“That’s not true.” Alana pulled away. “You have millions of supporters.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Rubik’s Cube, the whole nation is on your side. Sure, you have your share of critics, those far-right fanatics and the hard-left lunatics…but you’re kind of the Taylor Swift of justice. At least that’s what this week’s issue of Teen People is calling you. You should see the Santa Claus–sized bag of your fan mail downstairs.”
“Fan mail?” That didn’t sound right.
“Yeah, I’m thinking about dropping out of school and becoming your publicist or manager or something. So far, every single major news channel has contacted me to get an interview with you. I don’t know why they called me, exactly. Maybe because they found out we were besties…but, Ruby, you wouldn’t believe how much money they’re offering.”
I glanced at Liam. He’d crossed his arms over his chest and was smiling at Alana’s energy. I honestly didn’t want to hear what the nation thought of me. Or how much money they’d give me to continue keeping the truth from them. I just wanted to go to him.
“Come on, Alana,” Dr. T said, suddenly at her side. “Let’s go get that bag of fan mail sorted and let Liam and Ruby have a minute, shall we?”
Alana’s excitement bubble popped. “Sure, of course,” she said, taking in the way Liam and I were looking at each other. “Awkward,” she chimed to Dr. T.
“We’ll be downstairs when you’re ready to come down,” Dr. T said, leading the way.
As soon as Alana’s head dipped out of sight, I turned back to Liam, and suddenly he was holding me, pulling me in, like we couldn’t get close enough.
I nestled my head in his chest and let his heartbeat tell me what I wanted to know as I breathed in his minty-fresh smell. I hoped I didn’t smell like hospitals or death.
“Ruby Rose, I missed you,” he whispered in my ear. The goose bumps fired across my neck, with every hair standing at attention under his warm breath.
“I don’t even know what to say.” I pulled away to look up into his eyes. “I’m so sorry for dragging you into all of this…and for what my mom did to you…and the media—”
“Stop,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about any of that right now. All I want to do is be with you.” He held my face in his hands.
“Does your mom know you’re here? Tug and Christian must hate my guts.”
“She knows I’m here,” he said with a wide smile. “And no, they think you’re amazing. They don’t know the whole story, of course, but they know enough to understand how brave you were.”
“The whole story, huh?” The thought of explaining the whole story made me tired. “Where do I start?” I asked.
“I already know everything,” he replied. “I pried it out of Dr. Teresa. I hope you don’t mind that she broke that doctor-patient confidentiality thing…and that whole CIA-sworn-to-secrecy thing. She thought I deserved to know that the guy I supposedly killed is the one who did all of this to you.”
“No, of course I don’t mind. I think sacrificing your life to save hers and mine earned you a pass to know what really happened,” I assured him.
He smiled. “Anyway, she told me about your bio mom and bio dad. Man, I didn’t see that coming.”
“Me neither.” Though my split-personality theory made a lot more sense now. Martinez set me up to hurt me, and Damon cleaned up behind us to protect me.
Talking about it drained me all over again. It must’ve shown all over my face, because Liam grabbed my hand and led me to a lounge chair by the fire.
“Come on, you need to rest,” he said, helping me lie down. He grabbed a blanket, slid in behind me, and covered our bodies chin to toe. The ocean breeze swirled around us, making the fire bend.
The horizon was no longer brilliant shades of primary colors. Instead, it had faded to a navy blue, with wisps of silver outlining the clouds. Again, it felt like someone was creating this piece of art just for me. Here was my silver lining: Liam.
As we watched the last traces of light dip into the dark waters, I twisted to face him. The only thing that could have made Liam’s lips any more tempting was if they were dipped in chocolate.
“Don’t hurt yourself, Ruby, you just got here,” he said, slipping one arm under my head for support and the other one around me. Was it me, or did the flames in the pit just kick their intensity up a notch? The heat between us burned just as strong, as if the anger, sadness, fear, and pain over the last year had culminated in one bonfire of emotion. Maybe the feel of his abs through his shirt had something to do with my rising temperature as well.
I wanted to say something to him. Express how grateful I was for him sticking by me, never turning on me when it might have gotten him out of jail earlier. The words weren’t forming in my mouth.
Liam moved his face toward mine. Tingly anticipation tiptoed across every inch of my skin. I lingered in the moment, recalling all the times I’d fantasized about these breathless seconds. We were too close, and it was too dark to see his eyes, but I was pretty sure they were closed and waiting. Patiently hanging on for Ruby Rose’s petals to bloom.
Whatever light was left in the twilit sky disappeared as I closed my eyes to give in to him. I clutched his shaggy hair and kissed him in a way I didn’t know was possible. It felt like every time our lips moved against each other, a chunk of the wall I’d worked my whole life to build crumbled into the sea.
I grasped the back of his neck with my fingers and pressed my hips against his. My head arched backward when he moved his mouth down my neck and around my ear. Pulling my V-neck shirt off my shoulder slightly, he kissed my exposed skin. Every part of my body tingled—I’d never been touched like this before. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest.
“I think I’m about to tear a stitch,” I said breathlessly.
“Are you serious?” he asked.
“Maybe, if I could just keep my heart from beating a million times a minute, it wouldn’t feel like my side is going to explode.”
“Right,” he said apologetically. “I should have thought of that. Sorry—”
“You don’t have to apologize for anything.” I took a few measured breaths. I unlocked my legs from his, and snuggled up to his side. I felt the Challenge Coin in my pocket. “Let’s just lie here for a while. You can stay, right?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said, brushing my cheek with his lips.
The moon was directly above us. The few stars brave enough to shine through the smog, cloud cover, and city lights of the Los Angeles coastline twinkled down on us. I glanced at the foaming whitewash on the beach and imagined my dad, Jack Rose, coming in from one of his twilight surfing sessions by the Pier. I could almost see him in his wet suit and with his longboard securely tucked under his arm.
I closed my eyes to better picture him. He stopped, shook out his wet hair, and smiled down at the little girl running up to his side—the little girl I used to be.
A few tears escaped from my shuttered eyes, and when I opened them again, the image was gone.
Dad had made it to his shoreline.
And he’d never stop guiding me toward mine.
The wind picked up a little, reminding me that Martinez and other dangers still loomed out there. But instead of baring myself to its power, I dipped under the covers and breathed in Liam’s fresh scent until I fell asleep in his arms.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am especially grateful to the following people, who helped turn my dreams of publication into a reality:
To Courtney Miller and the entire team at Amazon Children’s Publishing, whose brilliance has blown me away. To Marianna Baer, whose editorial guidance and knowledge of the cost of shoes has saved me much embarrassment. I am honored to work with such a supportive and innovative group of people.