Ch. 9 — Ruby’s First Breakdown

Ruby waited until Kai was completely gone—until his footsteps faded, until the echo of his presence dissolved into the noisy hallways—before she let her body move again.

Her hands shook. Her knees felt weak. Her lungs burned with the effort of holding everything in.

She needed to hide.

She needed a door. A lock. Silence.

Somewhere she could fall apart without an audience.

She pushed through the bathroom door, and the second it swung shut behind her, she ran into the nearest stall and locked it.

The metal click sounded too loud.

Her breath sounded too loud.

Everything was too loud.

Ruby slid down until she was sitting on the closed toilet seat, burying her face in her hands.

And then—

She broke.

---

Breaking Quietly

Tears spilled fast, hot, uncontrollable.

She didn’t sob loudly. She cried the quiet, shaking kind—the kind that tightened her throat and made her chest ache like she had swallowed a stone.

Her mind replayed everything:

The spilled lunch.

The laughter.

Zara’s panicked face.

Kai standing frozen.

Kai following her.

Kai saying nothing.

Why me? Why again? Why does he hate me so much?

She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking harder.

She refused to call her mom.

Her mom already had enough stress—new job, new city, new responsibilities. Ruby wasn’t going to make things worse by crying over a stupid boy and a stupid cafeteria.

I can handle this.

I have to.

But it hurt.

Everything hurt.

Footsteps entered the bathroom suddenly.

Ruby froze again.

Voices.

She recognized one instantly.

Brielle.

Ruby’s stomach dropped.

---

Brielle’s heels clicked on the tile.

Two other girls murmured beside her.

“Did you see her face?” Brielle scoffed. “She looked like a kicked puppy.”

A second girl giggled. “Kai totally owned her.”

“Please,” Brielle said. “Kai wasn’t even trying. He barely touched her tray. She’s the one who made it dramatic.”

Ruby closed her eyes.

Her throat burned.

Another girl whispered, “What if Kai gets in trouble for this?”

Brielle snorted. “He won’t. He never does. But that girl?” Her voice sharpened. “She should’ve taken the hint. She doesn’t belong here.”

Ruby’s jaw clenched.

She covered her mouth with her shaking hand.

Then Brielle said something that made Ruby’s blood run cold.

“And this? This was nothing. I haven’t even started yet.”

Ruby’s breath hitched.

The second girl whispered, “What are you planning?”

“Oh, just something fun,” Brielle said brightly. “Something to make her regret ever stepping foot in St. Celeste.”

Ruby felt sick.

She wanted to stand up and scream.

She wanted to hit the stall door open.

She wanted revenge.

But she stayed still, heart pounding against her ribs.

Another girl added, “What if Kai notices? I mean… he was weird after it happened.”

Brielle scoffed loudly. “Kai? Please. He doesn’t care about her. He only cares when he’s bored.”

A pause.

“Besides… she’s nothing.”

Ruby’s breath caught.

Her eyes stung again.

Brielle’s heels clicked toward the door.

“Come on, girls. We have planning to do.”

The door closed.

Silence.

A horrible, suffocating silence.

Ruby pressed both hands over her mouth and cried harder—quietly, painfully.

She felt small.

Alone.

Like she had stepped into a war she never chose.

---

Five minutes passed.

Maybe ten.

Ruby finally wiped her face with shaking fingers, trying to breathe normally again.

She sniffed.

Straightened up.

Tried to gather the courage to unlock the stall and face the world.

Then—

Someone entered the bathroom.

One pair of footsteps.

Slow.

Purposeful.

Ruby’s breath stilled.

The footsteps stopped right in front of her stall.

Ruby didn’t move.

She waited.

Nothing.

Her heart pounded so hard her ribs hurt.

Then—

Knock.

Soft.

Right beside her ear on the metal stall door.

Ruby jumped, hand flying to her mouth.

Another knock.

Quiet.

Steady.

Not aggressive.

But silent afterward.

No voice.

No name.

No sound.

Just that presence standing there… waiting.

Ruby whispered, barely audible:

“…Who’s there?”

Silence.

The shadow under the stall door stayed still.

Completely still.

Ruby’s voice shook. “I—I heard you. Who is it?”

No answer.

A second later, the person turned slowly.

Footsteps.

The door opened.

Closed.

Silence swallowed the bathroom again.

Ruby stayed frozen, heart pounding, breath trembling.

She didn’t know who it was.

But something in her gut said:

It wasn’t Brielle.

And it wasn’t Zara.

And the silence felt too tense, too heavy, too familiar.

Ruby shivered.

Because somehow…

She already had a terrible guess.