skull every time I think of her pretty, heart-shaped face. It’s like her smile has a direct line to my heart, and every time she’s sad, it clenches my chest in a vise until I’m willing to do anything to relieve her pain.
But that’s the killer. Maybe I am the cause of her pain.
Our past is so sketchy, so fraught with tragedy, I walk the line every day with wondering if I’m the best thing for her or the worst.
All I can tell myself is that I’m here now, and I’d lay my life on the line to protect her. If any scumbag, whether they are my kin or not, tried to harm a hair on her head, I would break every bone in their body and find myself behind bars all over again.
It would be worth it to protect her virtue, though.
A frown crosses my lips at the unintentional pun. I understand why she dislikes her birth name now, a reminder of what she thought she’d lost. But she hasn’t lost her virtue, far from it. She is as warm and caring as she ever was; I can see it in the way she cares for Stormy.
I can see it in the way she looks at me.
Two months have passed since Avalee reentered my life unexpectedly, and they have been the best two months of my life. We have a routine, and so far, it seems to be working quite well for both of us. Though, I know I am probably running out of time until I finally have to tell her all about my past. I’m dreading it by the minute. I’ve been finding more information about her abduction and assault, some things I wish I didn’t know. I’m hunting. Hunting the responsible party who hurt her and stole her virtue.
I pour myself a cup of coffee in the office’s lounge and take a sip as steam slowly coils out from the mouth of the small Dixie cup. Mr. Mayson walks into the office with a hard hat and a clipboard and stops when he notices me. He’s wearing a pair of jeans and a checkered button-up shirt under a reflective vest. He must have just come in from one of the work sites. Part of why I have always respected the man so much is because he doesn’t mind rolling up his sleeves and getting dirty with the rest of us, even after managing to create a successful construction company and making millions from it.
“Ruin,” he says.
I nod, taking another sip, and set the cup on the table in the middle of the room. “Morning, Mr. Mayson.”
“You’re here early,” he says.
“Yeah. I drove Avalee to work this morning and thought I’d wake up with some coffee before I get to it.” I smile and check my phone for today’s weather forecast.
Mr. Mayson grunts, his usual happy demeanor replaced by a scowl aimed directly at me.
“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time with Virtue lately,” he says.
I tighten my hand into a fist, not liking his tone. I’m not sure why Mr. Mayson would care who I spend my time with, but it isn’t any of his damn business. I don’t want to disrespect my boss, so I force my hand to relax and pick up the coffee cup again. Maybe if I keep my hands busy, I can keep my mind straight. “She and I are dating. So, naturally, we are spending a lot of time together.”
Mr. Mayson’s neck turns a shade of crimson, and he licks his bottom lip. His mustache has remnants from his breakfast stuck in it, and I try to remember a time when I’ve seen the man angry. Maybe a few times when his crew really messed up on a work site, but he’s usually a pleasant man to be around. Right now, he reminds me a little too much of my father just before he took a belt to me.
“And do you think that’s wise, considering her past, boy?”
I stand and clench and unclench my fists, my jaw matching the beat.Calm down and breathe, Ruin.
His eyes widen, and his brows lift nearly to his hard hat. “You gonna hit me, boy?”
I take a deep breath and remind myself that Mr. Mayson is my boss and, up until this moment, my presumed friend.
“I would never hit you, sir,” I say. And I don’t think I would, but right now, the temptation is really freaking strong. “I just don’t appreciate you calling me ‘boy’ like a child, and I don’t appreciate everyone judging me and Avalee for wanting to be happy. I know she was hurt. I know about the abduction. I willneverhurt her or let her be hurt again,” I say.
Then, dropping my voice, I plead for Mr. Mayson to understand. The words that pour out next surprise even me, but I say them with confidence. “Mr. Mayson, I love her. I fell in love with her years ago before I knew what it meant to be in love. Now that she is back in my life, I will fight to keep her. And you and her father need to understand that I will do whatever it takes to protect her.”
Mr. Mayson steps back, his mouth opening partially. He takes me in, looking me up and down. With a sigh, his shoulders drop, and his eyes fill with sadness. “I know you’re a good man, Ruin. I know you would never hurt anything or anyone. But what I don’t know is what your family might do. If anything happened to Virtue, her father would have my head on a stake. We go way back, he and I. And I’ve always thought of her as my own, you know? I just want what’s best for her.”
I nod in agreement. That’s exactly what I want too. I just hope I can be what’s best for her. My family is an issue, for sure. But just like the asshole who hurt her, I will not let them get close to her. “I know, sir. You don’t have to worry about them. I will keep her as far away from the Lautner clan as possible.”
He seems to consider my words for a moment, and with a slight tilt of his head, he turns to leave. Speaking over his shoulder, he adds, “Be sure that you do, son. Be sure that you do.”
The rest of the day, I can’t help but think about my interaction with Mr. Mayson in the lounge. I’m taking Avalee to a nice restaurant tonight, so I force my mind to try to focus on that, but every time I do, I circle back to that conversation. I even nearly wreck my forklift, I’m so distracted. What if, no matter what I do or say, I can’t protect her? The thought brings bile to my throat, and I finish my day’s work so I can get back to her side.
I take her to one of the fanciest restaurants within my budget. It has a four-star dining review, and the menu doesn’t list their actual prices, which is unnerving, but she’s worth it.
