Ruby straightened her shoulders. Raised her chin. Looked at herself in the mirror. "I can do this. I will stay here. I will not be kicked out."

She stared at her reflection. She had to admit, she looked a little timid. A little scared. She tried to force her expression to be fierce, to be angry. She wasn't about to back down, not when the envelope she held had plenty of money for rent.

Her first month at her apartment had flown by. And Ruby was going to persuade him to keep her as a tenant. She would be the best tenant there ever was, if it guaranteed her place there. "I can do this. I can face Atlas."

She marched her way down to the stairs. She wasn't even sure if Atlas would be in the landlord office that often sat empty, but rent was due. It was the first of the month. He had to be here, ready to collect his money.

Disappointment flashed on her face when she peered into the office, finding it completely empty. On the counter sat a little sign: DROP RENT IN THE MAIL SLOT.

There was a mail slot in the wall to the right of the counter, but Ruby wasn't going to drop her rent money in there. But, hope wriggled inside of her: he wasn't kicking tenants out yet. There was still time to change his mind.

"Does it ever get tiring, being where you're not wanted?" The voice behind her startled Ruby into nearly dropping her rent. When she spun, she put a hand to her heart. She hated that a part of her was thrilled to see Atlas standing there, his hair slicked back, his body covered head to toe in riding leathers. He held his helmet under his arm.

She was staring. She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. Heat rose to her cheeks as she ducked her head.

"I have rent money. I never got a notice about having to vacate, so I assume I'm living here another month?"

Atlas set his helmet down on the counter. He reached down, beneath the counter, and gripped a stack of papers in his hands. "You mean these notices? They're going in your mailboxes today. I guess I can just hand you yours."

Ruby lifted her chin stubbornly. "No. I have extra money. I don't mind paying a higher rent. But I need to stay here."

Atlas leafed through the stack of papers until he found her notice. He pressed it into her hand. "No can do, Sweetheart. In 30 days, you're out of here."

She eyed him angrily. She would read the notice later, in her apartment, but for right now, she settled on glaring. "I'll be homeless."

"Not my problem."

"I'll be homeless in a foreign city!"

"Again, not my problem." He tilted his head, eyeing her outfit. "Where are you going, dressed like that?" There was disgust in his tone. It made Ruby want to run back into her apartment and change into a different outfit.

"It's none of your business." She crossed her arms. "How much will the new rent be? I'm prepared to pay it."

Atlas ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "What part of no don't you people understand? How many of you are going to chase me down and yell at me? I bought this building, and it's mine to do whatever I want with. You're being evicted. End of story."

Ruby felt hopelessness grip her. She had expected the answer to be no, but even still, she felt let down. Disappointed. And the man in front of her didn't even care that he was taking a home away from dozens of people.

She spun, dropping her rent envelope in the mail slot. She tried to hide her shaking hands as she passed Atlas, keeping her head high. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry. As soon as she was in the hallway, on the other side of the office door, she shot him a nasty look. "I hate you."

"The feeling is mutual, Sweetheart."

She didn't give him the middle finger, even though she wanted to. Instead, she marched down the hallway, head held high as she wobbled in her heels. She stuffed her notice in her handbag, and then she set off towards the restaurant.

She was meeting the Miller's, off the clock, to discuss their likes and dislikes. Ruby liked meeting with her clients in a space that was more easy going to set a relationship. It wasn't like she was going to be taking notes, but she would be paying attention.

And it did require her to dress up, just a little. The heels gave her a few more inches, which boosted her confidence. And the dress she wore was professional, while also looking elegant. Or, as elegant as you could look on a budget.

And it had made Atlas look twice, even if he'd been rude about it.

The restaurant was a little more high end then what Ruby would have chosen for herself. She was feeling a little out of element as she slid into a seat across from the couple. They looked very much in love as they held their hands on the table, looking at each other with longing.

A longing that Ruby had never felt before. She rubbed at her chest, feeling uncomfortable with that, which was a shock. Ruby didn't usually feel self conscious about being single, or keeping away from men. She had, of course, set that rule for herself.

But looking at the Miller's, it chafed in a way it never had before.

