Ava's "underdog" ringtone blared close to her ears as she spaced out again, thinking of how she and Ruby had met and how she had defended her then.

She jerked out of her reverie and automatically picked up the call without looking at the caller.

"Hello, darling." Ruby's voice startled her as she quickly picked up the phone from where she placed it on the pillow beside her ear. The broken screen glared back at her with Ruby's name, and the kissy emoji she had saved it with seemed to dance in front of her bleary eyes.

She smacked her head as she blamed her befuddled state of mind. She...