Twisted Devil by Ivy Blake
Chapter Twenty Two
Ruby
“I’m not crazy to think that everyone’s staring at me right?” asked Bella as we walked down the hallway. She was right, everyone’s eyes were basically on us and for me it felt like the first day of school all over again, but I could imagine for Bella it felt a lot worse than that. The news was out and there was nowhere to hide.
“Just ignore them,” I said, squeezing her arm reassuringly.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have come back today. Maybe I should have waited until everything blew over-”
“Stop, Bella. None of this is your fault, okay? You don’t need to hide because you didn’t do anything wrong.”
I stopped in the hallway and grabbed Bella by the shoulders. Her eyes were on her shoes and she looked like she wanted the floor to swallow her up.
Even though I’d never been in a situation like Bella’s, I could tell that it would take a while for her to process everything and that being in school was probably very hard for her.
“Just remember that you did a good thing- a really brave thing by coming forward about it. I understand how hard that must have been for you. But at least we caught the bastard before he could hurt anyone else, and I’m sure all the girls here will be forever grateful to you for that,” I said gently.
Bella let out a big sigh, but I could tell from the tension in her shoulders that there was probably a lot more where that came from. She looked up at me slowly, and a small, but hesitant smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
“I really appreciate having you as a friend,” said Bella.
“I appreciate having you as a friend too.” We interlocked hands and started walking down the hallway, ignoring all the looks that came our way, even though they weren’t all necessarily bad.
Eventually, we found ourselves standing outside the counsellor’s office just before 3rd period. I gave Bella the same pep talk I had done earlier about speaking to someone professional. While I was willing to do anything to support her, I knew that I could only do so much and I was still worried about her. She’d been through something awful, with an adult that she was meant to trust, and I couldn’t even begin to understand the complexities of the trauma that she’d been through.
“Will you be mad if I back out and hide in the coffee shop instead?” Bella asked playfully as she shifted her weight between her feet.
“I could never be mad at you, Bella,” I said with a smile. “I think it’s a good idea to talk to someone, but you don’t need to do it now if you’re not ready. Just take it at your own pace. I understand it’s not easy, okay?”
“Okay,” Bella whispered.
I pulled her in for an extra long hug and continued holding onto her even when the bell went off to signal the beginning of class.
“I don’t want you to be late, Ruby. I’ll text you after class and let you know how this goes.”
“Okay, good luck!” I said, giving Bella one last hug before heading down the hallway.
* * *“Did you hear what Bella said that Coach did to her?” I heard Amber’s shrill voice before I walked into Mrs Green’s classroom. My chest tightened as I prepared myself to walk in. I was ready to pounce if I needed to and tuned my ears in as I stepped into the room.
“No, what happened? I’m completely out of the loop,” said her friend.
My ears tuned in as I found my seat, but I tried not to make a big show out of eavesdropping by looking down at my books.
“Personally, I think she’s lying for attention, but apparently…”
My skin was hot, and I was about to explode on Amber before I felt his warmth behind me and he beat me to it.
“Amber, shut your fucking mouth about shit you don’t understand. If anyone’s looking for attention, it’s obviously you, so how about you pipe down and focus on your own sad little life?”
I turned around to see Tyler standing behind me, his face twisted into a contortion of fury. He pressed a gentle hand to my back and guided me into the room, ignoring all the eyes that were now on us.
“Why the hell do you give a shit about Bella? Or even her?” Amber shot daggers in my direction as her gaze landed on Tyler’s hand as it grazed my back.
“Ruby cares a lot about Bella and, considering she’s my girlfriend, I care about her and the things and people she cares about,” Tyler responded indignantly.
I nearly stumbled back from the shock. Girlfriend? I don’t remember agreeing to that! And yet, why was my chest was filling up with warmth at the fact that he’d not only called me his girlfriend but done it in public too?
I thought you didn’t like public displays of affection? said my conscience. So did I, I replied.
“Which is why I find it very disrespectful that you’d accuse Bella of lying about something so serious,” Tyler added.
I was stunned by the fact that he was sticking up for me against someone who I’d previously thought was his perfect match. Amber squealed with anger and looked like she was about to have an apoplectic fit as she struggled to find the right comeback to shoot back at the both of us.
“For fuck’s sake!” she exclaimed.
“Amber, stand outside for me.” Miss Green said sternly, as she appeared at the door. Everyone’s attention snapped towards her.
“What the f-” Amber began.
“If you want to finish that sentence, you can go straight to the principal’s office,” Miss Green said with a warning look on her face. She was not to be tested today, and I respected her for it.
Amber rolled her eyes and made a massive fuss while standing up and going outside, making sure to barge into me and Tyler on her way out.
“Now, does anyone care to explain to me why people are out of their seats?”
No one responded and the rest of my class shuffled around to find their proper seats as the drama appeared to have stopped. Amber glowered through the classroom window, saving her disdainful looks for me in particular, but I couldn’t give less of a shit if she liked me or not.
