Chapter 255

Third Person POV

Hello Miss Ruby Gonzales, my name is Cora Hanley, owner of the Cora Hanley fashion line in New York City. We received your submission and application to become a fashion designer. Your work shows a lot of promise and I’m impressed with the level of details on the dress you submitted. I understand that you just graduated with your degree in design, and I’d love for you to meet with me. I can’t guarantee that we can get you a job as a designer right away, but I am hiring an assistant and with some hard work, doors are bound to open for you in this industry. Please reply as soon as possible and we can schedule a time for that interview.

Thank you!

Cora Hanley CEO.

With everything that had happened over these last several weeks, Ruby had forgotten that she submitted anything to the CH Fashion industry. It was her first choice. Everything Ruby owns is from CH; there was a small boutique nearby called CH Boutique and she dreamt of designing clothes for that chain for as long as she could remember.

She replied to the email immediately after receiving it and they scheduled an interview, which was scheduled for tomorrow morning.

It was already late in the evening and if she didn’t get some sleep right now, she was going to be a zombie for this interview.

Sighing, she went to bed and when she woke up, she felt even worse than she had the night before. Her mind kept racing back to Tessa; her heart ached in her chest, and she fought back the urge to cry.

Pushing the thought of Tessa out of her mind, she took a shower, scrubbing every inch of her body and washing her hair thoroughly. She brushed out all the knots that formed over the last few weeks and then blew dry it.

She curled her hair and allowed it to cascade evenly over her shoulders. She was glad that her eyes weren’t bloodshot and red looking anymore, but she applied makeup on her face to make herself appear less worn out and pale.

She put a little lipstick on her lips to make her lips look puckered and added fake eyelashes so her eyes would pop.

Once satisfied with her hair and makeup, she grabbed a short red dress from her closet. It was a simple dress, one that she had designed. It was ruby red with a black belt buckle around her waist that she had to tighten because she lost some weight since creating this dress.

She grabbed her best heels, which made her legs look incredible and she stared at herself in the mirror once she was completely put together.

Nobody would know that she she’s been a complete mess over the course of these three weeks.

She was even able to smile at her job well down.

She deserved this job, and this was proof of that.

But then her mind went back to Tessa and that ache formed in her chest again. She sighed, feeling defeated.

Perhaps she was a little too harsh on Tessa last night. She didn’t even let Tessa explain herself; she was just so upset that she didn’t want to hear anything Tessa had to say. She was regretting that decision now though.

Tessa was her best friend; they’ve been through so much together.

Who was she going to talk to about boys now? She wanted to tell Tessa about this job opportunity and how excited she was. It hurt her knowing that she couldn’t do that.

Ruby grabbed her purse off the kitchen counter and shouldered it. She walked to the door and when she opened it, her entire body stilled.

“Carter?” She whispered, staring up at the man who ghosted and broke her heart.

Carter had his fist raised and it was obvious he was about to knock on her door. He looked just as stunned as she felt and when his eyes traced over her body, her entire face was on fire.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, folding her arms across her chest.

That was a mistake; as soon as her arms crossed over her chest, it pushed her breasts up and his eyes trailed to them. He swallowed the lump in his throat, his Adam’s apple bobbing from the motion as his gaze shifted upward and met hers again.

“Hey…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “I wasn’t expecting you to be up and dressed… it’s really early. The sun hasn’t even risen yet.”

Ruby’s brows pinched together.

“Why are you here?” She asked again; she couldn’t keep the bitterness from her tone, but she was also very curious.

“I…I wanted to talk to you.”

The “Cool Guy” act he had always played around her was completely gone and now he just looked like a sheepish guy, unsure of what to say.

“I can’t really talk; I’m going to be late.”

Ruby brushed past him, shutting the door behind her and then locking it.

“Ruby…” he whispered, his voice caressing her and giving her goosebumps. He was so close to her that she could feel his warm breath hitting the back of her neck. “You have every right to be upset with me…”

He sounded so sad, and it tugged at her heart; she bit her lower lip, trying to remain strong as she turned back around to face him.

“You mean because you ghosted me?” She asked, raising her brows.

His shoulders slumped and he sighed, nodding.

“I’m so sorry…”

She peeked up at him for a moment, not sure what to say or how to console him. Hell, he should be the one consoling her, not the other way around. She squared her shoulders and stepped around him.

