Page 27 of Because I Liked A Boy (Because I Liked A Boy Trilogy #1)

Ruby hadn’t left my side. She was curled up on the other end of the couch, half-watching the reality show she’d insisted on putting on, half-watching me like she thought I might shatter if she blinked. Maybe she was right.

I was wrapped in a blanket, knees pulled to my chest, Hunter’s betrayal still a raw wound beneath my skin. I’d stopped crying hours ago, but the ache hadn’t dulled. It just sat there, heavy, pulsing, filling every breath.

Ruby shoved another handful of gummy bears into her mouth, chewing loud on purpose. “You know what the cure for heartbreak is?” she asked around the sugar.

“What?” My voice was hoarse.

“Trashing complete strangers on reality TV.” She pointed at the screen. “Look at that guy. He’s definitely cheating by episode three.”

I let out the smallest laugh, and Ruby gasped theatrically. “Oh my god, was that a laugh? Did Belle Ashbourne just laugh? Someone call the papers.”

“Shut up,” I muttered, but my lips tugged upward anyway. Ruby grinned like she’d just won a battle. “Progress.”

The comfort lasted all of three minutes.

The phone buzzed against the table, an unfamiliar number flashing across the screen.

I froze. My chest tightened, the sound already sinking claws into my nerves. Nothing good ever came from unknown numbers.

Ruby frowned, mid-bite. “Don’t answer it.”

But my gut twisted, and against my better judgment, I swiped to accept.

“Isabella.”

My stomach dropped at the sound of that voice. Smooth. Cold. I hadn’t heard it in months, but it still slithered straight through me like poison.

My father.

“What do you want?” My voice cracked, thinner than I meant.

He chuckled, dark and sharp. “Straight to the point, I see. No hello for your father? No ‘how are you?’ That’s fine. Let’s talk about your sister instead.”

My breath stopped, skin prickling like I’d been dunked in ice water. “Penny? What about her?”

“She’s fine,” he drawled, dragging the word out until it sounded like a threat. “As fine as a fifteen-year-old can be when her big sister abandons her. She’s been asking for you, Isabella. Crying for you at night. Do you know what that’s like? Listening to her beg for the sister who ran?”

The words gutted me. Because Penny wasn’t just a name anymore.

I’d spent nights with her after Nathan’s funeral, letting her lean against me, listening to her chatter about school, trying to be the sister I’d never had the chance to be before.

She had looked at me like I mattered. And then I’d vanished.

“Don’t,” I whispered, gripping the phone tighter.

“Don’t what? Tell the truth? You’ve left that little girl in my house, under my roof, while you’re off fucking around with gutter trash in Maplewood.” His voice hardened, each word like a blade. “First Nathan, now Penny. You destroy everything you touch.”

My chest heaved, but the knife twisted deeper when he said, soft and lethal: “You killed Nathan. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.

You were behind the wheel that night. You walked away while my son bled out.

You killed him. And now you’ve abandoned his sister too.

Tell me—how long before Penny ends up in the ground because of you? ”

Tears blurred my vision. “Stop it.”

“You’re a coward,” he hissed. “You ran from London. You ran from me. And now you hide in some nothing town, pretending you’re not a disgrace. But do you know what, Isabella? You’ll never outrun who you are.”

My lungs burned. “You’re lying. You’re twisting this.”

He laughed, cruel and mocking. “Am I? Penny doesn’t think so. She asks for you. Over and over. She doesn’t want me. She doesn’t want her mother. She wants you. And you’re not here.”

The line went dead.

I sat frozen, the phone still pressed to my ear, tears spilling fast.

“Belle?” Ruby’s voice cut in, cautious at first. But when she saw my face, the bowl slipped from her hand, cereal scattering across the table. She rushed to me, panic sharp in her voice. “Jesus Christ what did he say?”

I choked on a sob, forcing the words out. “Penny. He said she’s asking for me. That she’s crying for me every night. And then he said I killed Nathan. That I’m a coward. That I’ll ruin her too.”

Ruby’s hands landed firm on my shoulders, steadying me. “Belle. Look at me.” Her eyes blazed. “Don’t you dare repeat his bullshit like it’s gospel. He’s manipulating you. That’s what he does, right? He finds the softest part of you and twists until you bleed.”

The fight left me in a rush. I crumpled against her, sobbing hard, her arms wrapping me up. She didn’t know Nathan the way I had. She didn’t know my father. But she didn’t need to she could see what his words did to me, how they hollowed me out until all that was left was guilt and ash.

“He’s not right,” Ruby whispered fiercely into my hair. “He’s a monster. And monsters lie. That’s all this is.”

But the guilt still tore through me. Because beneath every cruel word, one truth remained sharp and unbearable Penny wanted me. And I wasn’t there.

I pulled back, wiping my swollen face. My voice cracked as I whispered, “I have to go home.”

Ruby jerked back, eyes wide. “No. Absolutely not. That’s exactly what he wants. He’ll crush you, Belle.”

