Chapter 257

Tessa’s POV

When I walked into the living room, Joseph was sitting on the couch, and I wasn’t expecting the guest he had sitting on the other couch in front of him.

Carter sat with his leg crossed over the other and a smile on his face as he spoke to his best friend. I hadn’t spoken to Carter in a while, not since I found out that he was ghosting Ruby. Carter had completely broken her heart; I had no idea how serious the two of them were getting until Carter confessed to her what he was. Of course, Ruby didn’t believe a thing he said and thought he was playing a cruel joke on her.

She’s been crushed ever since, and my heart broke for my best friend.

I knew Carter had a good reason behind ghosting her; It wasn’t safe for Ruby to get involved with a vampire. After Carter told her the truth about what he was, he realized how much he had fallen for her and needed to take a step back.

However, I don’t agree with how he did that.

Staring at him, I folded my arms across my chest and leaned most of my weight on my right hip. He didn’t notice me at first, but he must have felt my glare because his eyes shifted to me, and they widened.

“You have a lot of nerve showing up like this,” I muttered, keeping my eyes on him.

He swallowed the lump in his throat; his Adam’s apple bobbing from the motion.

“I’m visiting my friend,” he told me simply, but there was still a little bit of nerves that made its way into his tone as he spoke. “Is that a problem?”

“You broke my best friend's heart,” I said through my teeth. “You have to know that I’m on her side.”

He nodded, running his fingers through his shaggy hair and his shoulders slumping.

“I know,” he breathed. “But you know the reason why I had to do it…”

“You couldn’t have broken up with her the right way? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to be ghosted??” I asked him, very aware that my tone was coming out rough.

“Tessa—” Joseph tried to warn, but Carter cut him off.

“Yes, I’m aware. You did the same thing to her if I’m not mistaken,” Carter shot back, shocking me.

My mouth fell open as I looked at Joseph who only stared at him with wide eyes.

“You told him?” I asked a little hurt by Joseph’s betrayal.

“No… I—” Joseph tried to say, but I cut him off.

“I can’t believe you told him,” I said, shaking my head before looking back at Carter. “And I had an actual reason as to why I couldn’t reach out to her. I was literally kidnapped by a coven.”

He nodded.

“I know… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. But you must know that I never wanted to hurt her either. I thought I was doing her a favor.”

“You completely destroyed her, Carter,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “She hasn’t been the same since. She’s been closed off and distant. She could hardly even say your name.”

“I know…” he said, shaking his head and staring down at his fingers. “It hasn’t been easy for me either.”

“Could have fooled me…”

Carter had gone silent; he didn’t have anything to say in response.

Typical.

“Are you and Ruby okay?” He finally asked.

I rolled my eyes, sitting beside Joseph on the couch. I was upset that Joseph told him this information; about how Ruby was upset with me and about the fight we got into last night. This was personal and not something Ruby’s ex should know about.

But I had to remember that Carter was Joseph’s best friend.

“I think so,” I told him honestly, willing my mind and body to calm down. “She texted me this morning and it looks like she wants to talk. She said she misses me.”

“Really?” Joseph was the one to ask.

I hadn’t told him about this yet because it had just happened, but I smiled and nodded.

“Yes,” I answered. “You have no idea how relieved I was when I saw that text.”

“I’m really glad,” Carter said, almost thoughtfully.

“Me too,” Joseph agreed, wrapping me in his arms and kissing the side of my face. “I told you she’d come around.”

“She was just so mad last night. I honestly thought it was over between us. But I guess she just needed to sleep.”

“Did you text her back?” Carter asked, there was no mistaking the worry in his voice and when I looked at him, I saw the smile he once wore had faltered slightly.

“Yeah, but she didn’t answer yet,” I told him, shrugging. “I’m sure she will later.”

Carter glanced at his phone screen, his frown deepening. I hadn’t noticed he was holding his phone until that moment.

“Yeah, I’m sure she will later.” He spoke with such uncertainty that it caused the knot that had loosened from earlier, to reform and tighten in the pit of my belly.

“Everything okay?” Joseph asked the question I was too afraid to voice out loud.

“Yeah. It’s just been a long day. I’m not used to being awake when the sun is awake,” Carter admitted.

“Why are you awake anyway?” I asked, raising my brows at him. “Why are you here in the first place?”

