His Secret

On a weekend afternoon, sunlight streamed through my bestie's floor-to-ceiling windows, landing on the coffee table covered with a tablecloth. Whitney Lynn, Mia Scott, Rachel Taylor, and I sat around playing cards, and I was losing horribly. "You gotta own the loss, Linda, hurry up and change your profile picture and name!" Whitney Lynn laid down her cards, grinning wickedly. I frowned, sighed, and grabbed my cell phone to open my profile. "Do I really have to do exactly what you say?" I looked up at the three of them. "Of course, the rules have been set forever ago." Mia Scott leaned over, staring at my phone screen, "The profile pic has to be some greasy middle-aged guy, and the name has to change to AAA Debt Collectors, at least for three days." I gritted my teeth, made the changes they wanted, and tossed my cell phone back onto the table. Just as I grabbed the cards, my cell phone buzzed. It was a message from my boyfriend, Dylan Lewis, and reading it sent chills down my spine. "That girl's super innocent—send her over with a little charm, and half the debt will be wiped clean. Don't worry, I'll watch out for Ruby." My fingers froze just as I was about to reply, but the message was suddenly retracted. Right after that, Dylan's call came through. "Linda, I just sent the wrong message." His voice sounded calm. "Wrong message?" I forced down my pounding heart and asked. "It's nothing, just chatting about some business stuff with friends, accidentally sent it to you." Dylan Lewis shrugged it off casually. I held my cell phone, my fingertips cold, and didn't ask any more. After hanging up, Whitney Lynn tapped my arm. "What's wrong? You look awful." "Nothing, probably just a little tired." I forced a smile, tucking the unease deep inside. A few minutes later, Dylan Lewis sent me another message on W Chat. "Linda, come back with me next weekend to meet my parents. Let's talk about marriage." Seeing the word "marriage," my doubts just grew heavier in my heart. Why did he suddenly bring up marriage? What was that message all about just now? "Who's Ruby?" I muttered to myself, staring at my phone screen. "Ruby? Who are you talking about?" Rachel heard and leaned in, asking. "Nothing, just said it out loud." I quickly shut off the phone screen. I looked around at the three of them at the card table and suddenly felt something was off. In Dylan Lewis's message, he clearly said he had to protect Ruby. Is he cheating? Who exactly is this Ruby? What scares me even more is that he said he'd drug a pure college girl to settle a debt. Is he trying to sacrifice someone else to protect Ruby? The more I thought about it, the more anxious I got, and I couldn't even hold my cards steady. "Linda, your turn to play." Mia reminded me. I snapped back to reality and put down a random card, but my mind wasn't on the game at all. All afternoon, I felt on edge, my thoughts stuck on that message Dylan Lewis had retracted. When we wrapped up, Dylan messaged me saying he'd come pick me up. I stood on the sidewalk waiting for him, and the wind sent a chill through me. Dylan's car pulled up right in front of me; he rolled down the window and waved with a smile. "Hop in, Linda." I opened the car door and slid in; the air was thick with his usual cologne, but it felt totally strange to me. "Meeting my parents next week—are you ready for that?" Dylan Lewis held my hand softly. His hand felt warm, but my heart was cold. "Dylan Lewis, do you know Ruby?" I suddenly blurted it out. Dylan's hand paused for a beat, his eyes flickered with a hint of panic, then he quickly masked it. "Ruby? Not really, I think she's a friend's little sister." He brushed it off. I looked at his profile and knew right away he was lying. In that moment, I was sure he was hiding something, and it wasn't just anything with that girl named Ruby. I didn't push him any further, just quietly turned my head and stared out at the scenery rushing by outside the window. I had to find out who Ruby really was and what secret was behind that message from Dylan Lewis.