Page 21 of Ruined
Instinct kicked in, and I readied myself to yell at Kolby, the only one dumb enough to do something like this. Opening my bedroom door, I was hit by the sweet smell of blueberry pancakes and was instantly less irritated. Inhaling deeply, I stepped back inside my room and walked toward the vanity. Grabbing the flowers, I simply tossed them into the trash bin before grabbing my things and leaving the room.
The sound of warm laughter echoed as I entered our kitchen to see everyone awake and already eating breakfast around the table. Kinsley, Kolby, Bodhi, and the random members of the team all crowded together around the large wooden oval. I watched for a moment as syrup bottles were thrown back and forth and plates were stacked high with pancakes.
“Turns out I survived last night,” I announced, setting my things on the counter and sitting down next to Kinsley. A chorus of greetings answered back as Kinsley waved her fork at me like she didn’t want to hear anything about it. I wanted to say more, but a blueberry hit my face, courtesy of Kolby. When I looked up, it was clear that he was trying to grab my attention with a mouth full of food.
“He’slucky. I would have scoured the world to find you.”
Bodhi handed me a plate, looking over at Kolby, “Dude, you can’t even find your keys half the time.”
I smiled at their banter as I accepted the plate in front of me. Setting it down, I immediately stabbed the pancake and let my eyes drift across the table. They’re met with ones of honey brown, a color belonging to one of Bodhi’s friends.
“I saw the dress you left in last night. You looked really good.”
I didn’t even get the chance to respond before Bodhi smacked him in the back of the head. “Behave.”
“Yeah?” I said, keeping my tone casual even though I was already over his whole personality.
“Yeah. Good enough that I should have given you flowers the moment I saw you,” he responded.
The wording seemed off, like he might have been the one in my room, and suddenly, I wasn’t so sure it was Kolby. “Well do me a favor and justdon’tnext time, okay?”
“How else is a dude supposed to try?” he asked between bites.
I didn’t respond as I let the discussion fade back into whatever they had been talking about before I’d entered. Taking another few bites, I sat and watched the conversation around me. I was in the middle of enjoying the exchange when I realized the honey brown eyes had yet to leave me. Snapping my head up, I met his stare. “Can I help you with something?”
Bodhi choked on a laugh as he looked between me and his teammate. Lifting his cup, he bowed his head in introduction. “Uh. Em, this is Archer. Archer, Ember.” Taking a drink, he swallowed before adding, “Be careful, she tends to bite.”
Archer’s reply was clipped, almost void of emotion. “And what if I like to bite back?”
Two things pissed me off about that answer. First, his arrogance was undeniable—much like Silas’s. Second, I was surrounded by men who were full of themselves, and I wasoverit.
I stood abruptly, done with the whole conversation. Brushing crumbs from my pants, I rolled my eyes at the man across from me. “Yeah, I’m gonna pass on that.” Taking my plate to the sink, I nodded in Kolby’s direction. “Feel free to bitehim.I’m willing to bet he’s into that.”
Kinsley giggled and raised her hand to offer me a high-five as I passed her. The sound of our hands colliding brought a smile to my face, which only grew wider as Kolby stuck his tongueout. A small chuckle escaped as I grabbed my items and left the room to head to the front door.
I stepped out onto our patio when I felt my foot crunch against something plastic. Looking down, I froze before pulling my leg back slowly.
More flowers.
The ones in my bedroom had been simple, almost like they’d been pulled from the ground, butthesewere on a completely different level. Each bundle featured a different flower, all neatly tied together with various ribbons. My eyes roamed over the floor, catching everything from sunflowers that were speckled with bright colors to roses that had been dusted with glitter. Together, they covered the entire space in front of our door—hundreds of flowers, just lying there.
Scanning each one, I noticed a folded note stuck inside one of the bouquets. Taking a quick breath, I moved my camera to my back and crouched to read over my name that was typed onto the front. I hovered there for a few seconds, my mind drifting to Silas and the off chance he had done this. He absolutely did not seem like that type, but then again, I didn’t even know the man's eye color.
Opening the small piece of paper, my eyes immediately moved to the seven words on the back. They were hand-written in black ink:
I willruinyou for anyone else.
Heat filled my face as I stared down at the one underlined word. To me, that was enough proof to tell me exactly who haddone this. Could that mean the window might have been him too? I never outright asked Archer if he was the one who’d left the flowers in the first place.
Crumbling the paper in my hand, my mind drifted back to Silas and the fact I had already promised myself that I’d stay away from him. My body fought back at the reminder, recalling images and feelings from last night. Suddenly, my mind filled with his voice, and I remembered how he had been very clear that no other man would be allowed to have me. There was no way he had been serious, right?
Standing up, I brought my foot down on the flowers, smiling when another satisfying crunch filled my ears. I didn’t belong toanyone,and despite the fact he had quite literallydestroyedme last night, that included him. Moving out of instinct, I grabbed as many flowers as I could and walked them over to the large trash at the side of our yard. Hurling them inside one by one, I didn’t stop until every last bouquet was gone from our porch. Then, I straightened my bags and started toward my shoot.
Nice try, motherfucker.
11
Silas