“I needed to make things right,” he admitted, lifting his gaze to meet his eyes.

My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest as I held his gaze.

“With Ruby,” I said it like a statement and not a question, but he nodded anyway.

I looked up at Joseph and then back at Carter, realization slamming into me like a ton of bricks when I thought about Ruby’s message.

My mouth hung open.

“It wasn’t Joseph who told you about last night,” I whispered; once again, it wasn’t a question, but he nodded. “You spoke to Ruby. You were the one who showed up on her doorstep this morning.”

He raised his brows.

“She told you?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

“In the text, she told me that I would never believe who showed up on her doorstep,” I told them. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips, but his eyes were laced with worry.

“Yeah; and we talked. It was a nice talk. I think she’s willing to give me a second chance.”

My heart swelled from the news; honestly, I knew that Carter’s lifestyle would be dangerous for Ruby because she was a human and he was a vampire. But up until recently, I thought I was a human too and I was head over heels in love with Joseph. I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t support my best friend on her journey with Carter.

“Then, what’s wrong?” Joseph asked, staring at Carter with dismay written all over his face. “Why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?”

Carter sighed and shook his head as he glanced back at his phone.

“I can’t reach her,” he murmured. “I’ve been calling her for the past hour, and it keeps going to voicemail.”

I raised my brows.

“Well, she has an interview with Cora Hanley Fashion Industry this morning, so her phone is probably turned off.”

“Her interview was 2 hours ago,” he breathed. “That’s why she left so early. It should have been over by now.”

“Maybe her phone died,” I said, shrugging. “There could be a ton of different reasons as to why her phone is off. I wouldn’t panic about it.”

I tried to be reassuring, but as I looked down at my own phone and saw that my message had gone unopened, a pit of worry sat in the middle of my stomach. Joseph rubbed my back gently with the palm of his hands, sensing my unease.

“Did she seem okay when you spoke to her this morning?” I found myself asking.

He nodded.

“Yeah; I mean, of course, she was hostile at first, rightfully so. I had hurt her, and she was upset over you as well. But after I convinced her to let me take her to the train station, we had a really good conversation.

I nodded in return.

“Okay… so, I’m sure she’s okay,” I said, but even I wasn’t believing my words.

Why was I suddenly feeling this heavy weight on my shoulders, digging me into the ground? It was like my gut was telling me the opposite of what my mouth was saying.

“Maybe I should call the CH Industry,” I said before I could stop myself. “Just to make sure she was there. Maybe she’s still there.”

Carter nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” he agreed.

I googled the number for the franchise, and it popped up on my phone right away. I dialed the number and pressed the phone to my cheek.

It only rang a couple of times before a woman answered.

“Cora Hansley Fashion, this is Rachel speaking, how can I help you?”

“Hello, I was wondering if Ruby Gonzales is there,” I said, my voice coming out breathy.

There was silence on the other end and the silence felt like it lasted so long.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe there’s anyone that works here by that name,” the woman, Rachel, said.

“No, she doesn’t work there. Not yet at least. She interviewed earlier today,” I explained.

There was more silence on the other end before she said, “Oh, that girl who never showed up, you mean?”

My heart fell deep into my stomach.

“She never showed up?” I asked, meeting Carter’s very worried eyes.

He stood up quickly, running his fingers through his hair as nervous energy radiated off him.

“Yeah, she never showed up for her interview. We just blacklisted her because nobody stands up Cora Hanley,” Rachel said simply.

My mouth had gone completely dry.

“Okay…” was all I managed to say. “Thanks…”

On that note, I hung up the phone.

Panic was now consuming me.

“She never showed up to her interview?” Carter asked, pacing back and forth around the living room. “That job meant everything to her. How could she not show up?”

“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Joseph said, trying to appear calm in the storm of chaos. “Tessa, try her cell phone. I’m going to call the train station and see if she boarded the train.”

“I was there; I watched her get on the train,” Carter said, panic clear in his tone.

I brought up Ruby’s contact as Joseph dialed the number for the train station; her phone went straight to voicemail.

Joseph put the phone on speaker so we could all hear the conversation.

The person on the other end spoke immediately, without a single greeting.

“Hello, due to the accident that took place this morning at 4 am, we are not selling any tickets this time. We apologize for the inconvenience, but if there’s anything else you need, I’m happy to assist you.”