Page 28 of Never His Girl
“I stopped by your school this evening,” he admits, making my stomach sink. His words cause me to see those marks and gashes he’s sporting in a new light.
“Okay,” I say again, trying not to panic.
“Shane told me about Scar, and I know you want me to stay out of it, but I was still pissed about the bullshit with the video and … I decided it was time to confront the guy.”
“You confronted West?” I ask calmly, having an idea of what Ricky means when he uses that phrase—confronted.I’m guessing there weren’t many words exchanged during this confrontation.
“He had it coming to him,” he explains.
I’m not sure what to say, and I’m also wondering how much this has to do with West’s random text a few minutes ago.
“So … what happened?”
Ricky blows out a breath and it’s visible in the chilly air.
“His brothers pulled us apart before it really ended. So, I guess you could say it’s over. For now, anyway.”
I take a breath and don’t quite know how to feel at the moment. “Thanks for telling me,” is honestly all I can say.
Ricky flashes a look my way now, for the first time since stopping by. I know what he was expecting. He thought I’d blow up and tell him he should’ve minded his business. While, usually, I do prefer for him to stay out of things, I get it. The protector in him couldn’t just let this go. Because of me. Because of Scar.
Not to mention, he only did what I wish I could’ve done myself.
“I’m sorry I butted in,” he adds, which actually draws a quiet laugh out of me.
“You’re forgiven, but promise me this is the last time. I’d prefer for you to stay out of trouble. Especially trouble that has anything to do with me.”
His steel-gray stare lingers on me as I blink.
“No promises, but I’ll take that into consideration,” he answers truthfully, which has me laughing a bit.
“Well, at least you’re honest. Been a while since I’ve hadanyonebe straight up with me,” I say.
“You know I have your back,” he reminds me. Not that I needed a reminder.
I take a couple steps to climb the porch, but a light touch to my wrist holds me in place. He doesn’t speak right away. Instead, he just levels a look on me that has me thinking there’s more he wants to say.
“What is it?” I ask.
He hesitates a moment, and then seems to come to himself.
“Nothing. Just … don’t hesitate to call me if you need something. Doesn’t matter what time it is,” he says. “Things on the street are heating up and … I just worry about you. About Scar. That’s all.”
When I nod, he lets go of my wrist.
“While I appreciate the thought, I stopped being afraid of the Boogeyman when I was eight.”
“Yeah, okay. Whatever,” he shoots back with a laugh, starting toward the alley. “Just sayin’, the Boogeyman doesn’t need you to believe in him to exist.”
“Got it, Ruiz. Night,” I call out, stepping back inside to watch from the doorway.
“Later, beautiful.” He waves once over his shoulder, never looking back.
Without even realizing it, he’s made my night. All because I’ll have the visual of one, West Golden, getting his ass handed to him as I fall asleep.
Sweet dreams to me, I guess.
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