“I’m really going to be late if I don’t go now,” she told him, walking down the steps and toward the front entrance.

Carter trailed behind her.

“Where ae you heading?” He asked as they walked outside; Carter was right, the sun hadn’t risen yet. It still looked as if it was the middle of the night.

“I have an early train ride to catch,” she told him over his shoulder as she made her way toward the parking lot.

“A train ride?” He asked, keeping up with her easily.

She rolled her eyes.

“I have an interview in New York this morning and it’s going to take an hour to get there by train. I have to go before I’m late,” she repeated, her voice coming out hard.

“Let me drive you,” he said, reaching to grab her arm and slow her down.

She froze and turned to face him. His touch made goosebumps form on her flesh and her heart skipped an entire beat.

“What?” She asked, not wanting him to see the effect his touch had on her.

“Let me drive you and we can talk,” he said, giving her a small smile.

“Why would you want to drive me” She asked.

“I want to spend time with you and talk to you about stuff. I want to fix this thing between us and go back to before I…” his voice trailed off again and his hands dropped to the side.

“Before you ghosted me?” She asked, cocking her head to the side. “And before you made that joke about being a vampire.”

His face noticeably paled, and he looked as if he wanted to protest, but he didn’t. instead, he nodded.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, and I really don’t have a good excuse. But not being with you is killing me…” he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I miss you… and I’m so fucking sorry, Ruby. I’ll do what I can to make it up to you…”

“I can’t trust you,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. She hated how weak she was sounding; her hurt evident in her voice alone.”

Tears started to well up in her eyes, but she forced them away; she wasn’t going to cry and ruin her makeup before her interview.

He ran his fingers down her arm, once again causing goosebumps to form on her flesh.

“I don’t expect you to trust me right now,” he whispered. “All I’m asking for is a chance. Let me take you to the train station and we can talk some more.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat; she wanted to say no and walk away. But her body wasn’t listening to her command. After a moment of internally battling with herself, she sighed and then nodded.

Carter looked very pleased with himself. He took her arm and guided her to his car where he drove her to the train station.

To Ruby’s surprise, they kept the conversation light. It was easy talking to Carter, and he even made her laugh a few times. They didn’t talk about the ghosting or the joke he played on her. She didn’t want to talk about any of that; instead, he talked about how miserable he’s been without her and how hard it’s been to not reach out to her.

He talked about how he was terrified of the feelings he felt, and he wasn’t sure what to do. He told her that he was truly falling for her and that he didn’t want to lose her. That he couldn’t lose her.

After a while, Ruby felt comfortable enough to talk to him as well and she told him what she’s been up to since he ghosted her. She told him about graduation and how Tessa got engaged. She also told him about her job opportunity and how happy she was about this chance. She told him about how Tessa disappeared and that they got into a huge fight last night over it.

“I don’t think Tessa meant to hurt you, Ruby,” he told her, running his fingers down the side of her face.

They were parked at the train station, and she still had a few minutes before she needed to leave.

“I know,” she whispered. “It just felt like she was betraying me like you did…”

He looked sad for a moment.

“I’m so sorry…” he said, shaking his head with dismay written all over his face. “I know what I did was fucking stupid and awful. We will talk more about it when you return. But Ruby, Tessa isn’t like me…she loves you.”

Ruby’s brow arched.

“And you don’t?”

There was a hint of teasing in her tone; his cheeks reddened which she found adorable.

“I didn’t say that,” he admitted.

Her smile widened and he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. They only pulled apart when they heard from the speaker that Ruby’s train was now boarding.

“I have to go,” she whispered.

“Good luck at your interview,” he told her, kissing her again. “Call me later.”

“Will you answer?”

He smiled and kissed her again.

“I’ll always answer.”

Satisfied, she left his car and walked toward the ticket holder. Once she was through the gates, she turned to face Carter who was now standing outside his car. He waved to her, and she beamed at him, feeling lighter than she had all month.

She turned back around and went to board her train.

Once she was secured in her seat, she took out her phone and texted Tessa.

Ruby: Hey, I’m on a train by myself for the first time. I’m a little nervous but excited. I have an interview with the CH fashion industry in New York City. I’m sorry about how I acted last night, but I needed someone to tell. Also, you’ll never believe who showed up at my house this morning. Do you believe in second chances? Maybe we can talk when I get back? I miss you.

With that, she pressed send.