Killing Ruby Rose Read Online Free PDF Page B

can’t tell anyone. It would change everything. It would look like I planned to go there and murder him, and that would establish mens rea —the definition of criminal intent.” I imagined the headline “Teen Sociopath Planned Killing All Along.” And then there would be a trial. And sentencing. And those horribly loose-fitting orange jumpsuits with matching rubber shoes that not even Hollywood royalty can pull off—
    “Don’t worry,” she said. “You can trust me, you know that.” I believed her.
    I waited to feel better now that I’d gotten it off my chest—but I didn’t feel better. I rolled my shoulders and neck to see if that would help. Maybe medication was the answer.
    “You have a bright future, and no one can take that away from you.” She looked at me like she wanted to stamp the words across my soul. “No one.”
    “What about my mom’s political opponents?” I could play devil’s advocate all day. In fact, I was good at seeing the half-empty side of things. My Ruby Rose–colored glasses were actually quite dark. “Last week, Bill Brandon went on CNN, spouting off about poor gun laws in California. He wants legislators to pass retroactive legislation making it a felony to even own a handgun in California. I’ll be a felon. Good-bye, Stanford.” I waved adieu to my bright future with the grace of a well-trained beauty queen.
    Dr. T got up and stalked toward her desk. “That’s not going to happen. They’re all just sensationalizing the incident for their own benefit. And that schmuck Brandon is crossing the line by involving you in his campaign against your mother. He knows his retroactive comments are ridiculous, but they give him more media traction. That’s all it is. It would never pass.”
    “ Schmuck . Is that a clinical term, doctor?” I asked, smiling for the first time today. I liked it when I wasn’t the only one in the room with unrestrained resentment.
    “I’ve used worse.” She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a white envelope before returning to her Throne of Discernment. “I was going to wait to give this to you, but it feels like now’s the time.”
    “Is that my one Get Out of Jail Free card I’ve been asking my mom for?”
    “It’s a letter.” She stroked its smooth face like it was a velveteen rabbit, and placed it next to me. It had no stamp or return address, just my name in bubbly elementary school lettering. “If you feel comfortable, I’d like you to read it aloud.”
    I had a good idea of what it was. And I wasn’t sure I did feel comfortable.
    I reached for it slowly, like it could jump away. I broke the envelope’s seal and pulled out a piece of paper. A picture fell into my lap.
    It was me. My blonde hair, my pale-gray eyes.
    No, it wasn’t me. It looked like my fifth-grade picture, but with a bandage on my neck.
    It was the girl. The one I’d held at the warehouse. The one who’d clung to me as I tried to save her life. I’d been wondering how she was doing for weeks now.
    A row of goose bumps raised across my neck.
    “A therapist I know gave me the envelope to deliver to you,” said Dr. T. “Can you read the note?”
    I took another good look at the picture before unfolding the accompanying paper.
     
Dear Ruby,
Thank you for saving my life. No matter what anyone says, you will always be my hero. I’ll never forget you.
Love,
Riley Bentley
     
    My eyes found Mother Teresa’s—hers had welled up with tears, while mine were profoundly dry from shock.
    “Don’t you think it’s strange that she looks so much like me?” I said, holding up the picture of the girl. Riley.
    “What?” It was Dr. T’s turn to be surprised. She wiped her eyes to better study the small wallet-sized photo. “Well, yes, she does look a lot like you—but that’s surely just a coincidence.”
    “I don’t believe in coincidences. My dad always said that they’re just clues.” The emptiness echoed within me as I remembered his