Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 20

Ruby was stunned—she hadn't done anything wrong!

The man let out a cold snort. "I knew you wouldn't dare. Must've been something bad in that lunch. I told you that diner was sketchy. No wonder you always insist on eating there."

He shot her a warning look as he limped away, legs pressed tight together. "You'd better keep working. If I don't see you here later, you'll regret it!" he barked before hobbling off.

Ruby lowered her head and nodded meekly, playing the obedient worker.

Only then did the man leave, reassured.

Slowly, Ruby lifted her gaze to watch him scurry off to the restroom, confusion written all over her face.

Under the dim streetlight, the bottle she'd swept into her dustpan caught her eye—a bottle with an expiration date glaringly marked yesterday.

So that's what happened...

She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.

Soon, Ruby was nearly finished with her shift.

She was drenched in sweat, dragging her feet forward, exhaustion weighing down every step.

Every now and then, she'd stop to rub the spot where her calf met her thigh—a place that had once been broken, now throbbing with sharp, stabbing pain.

Suddenly, the baby in her arms, Mira, started fussing restlessly, almost as if asking, Mom, where's my bottle?

Ruby had no choice. She eyed the last stretch of the street, grit her teeth, and turned back.

Nothing mattered more than Mira.

A long while later, the man finally staggered out of the public restroom, legs jelly-like.

"Finally, I can go home and crash," he muttered, a sly grin curling at his lips.

But when he returned—

"Where'd she go?"

All that remained of the half-cleaned street was a hundred feet littered with dead leaves and trash. The pile of sunflower seed shells he'd dropped earlier was still there, plain as day—a silent accusation.

"She just left?"

A cold wind swept through the empty street, leaving him all alone.

Darell's face twisted in anger as he grudgingly grabbed the broom and half-heartedly swept a few times. Just a thin strip of greenery separated his side of the street from the one Ruby had cleaned—yet they looked like different worlds.

As he swept up the shells, he cursed under his breath, "Stupid bitch, just wait till tomorrow. I'll make you pay."

"I'm happy to apologize, but first I want to see for myself—was it really my trash left on that street yesterday?"

Ruby stood firm, Mira clutched tightly in her arms.

Mira nestled quietly, her big blue eyes glaring at the disagreeable woman in front of her.

"Trash is trash. How do you plan to tell which is yours?"

"That's true. But if I can't tell, how did your friend manage to identify which trash was from my street?"

"You—!" Fiona choked, not expecting this girl to be clever enough to argue back.

People began to gather, whispering among themselves: "Fiona's picking on the single mom again. Have some decency!"

Seeing she was losing support, Fiona finally relented. "Enough! If you want to look, then fine. But if you can't prove that isn't your trash, you'll pay him for his trouble. Otherwise, you're fired."

"I don't have any money."

"Then it'll come out of your wages!"

Ruby froze. Docking her pay—again?