Page 136 of Almost Ours

“I’d get eaten by a bird, Josh!”

He turns his whole body towards me in Oscar’s tiny Ford Fiesta. “Have you ever been tested?”

“For what?”

“I dunno, Rubes. Insanity?”

“I have actually.” I promptly inform him. “But I’ve got a touch of depression and a bit of anxiety. Nothing too sinister.”

Josh stares at me, his face going blank. “Actually?”

I shrug, unnerved by the way his eyes have focused on me. “Yeah.”

“No. Seriously, Ruby?”

Well, no time like the present to give a bit of honesty in my brother’s tiny car. “I’m being serious. I went through a rough patch a few years ago. It was a bit of an ordeal.” I automatically glance down at my wrists, even though my sleeves are covering the scars, and when I look back at Josh his eyes have followed mine, dropping slowly to where my hands are wrapped around the steering wheel before coming back to my face.

“What do you mean an ordeal? What happened?”

I can feel sweat starting to bead on my forehead, so I turn the aircon up. “It was nothing. But I should probably also tell you that I’m not a part of the uni newspaper.”

Josh gapes at me. “What?”

I wince. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“What do you mean you’re not a part of it?”

“I mean I’m not a part of it.”

“You’ve been telling me for months that you are.”

“I know.”

His whole face twists, green eyes astute. “Why?”

“Because I needed to give you a reason for why I couldn’t do Quidditch.”

“Where the fuck do you go every Wednesday?”

I keep my eyes fixed on the road. “Um… therapy?”

“Therapy?” Josh explodes. “You go to therapy every week?”

“Yes.” I nod, gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Every Wednesday at six.”

“And you never told me?”

“No.” I try and keep my tone steady. “If it helps, I’m telling you now.”

“Ruby!” He turns away from me and slams his hand up, reaching for the handle above the passenger door, roughly grabbing it. “What the fuck?”

“It’s not a big deal.”

“If it wasn’t a big deal why would you lie about it?”

“I didn’t want people knowing, and we’d just met.”

He blows out a long breath. “I can’t believe this.”