Page 194 of Show Me

The ground tilts hard beneath me. My knees buckle. The feed bucket slips from my fingers. It hits the grass somewhere far away. Pain crashes in a split second later, sharp, blinding, disorienting.

The world spins sideways as cold grass slams into my palms. Somewhere nearby, Squirt lets out a shrill panicked squeal.

Another sound follows, heavy breathing, footsteps, movement, or maybe that’s just blood rushing in my ears. I try to push up. Can’t. Everything blurs together.

The porch light smears across my vision in hazy yellow streaks. Then darkness rushes in fast and hard.

And everything disappears.

Chapter One Hundred Two

Ruby

Pain wakes me first—a dull pounding deep behind my left temple. For a few seconds, I don’t move. Don’t open my eyes. Don’t breathe too deeply. Cold grass presses against my cheek.

My fingers twitch against dirt and damp leaves. Then memory crashes back all at once. The pigs. The yard. The sound behind me. The hit.

My eyes fly open. The porch light glows weakly across the backyard, blurring at the edges of my vision. I’m on the ground beside the pig pen. Squirt circles nearby in frantic tight loops, letting out distressed squeals and nervous grunts that scrape straight through my skull.

“Squirt,” I whisper hoarsely. Even my own voice hurts.

I try pushing myself upright. Pain detonates instantly behind my eye. “Ah–”

The sound slips out before I can stop it. My hand flies to the side of my head. My fingers come away wet. Dark. Blood. Panic punches straight through the haze.

Okay. Okay. Think.

I force myself upright, bracing against the fence post while the yard tilts sideways. My stomach rolls hard. Something white catches my attention near the gate.

Paper. Taped to the fence post.

My heart lurches to my throat. No. No. No. No.

I crawl closer anyway. The black marker bleeds against the paper from the damp night air.

You were warned.

Another line sits beneath it.

Stay away from him.

The words swim briefly out of focus. My stomach lurches violently. I barely turn my head before throwing up into the grass beside the fence.

Pain explodes through my skull again hard enough to make tears spring instantly to my eyes. Squirt squeals sharply and presses his snout against my shoulder.

Someone was here. Someone hit me on the head. They stood over me while I was unconscious. Fear cuts clean through the numb exhaustion.

My hands shake as I dig my phone out of my hoodie pocket. The screen blurs twice before I can focus on it properly.

My thumb hovers over Xavier’s name. Instinct. Habit. The person I’ve reached for through all of this.

Pain shoots through my chest as swiftly as it did my head. Because even now, hurt and dizzy and bleeding into the grass, part of me still wants him. But all I hear is his words.

No expectations. Nothing serious. Just friends.

And I can’t bear the idea of calling him and hearing obligation instead of want. I can’t survive that again.

My thumb drops lower on the screen. Jake. The phone rings once. Twice.