Page 43 of Swerve (Boosted Hearts 1)

Lulu smiled, eyes so warm and filled with love that I felt a pang of jealousy. “Yep. They adore each other.” She chuckled. “He has his aunt wrapped around his little finger.”

“You have such a great family,” I said before I could school my words.

She dipped her chin. “I’m lucky.”

“You deserve it, this amazing life you have now.” Lulu had been through awful things, things no young girl or woman ever should. If anyone deserved happiness, it was her.

She squeezed my hand. “I want the same for you.”

I forced a smile. “I know you do. I can’t imagine it though,” I said truthfully.

Her soft smile slipped. “Ruby, when we’re told enough we don’t deserve something, we start to believe it.” She gave my hand another squeeze. “You don’t talk about it much, but Hunter’s said a few things about your stepmother . . . and what he has said was bad.”

I didn’t talk to anyone about my childhood accept Neco. I knew he’d shared with his best friend, and I knew Hunter and the other guys had seen and heard things when we lived on that street. Usually, I would deflect, change the subject, but Lulu was different. She’d shared so much with me, I wanted to give some of that back to her. Show her how much I valued her as a friend.

My fingers tightened around my coffee cup. “My stepmother was abusive. She genuinely hated me. I don’t know why, to this day I don’t know why. She was just a cruel, selfish, ugly person. She called me names every day, enjoyed humiliating me. She’d sometimes go away, and lock me out of the house.” A lump expanded in my throat. “When I was eleven, her and one of her boyfriends force-fed me vodka and got me drunk purely for their own entertainment. She would deny me food until I was sick with hunger, or . . .

Lulu’s hand tightened around mine. “My God, Ruby . . . I’m so sorry you went through that . . .”

I’d been rambling, the floodgates of my nightmare life pouring from me. I quickly shook my head. “I’m okay,” I said. “I survived.”

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. When I left, I never looked back.”

Lulu held my eyes. “You’re the strongest woman I know, Ruby Styles.”

I squeezed her hand back. “Ditto.”

We finished our cake after that, talking about lighter things. She understood like no one else that’s what I needed. Another reason I loved her so much.

We finally left and were heading down the street, back toward the apartment when the sound of squealing tires followed by the ear-splitting screech of metal against metal filled the air. I jerked back when Scott’s car slam to a halt in front of us, the side of it all fucked up from the cars he’d just sideswiped. He jumped out instantly, running at me, and I shoved Lulu behind my back.

Scott’s eyes were wide, darting all over the place as he grabbed my wrist and jerked me forward. “Let’s go, quickly. It’s not safe.”

I yanked my arm out of his hold. “What the hell’s going on, Scott?” Weirdly, all the fear I’d had vanished. My roommate was scared and paranoid, and despite the beating he’d given me, I didn’t think he really wanted to hurt me.

His eyes locked with mine. “Please, Ruby, we have to go . . .”

I heard the sound of boots pounding on the pavement and spun around. Zeke was barreling down on us. Scott spotted him and cursed, then reluctantly letting me go, dived back into his car and tore off down the street before Zeke could get to him.

I stared after Scott. What the hell was that? Zeke rounded us up and bundled us into his SUV before I knew what was happening, then he was driving, phone to his ear, talking to Van.

I sat there stunned through the whole thing. Lulu held my hand and I felt hers trembling in mine. Scott had freaked her out. She’d been through more than enough already.

I couldn’t take much more of this, of hiding, of sitting around waiting for someone else to save me, to work out what in the hell was going on.

I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was pissed the hell off.

Zeke took us to the agency. Lulu and I were sitting on the couch in Van’s office when Neco and Hunter walked in. And dear God, the look on Hunter’s face. He looked ready to tear shit apart. That look was because of me, because of my shit.

Lulu was up and at his side before he’d fully gotten through the door. He cursed, wrapped her in his arms, lifted her off her feet, and walked out, kicking the door shut behind them.

That just left Neco and me.

I stared at him and he stared back. “I’m fine. Look, I don’t think Scott is a threat, he’s just . . .”

“Let’s go,” he said cutting me off, voice coarse, like gravel.