Chapter 58

• Ruby was a different person—she knew it the moment she stepped inside her classroom after the long-term break. Or maybe that was an exaggeration. Arguably, at least one-sixteenth of her was different.
• She had not given much thought to who had spiked her fruit punch at Florence’s house party over the break. She had spent it reasonably—mending her sistership with Riley over TV shows, hanging out at Olivia’s to help her with babysitting/the daycare, and, of course, daydreaming of being with Caden. That guy was always there, in some way. In some corner of her mind, he had found a place and he liked to remind her of it every now and then. But now, feeling the first wave of her classmates’ chatter pass through her, she suddenly found herself trying to discover who among them had done that to her.
• It could’ve ended horribly. Ruby wasn’t stupid. She knew why people spike drinks at a party. But to think it was random and not carefully selected was not something she could wrap her head around. She took quick, brief glances at their faces. None of her classmates were assaulters. But then there were others at the party, people who weren’t from their school and were likely older.