My chest heaved. “Ruby, she needs me. She’s just a kid, stuck in that house with him. If I don’t go… she’ll think I don’t care. She’ll think I abandoned her too.”

Ruby gripped my hands tight. “You can’t walk back into his world just because he dangled her like bait. He’s using her to reel you in.”

“I don’t care!” The words ripped out of me, fierce and broken. “If there’s even a chance she’s crying for me, I can’t stay here. She’s my sister, Ruby. I can’t ignore her.”

Ruby’s face twisted, torn between anger and grief. Her voice cracked. “If you go back, I don’t know if you’ll come out.”

I squeezed her hands harder, desperate. “Then promise me you’ll be here if I do. Promise me you won’t let me vanish into him again.”

Her eyes glistened. “I’ll always be here. But, Belle… don’t let him convince you of anything. Not your dad, not Hunter. Nobody. Promise me.”

My throat burned, but I nodded. “I promise.”

Later, upstairs, I packed fast, clothes shoved into a bag with trembling hands. Ruby lingered in the doorway, arms crossed like she could hold me there with sheer will.

“When you come back,” she said firmly, “this house will be waiting. Clean, stocked, safe.”

Her words made my chest ache so hard I almost broke again. When I come back. But I knew better.

I wasn’t coming back. Not really. Because if I stepped onto that train, if I walked into my father’s world again, it wouldn’t spit me out whole. Maplewood had been a dream, but Penny was my reality. And if saving her meant sacrificing myself, then so be it.

I forced a smile for Ruby’s sake. “Thanks.”

She hugged me so tight it hurt. “A week. Then I expect to see your stubborn ass back here.”

“A week,” I echoed.

But as I zipped the bag and slid it onto my shoulder, the truth pressed sharp against my ribs. I was lying. Because I wasn’t planning to come back.

The sun was dipping low, painting Maplewood in burnt orange when I dragged my last bag out to the car. The trunk slammed shut with a hollow thud that rattled through me.

Ruby leaned against the hood, arms crossed, trying to look steady even though her eyes were glassy. “You text me the second you get there,” she said firmly. “And Belle, if he—” She broke off, jaw tight. “If anyone tries anything, you call me.”

I nodded, gripping the strap of my bag like it could anchor me. “I will.”

She hugged me one last time, her hand clutching the back of my head like she didn’t want to let go. “Text me when you’re on the train,” she whispered fiercely. “Promise me, Belle.”

I nodded, my throat tight. “I promise.”

She pulled away reluctantly, then climbed into her car. The tail lights flared, then faded down the road, leaving me standing alone by my own car, keys cold in my shaking hands.

I’d just hauled my bag into the backseat when headlights swept across the driveway. My stomach dropped before I even turned.

The truck.

Hunter killed the engine and was out in seconds, his boots crunching against the gravel. His eyes locked on me immediately, stormy, desperate.

“Where are you going?” His voice was rough, frantic.

I swallowed hard, gripping the car door like it might hold me upright. “Home. London.”

His jaw tightened, his steps quickening until he was standing a few feet away. “Don’t please, just give me a chance. I need to explain before you leave.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “Explain? Hunter, there’s nothing you can say—”

“Ten minutes.” His voice cracked as he cut me off, hands flexing at his sides. “Just… ten minutes. If you still want to go after, I’ll let you.”

My heart pounded so hard I thought it might crack my ribs. For a long moment, I stared at him, weighing the ache in my chest against the rage clawing up my throat.

Finally, I lifted my chin. “You want me to hear you out? Fine. Talk. You’ve got ten minutes.”

Hunter exhaled like I’d just handed him the world, dragging a hand through his hair before meeting my eyes again. His voice was rough, low.

“Your father called me.”

The words slammed into me, but I stayed still, my grip on the car door white-knuckled.

“I was broke. Barely scraping by,” he said quickly, like he knew time was running out. “Then he offers me more money than I’d ever seen to keep an eye on you. To report back. I told myself it was just business. Not personal.”

My chest ached, but I didn’t move.

“Then I met you,” he went on, his voice breaking.

“And suddenly, it wasn’t a job anymore. It was you.

Stubborn, sharp, impossible not to notice.

And I—fuck, I couldn’t stop myself. I stopped sending him details, stopped taking his calls.

I didn’t care about the money anymore. I only cared about you. ”

A bitter laugh clawed out of me. “You cared? You cared while you cashed the check with my name on it?”

His jaw tightened. “I cared enough to walk away from it. Too late, yeah, but I did. You changed everything for me, Isabella.”

My throat closed, my tears hot and blinding. “And you ruined everything for me.”

Silence crashed down, thick and suffocating. He looked gutted, like every word I spoke sliced him deeper, but I didn’t let myself waver.

I shoved the car door open wider, my voice breaking as I forced the words out. “Your ten minutes are up.”

His lips parted, desperate, but he didn’t move closer. His eyes burned into me, storm-dark and raw. “I never wanted to be the reason you stopped believing in love.”

I slammed the door before he could say another word. The sound echoed like a gunshot.

And I drove away.