I couldn’t figure him out. Why did my life seem to matter to him so much? Nothing about it made any sense. I was nobodyto him, just another malfunctioning blip on life’s shitty fucking radar.
My eyes went back to the window, longing to glow in that spotlight shining down from the heavens. “My life died with my husband.”
My entire body erupted into flames when I felt the warmth of his palm cross over mine. It was such a small gesture, but it was enough to break my focus on the window and give it back to the man who was fighting for a life I had already given up on.
“I refuse to believe that, Ruby. When you get out of here, I’m going to be there to help you find your peace.”
“There is no peace in a world without Chase.”
He frowned, then carefully gripped my hand. “Maybe not, but my heart says otherwise, Ruby. You were spared for a reason, and I’m determined to help you find what that reason is. But that’s going to take time, and the first step in helping you release your grief is getting you out of here.”
“Oh yeah? And how are you supposed to do that?” I reached into my pocket and showed him the pills they’d been feeding me but I refused to take. “Not even their happy little pills could make me happy.”
He frowned, then gently reached over and took the pills away from me. My stomach coiled as I watched them leave my palm. He knew why I was keeping them, and the fear in his eyes said everything without saying a word. “Why were you keeping these?” he questioned, his voice dropping into a whisper.
“You know why?”
There was no mistaking the hurt and pain that filled his eyes. “I need to get you out of here.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m going to help you, Ruby, but that’s not going to happen if you’re stuck in here just hoarding pills away until you have enough to try again...” Anger shook through his body.I thought he was going to march over to the nurse and sell me out, but he didn’t. Instead, he stuffed the pills in his pocket, walked straight over to my psychiatrist, and motioned toward where I was sitting. She nodded, scribbled a few things down, then handed him a slip of paper.
He strutted back over with a confident smile, one I found very attractive, but at the same time, scared the shit out of me.
“What was that all about?”
“Your prison break.”
“Huh?”
He grinned. “I’m getting you out of here, Ruby.”
My eyes crossed with confusion. “How the hell did you manage that? Shrinky over there said I was a lost cause.”
He laughed. “Lucky for you, I’m the king at helping lost causes find their way.”
“I still don’t understand. Why is she letting me go?”
“Because I told her that being in here was doing more damage than good. Then I suggested you be left in my care for a month to see if I can help you work through your grief.”
“Left in your care? What the fuck does that mean?”
He shrugged. “That’s your choice, Ruby. Either, I can come home with you and stay on your couch for the month, or you can come stay with me in the clubhouse.”
“Oh hell no. That’s not fucking happening.”
“Okay, I guess you’re stuck here then.”
I looked over at Sabrina the mutterer. She was standing in the corner talking to the wall. Two feet from her was a woman playing with puppets made out of socks, and to the left of her was the crazy woman who was always scratching her skin. There was no way in hell I wanted to stay here another day, but I also didn’t want to go with Cap, either.
He started to move toward the door, taking my freedom along with him. This was my only chance to make a break forit, and I wasn’t about to give it up just because he was inviting himself along.
“Okay, I’ll go with you, but I refuse to go to your clubhouse.” I tried to push back the bile that rose up my throat when a memory from my past pushed its way into my mind. That was something I needed to keep locked away, and there was no way in hell I was going to go anywhere that would bring it back full circle.
He grinned. “Okay, fair enough. I’ll come back to get you in a few hours.”
“You’re leaving me here?”
