Chapter 65 You're Off

• Ruby's POV
• I gripped the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles turning white as I pressed harder on the gas. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears as I tried to drown out Emma's sobs from the back seat. Every tear that fell from her eyes was a knife in my gut, but I couldn't look at her right now. Not when I was barely holding it together myself.
• Justin was quiet, too young to know what was going on. His little body slumped peacefully in his car seat, blissfully unaware of the storm that raged in my chest. I stole a glance at him in the rearview mirror, his tiny fists curled up in sleep, his soft breathing the only sound that wasn't clawing at my already shredded nerves.