Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

“Hey! You actually found a ruby!” the little voice came from the screen of my phone.

“Yep!” I beamed as I held the little gem between my fingers so my best friend could see it. It was rough and still looked as if it was covered in dust and dirt even though I had cleaned it thoroughly. It was going to look like that till it was cut. Still, you could see the distinct red hue, and this one might actually be big enough to cut or polish. The hexagonal crystal was about the size of my thumbnail. Of course it would be significantly smaller when cut, but this one was good enough sized it could go on a small ring.

Which I counted as an utter win.

“I’m so glad I didn’t leave early. I was this close to calling it quits, Anna. No joke.” I flipped onto my bed, disrupting the pillows and stuffies strewn against the headboard. “Of all the people to be there, it just HAD to be Spencer Wiliams? Talk about bad luck. He’s so rude , Anna! But also?—”

I wriggled across my comforter so I could reach my phone on the bedside table, bringing the video call of my best friend close to my face. “Worst of all… Now Anna, you cannot repeat this to anyone. On your donkeys’ souls!”

Anna loved her donkeys. This was a foolproof oath.

“ O-kay! Sheesh! No need to bring the boys into this. I promise I won’t tell anyone. Now what’s wrong?”

I steeled myself with a deep breath before I revealed my dark secret. “He’s… He’s so cute, Anna.” My free hand covered my burning pink face. An anguished groan left me.

She laughed, which I mean I get. If I were her, I would laugh at me too. “That’s all?”

“What do you mean ‘that’s all’?!”

Her honey-brown eyes rolled. “Come on, it’s not like you’ve never seen a cute guy before, Leah. You’re stronger than this!”

“No! You don’t get it! He’s—UGH.” I buried my face in the bed to hide from my shame. I knew I shouldn’t have told Anna. She’d never really been that into guys and was never as romantic as I was, despite being the only one between us to have a successful relationship. “This time it is different…”

All I heard was a sigh from the other end of the call, so I peeked above the coverlet.

“Life is rude,” Anna offered with a shrug.

I had to smile. Anna Baker was the coolest kid I'd ever met. She was a competitive swimmer, was wicked good at math, and most importantly she read as much as I did. We were inseparable as girls, and practically every time I would come visit after moving away. If soulmates were real, Anna was mine. Even when she didn’t fully understand what I was going through, she never, ever, failed to support me. And that was worth more than gold.

“Yeah… You're telling me. We can't all be as lucky as you and Nate.”

She laughed again, pained this time, colored by her own embarrassment. Anna’s laugh always delighted me; it reminded me a bit of a dolphin, in the best way. “Yeah, don’t remind me! I still have no idea how this happened.”

We shared a laugh over our mutual absurdities, but then Nate was at her door and it was time to leave.

“Don’t stress, okay?” Anna reminded me before hanging up. She knew I was still nervous about being back and seeing everyone from my past. “Just be you and it’ll be fine. It’s gonna be fun.”

“Okay.” I smiled back. “Thanks, I will.”

Then I was left staring at the darkness of my empty phone screen. I let it fall from my hands with a sigh, before rolling onto my back on the bed. Above my head, I turned the little ruby I had found over and over between my fingers.

I wasn’t as worried about getting on well with everyone as I was being able to stay energetic and on my feet. The relief I had gotten from taking the bandana off when I got home was only temporary, and I could feel the pain at the back of my head hiding like a predator poised to strike at a moment's notice. And that wasn’t even counting the aches in my knee and body.

I had definitely worked myself too hard at the mine and would be facing the consequences at some point, sooner or later. I was crossing my fingers for later.