Page 65 of Crush (Deadly Hearts 1)

ChapterThirty-Four

Declan

Ifeel Ruby’s phone vibrate in my jacket pocket and know instantly it is Scarlet returning her call.

“Dammit,” I mutter and pull it out, answering it immediately. “Scarlet.”

A pause.

Then she says, “Paddy? What are you doing with Ruby’s phone?”

I bite my tongue, wanting to correct her, but that is the name I gave her. An alias of mine that I use now and again. “Scarlet, listen to me. Ruby wants to know what happened last summer. You can’t tell her. Please.”

“What?” Scarlet says, confused. “What the fuck is going on? Where is Ruby? Let me talk to her.”

“Please…” I start.

“Declan?” Ruby’s voice sounds out behind me, and I curse silently.

I hang up the phone and slide it back into my jacket pocket. I have no choice now but to tell Ruby everything. I hadn’t wanted to ever bring this up. It will hurt her and that is the last thing I want to do. Rex has forced my hand and rather she hears it from me than her sister or her dad.

“Who was that?” she asks, her face a fierce frown.

“No one,” I mutter. “Ruby, we need to talk.”

“What about?” she asks. I can see the dread in her expression, so I smile and try to relax, but I’m as tense as I’ve ever been.

I cup her elbow and lead her over to the area under the metal staircase where we can get some kind of privacy. I have to act quickly now. I can see David on his phone, looking at us and making his way over.

“I have something to tell you,” I start quickly. “It happened a while ago, before you and I started our role-playing relationship. Please know that it wasn’t intentional, and I certainly never thought that we would end up here.”

“Declan,” she says. “You’re scaring me.”

“I know, I’m sorry. Ruby.” I press my hands to my eyes, trying to figure out how to say it. I have seconds before David hands his phone to Ruby and I have no doubt that Scarlet is on the other end, waiting to tell all.

“Declan,” Ruby says, icily. “Tell me what’s going on.”

I inhale sharply. “Last summer…” and I see her face fall. It kills me that she has already deduced what I’m about to tell her. Or at least what she thinks happened. “…Your sister and I had a fling, not even…one night,” I blurt out right before David reaches us.

Ruby hisses and David freezes, his phone outstretched.

“Hang up,” I growl at him.

He does so, but he doesn’t leave.

“It’s not what you think,” I explain hastily, taking Ruby’s hands.

She snatches them back and folds her arms, her eyes shooting daggers. But she doesn’t say a word.

“I was in a bad place,” I mutter. “Really bad. I met her when I was trying to forget my miserable existence, drowning in a bottle of Whisky in a dive bar, when she walked in. She came to me,” I make that point very clear. Not that it makes a damn bit of difference. I have minutes, maybe less, before Ruby walks out of here and out of my life, for good. “She started talking to me and I needed someone to talk to. She was there. I have demons, Ruby. Demons that haunt me and she listened. I took her to bed that night, but it was born out of despair. There was no pleasure in it. It was solace. I felt sick to my stomach afterwards and ran out. I haven’t seen or spoken to her since. It was nothing. It meant absolutely nothing to me. You, Ruby, you mean everything to me. You always have since the day I first laid eyes on you when you were so fragile, so hurt by what happened to you. Please, you have to believe me.” I’m rambling desperately. It’s what she wants. It’s why she hasn’t uttered a word yet.

“Did you know she was my sister?” she asks, her tone so dark, it sends a shiver down my spine.

“Yes,” I reply. “I knew who she was. I wasn’t seeking her out and I haven’t sought her out since. It was a mistake that I regret…”

“Save it,” she spits out. “Let me fill in the blanks. You started being my Daddy right after that, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” I admit, staring at the floor in shame. “I felt so disgusted with myself, I needed to make it right somehow, even if you didn’t know, even if you didn’t know me.”

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