Chapter 2

• Ruby
• The day I had arrived in town I started job hunting. Mind you, by then I was down to two hundred bucks and still needed to find a place to stay. But my determination has always gotten me through, and finally, the fourth diner I visited needed someone immediately. For my job interview, all I had to do was serve customers for an hour. With my years of experience waiting tables (since it’s the only job I’ve ever been able to keep), I landed the job easily.
• My supervisor knew someone who knew someone who had just moved out of their broom closet apartment, and I was more than happy to take it. Now, two weeks later and with school started, I felt like my life was slowly coming together.
• I’d even made a friend.
• "Thanks, Ruby," a regular said to me. The old man tipped me twenty bucks. "This place needed a pretty face like yours."
• "I heard that Mr. Jackson, and I take offense."
• Mr. Jackson flipped Brittany off. She’s my coworker and the only other employee besides my supervisor. She laughed and went back to cleaning the tables. She’s Goth, with a million piercings in each ear. And even though our supervisor Rosette keeps telling her to stop wearing black lipstick, Brittany would wear it anyway and say it's not lipstick, it's her natural lip color.
• Everything was going great until Natalie walked in, and I nearly had a stroke when I saw who was walking in behind her.
• Xavier Blackwood strutted into the diner like he owned the place and took a seat. With him was a girl who was giving everyone the stink eye, her brown hair in a slick high ponytail, and a guy with curly blonde hair who looked extremely bored.
• "Hey, gorgeous," Natalie called to me as she glided over to the counter I was leaning on. She plucked a cookie out of the jar beside me and winked at Brittany, who to my surprise started blushing.
• Strange.
• “Don’t ‘hey gorgeous’ me! Explain. You’re part of that crowd?”
• Natalie glanced over at her shoulder. “Oh. Well, that crowd is my family. Xavier’s my cousin.”
• What the fuck did she just say?
• “Excuse me? You called him hot.”
• "Yeah, I know."
• “He’s your cousin, Natalie. No one calls their cousin hot.”
• She ate the last of the cookie and grinned. “I was only voicing what you were thinking. Anyway, what time do you get off?”
• "First of all, I wasn't thinking that. And I'm doing a double shift tonight."
• She pouted, but it only lasted a second. “Fine, I just wanted the guys to try the burgers here. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have known they were so good.”
• She kissed my cheek and pranced over to Xavier and friends. I stood there, rooted to my spot. I wasn’t bothered by her kissing my cheek. I’ve only known her for two days, but it feels like I’ve known her for decades. Her cheery personality is hard to dislike.
• What had me rooted to the spot was Xavier’s eyes. They were like black pits and they were trained on me. Why was he staring at me, and why did he look upset?
• His brows were so tightly knit I figured he was going to get a headache soon. The girl he had come in with didn’t like his attention being elsewhere. She threw her hand over his shoulder and began whispering to him, but her eyes were on me.
• Oh honey, if only you knew how much I don’t want Xavier Blackwood.
• My brows pulled together as I turned away and placed my hand over my heart. My heart rate had spiked, and a horrible feeling was rolling up my chest. I coughed, but that had been a mistake.
• “Um, Brittany, I’m taking a break.”
• My chest was burning, and I felt light-headed. I could feel the vomit making its way up my throat. What the hell is happening? I don't get sick, ever. I've caught the flu probably only twice since I was a child.
• I turned and headed for the door, passing Natalie’s table.
• “Ruby?”
• “I’m taking my break, Natalie. Someone else will take your order.”
• She got to her feet as if to follow me outside, a look of worry plastered on her face, but the other guy, the one who looked bored, grabbed her arm. I didn’t care because the world around me was starting to tilt. As I ran outside, I held onto the wall and threw up until I fell to my knees.