As me and Tyler walked towards the back of the classroom, I mouthed thank you to him before I took my seat. He squeezed my hand as he slid into the seat next to me and in that moment I felt wholly grateful that I had him by my side and I didn’t care who knew it.
* * *“So what’s this girlfriend thing?” I asked Tyler once our lesson had finally ended, and we were walking down the hallway together. He cast a cheeky sideways look at me before training his gaze forward again.
“Oh that? I assumed you’d want to be my girlfriend. Am I wrong?” he asked in a teasing voice.
“Hmmm,” I said for a moment as I pretended to think about his question.
Of course, I wanted to be his girlfriend. Our story was a crazy one, and we’d had a wild journey to get to this point but I’d never been more sure about anything. And the fact that he’d stood up for Bella as well and shut Amber down when she had started spreading some horrible shit, had only made me more sure in my decision. But there was one thing buzzing in the back of my head that I couldn’t ignore.
“What happens with valedictorian when one of us gets it and the other one doesn’t?” I asked, even though the question felt a bit dumb coming out of my mouth.
It almost felt stupid now, all these months of constantly trying to one up each other in the hopes that someone would come out on top nearly felt meaningless, yet the elephant still stood in the room.
Tyler stopped in the hallway and turned towards me, without a care for the people who had been walking behind us. He grabbed my hands in his and looked me in the eyes, fixing me once again with those beautiful sapphire pools.
“I’d choose you over valedictorian any day, Ruby,” said Tyler in a serious tone. His thumbs grazed the skin on my hands, making my heart flutter in my chest. Did he really mean that?
“Are you just saying that because I beat you at another test?” I asked, because it was practically illegal for my brain to just take what he’d said at face value. I couldn’t blame it after everything that happened since the day that we’d met.
“Nope, actually, I admire the fact that you work hard. Even if it was fuelled by your hatred towards me.” Tyler gave me a cocky grin, and I rolled my eyes at him in return.
“What makes you so sure that you actually want to choose me over all this school shit? Haven’t you been working on this for basically your whole life?”
Tyler pretended to think long and hard and rubbed his chin in a pensive, yet dramatic manner. I searched his eyes for an answer. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was he actually over trying to be the best at everything?
“Well, for one, school can’t suck my dick as well as you can-”
I hit him playfully on the arm before he could finish his crude sentence.
“What? It’s true!”
I gave him an unimpressed look, but the mischief in his eyes had a way of making me melt.
“But in all seriousness, you matter to may way more than all this shit, Ruby. And that’s why I want you to be my girlfriend, because you actually matter to me and I can’t imagine living without you now.” Tyler blushed and pulled me in close for a hug.
I fell into his familiar scent and nuzzled into his chest, ignoring everyone around us. I had a boyfriend, and I didn’t care who knew it. What I felt in my chest for Tyler was not going away and I was tired of pretending that he wasn’t my first and last thought of the day. Now we could love each other openly and honestly without worrying what it meant or what other people would think.
“Just for the record, if anyone deserves valedictorian, it’s you, Ruby,” said Tyler before he tilted my chin up with his finger and brushed his lips against mine.Tyler’s blistering kiss set fire to my soul and I was more than happy burning in his arms.
Once we pulled apart from each other reluctantly, Tyler smiled at me with that teasing smirk I once knew hinted at trouble, but that I’d now come to love.
“What is it?” I asked, my eyebrows raised as I wondered what he had planned now.
“Have you been to your locker today?” asked Tyler with faux innocence, as he struggled to keep the look of glee off his face.
“No…” I said slowly. I stabbed a finger into his chest playfully. “You didn’t put another shit there, did you? Because if you did, you’re fucking dead this time. And I mean it,” I said. Tyler shrugged and gestured for me to go and see for myself.
I undid my lock tentatively, shooting glances at Tyler as he rocked from side to side, an all too impressed look on his face. This guy reeked of trouble. I opened my locker door and was instantly met with a massive display of red roses and my favourite chocolate.
“Oh my god, how did you-?” I struggled to get my words out as I counted how many roses and bars of chocolate there were.
This boy knew exactly how to get to my heart and I had yet to give him any clues. No one had ever done anything this nice for me and it warmed my heart as I thought of how much effort it must have taken him to get all this stuff in here without me noticing.
“Did I get the right chocolate?” Tyler asked with a wary expression on his face.
“Yes, you did!” I exclaimed as I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Thank you for this,” I whispered into his ear as I went up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek.
“Phew!” said Tyler. “I saw them in your kitchen and assumed they were yours, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure-”
“Shut up, it’s perfect,” I said, brushing my lips against Tyler’s as his hands found my waist. “I’m glad to see you using your powers for good this time.”
“Only for you, Ruby,” Tyler smiled against my lips before he leaned down and kissed me again.
