Page 195 of Show Me

“Ruby?” His voice sharpens.

The sound of it breaks something inside me. “I–” My voice cracks badly. “I think someone hit me.”

Dead silence. Then Jake’s tone changes. “Where are you?”

“My yard.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. The words tumble together. “I was feeding the pigs, and something hit me, and there’s another note, and I woke up on the ground and–”

“Ruby.” His voice cuts straight through the panic. “Stay on the phone with me.”

“Okay.”

“I’m on my way.”

My stomach twists again. I press my hand harder against the grass to steady myself while Squirt continues pacing anxiously beside me. “Jake…”

“Yeah?”

My voice comes out small. “I’m scared.”

“I know.” His answer is immediate. Steady. “You’re not alone, alright? I’ll be there in a minute.”

The next few minutes blur together strangely. The porch light. The cold grass. Squirt’s nervous snuffling. Everything feels disconnected. Far away.

Then headlights swing hard into the driveway. Jake’s truck screeches to a stop. He’s out before the engine fully dies. “Ruby!”

“Here,” I manage weakly.

The flashlight beam finds me instantly. Jake’s expression hardens the second he sees the blood matted along my hairline. “Jesus Christ.”

“I’m okay.”

“You’re not okay.”

He drops into a crouch beside me. Squirt crowds against his leg. “Easy, boy,” he mutters before turning the flashlight toward my head. “Hold still.”

The movement makes nausea surge again. I turn and throw up into the grass a second time. Jake steadies my shoulder. “Alright. Easy.”

“I shouldn’t have come out at night, but I–”

“Don’t worry about that right now.” His gaze sweeps the yard. Tree line. Fence. Darkness beyond the porch light. Every direction feels exposed. “Did you see anyone?”

I shake my head once and instantly regret it.

“Don’t do that again,” he mutters. He already has his phone out.

“Right.” I don’t know whether he means come outside at night again or turn my head, but I’m agreeing to both. Coming outside in the dark was a bad idea. And turning my head was worse.

“I’m calling this in.” Within seconds, his voice changes into clipped professional calm. “I need an ambulance at Ruby’s place. Assault leading to a head injury.”

Sirens slice through the quiet night a few minutes later. Red and blue lights flash across the yard and the ambulance swings in behind Jake’s truck.

The passenger doors burst open, and Emily jumps out. Her eyes lock on me instantly. “Oh, my God.” She’s beside me, medical bag already in hand. “Ruby, look at me.”

I try to smile. “Hey.”