You Looked Down on Me Once, Now You Look Up. novel Chapter 111

“Crazy to think we’re not kids anymore, huh?” Ruby blurted out, propping her chin in her hand. “Remember that first time you drove me anywhere? You’d just gotten your license, snuck your parents’ car out to take me for a ride, and ended up driving us straight into the river.”

The memory felt so close, Theo found himself smiling before he realized it.

Ruby played with her hair, acting casual, but every word had a purpose.

She wanted Theo to remember how wild and free they used to be—wanted to remind him, in her own roundabout way, that he hadn’t always been so careful.

It’s only when you start missing the past that you want to chase after it again.

The car rolled to a stop in front of the Martin family’s house.

Thunder grumbled in the distance, the sky ready to open up.

Ruby glanced up. “I’m going in. You should get home before the weather gets worse. Drive safe.”

She swung the door open and hopped out in one smooth move.

The rain started to fall, big heavy drops, as she hurried up the walkway. Raising her arm to shield her face, she dashed inside and disappeared.

Theo watched her vanish through the door, her silhouette flickering for a second before she was gone.

It reminded him of a night back in high school when the sky looked just like this—he’d dropped her off, and she’d run inside just the same way.

For a moment, he felt seventeen again.

He drove back to the Newtons’ place. Kelly was still up, sitting at the dining table with a bowl of bird’s nest soup she barely touched, just absentmindedly stirring.

“Did you drop Ruby off?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Theo answered softly.

Kelly looked over and let out a sigh. “I get that it’s hard to let go of someone you grew up with, but you have to start thinking about yourself, too. Patricia’s back, and who knows what she’s after. If you keep hanging out with Ruby, people are going to start talking.”

“I know,” Theo said quietly. He knew exactly what it meant—for him, for Ruby—being this close.

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