"We're so excited about the venue you helped us pick!" The bride-to-be exclaimed. "We're so lucky to live on the East Coast. You just moved here, right? Tell us more about you, Ruby."

It was an innocent question, but Ruby's chest grew tight. She smiled through the polite conversation, talking about South Dakota. Talking about home, and what that meant for her. She dipped into her college years, a bright patch in her memories, making the Miller's laugh.

By the time their food arrived, Ruby was tired of holding the conversation with her past. She forced the conversation back to the Miller's, keeping mental notes on how they met, savoring the details of their love story, trying to imagine what it felt like.

If they were any indication, Ruby felt like falling in love was probably the best thing to happen to anyone. She wanted it, but she wanted it in a few years. When she settled down, felt comfortable, and there wasn't anything else that needed her full attention. Then she would allow herself to fall in love.

By the time dinner wrapped up and they finished their drinks, which had been a little too many maybe, the sky had darkened. Ruby bid goodbye to the Miller's, promising them that she would be in contact next week.

Ruby wobbled home on her heels, feeling a little more drunk than she had anticipated to feel. She hadn't meant to drink that much, but it turned out that Ruby actually really liked her clients, and she really hated the lonely feeling she had gotten in her chest.

Walking in heels was torturous. She bent down and took them off, holding them in her hand, too drunk to care if she was walking barefoot in the city. She stumbled down the street, smiling at other people walking past, humming to herself.

Her previous worries of being homeless were gone. In that moment, she felt pretty good. She was just another girl in a city, completely anonymous, living her life. She gave a little twirl, giggling at the way the skirt of her dress flared up.

The giggles died in her throat at the sudden scream piercing the night. "Wolf!" Someone screamed, high pitch and ear splitting. "There's a rabid wolf!"

Ruby blinked at the sight of people running across the street. Her head felt dizzy and a little heavy, and she rubbed at her eyes. She didn't see a wolf around. She took a few more steps forward, watching with a frown as people continued to scream and run, pushing through the crowd.

Ruby took another step, and then she came to a stop as she watched a wolf prowl through the streets, snarling at the people running. Ruby placed a hand against the building beside her, trying to get her bearings, but she was too drunk to really focus.

The wolf leapt forward, biting someone on the sidewalk and dragging them into the street. There was thick drool dripping from its mouth.

Ruby felt dizzy, and a little bit sick at the sight of the person screaming in the street, trying to fight the wolf. Bile rose in her throat when the wolf bit down, hard enough to break bone.

Ruby must have screamed at the sound of the breaking bone, because the wolf snapped its head up to Ruby and eyed her, dropping the leg of its victim. It began to snarl, low in its throat, and took one step in her direction.

Ruby's mind spun. Rabid...wolf? In a city? The world began to spin, and she tried to blink it away. Just as her dizzy spell seemed to end, she watched as the wolf leapt towards her.

Suddenly, she was shoved to the ground. The sidewalk met her face, and the vertigo of the motion making her throw up. Her arm burned with road rash, but she couldn't seem to move. Was she dead? Had the wolf killed her?

She closed her eyes and moaned. "Just finish me," she wailed into the street. "Please make it quick."

She felt arms grab her and lift her up. Her head rolled, resting against someone's neck. The motion made her feel nauseous all over again, and she forced herself to swallow whatever wanted to come up.

"You aren't being killed," the man's voice above her muttered. There was tension there, and he must have been moving quickly, because his steps were like a boat rocking in the ocean. Over and over, every step he took made her feel more and more seasick.

"I am," she moaned into the skin of his throat. "I'm being punished."

Ruby wasn't sure how much time had passed. She felt the man set her down, but Ruby couldn't even open her eyes, nevermind keep her body upright. She slid to the floor and slumped over as the man moved through her apartment.

"You haven't unpacked anything?" He sounded disturbed. Then, he was moving her again, this time to the bathroom. He set her in the shower so that she was sitting. "You need to shower."

"I'm going to be sick," she whined. And then, she bent over the lip of the tub, and vomited again. By the time she was done, she could at least open her eyes. The light in the bathroom had her squinting, but not even she could miss the man in her bathroom.

Atlas held out a cup of water. She took it and drank immediately. "Why are you here?"

"I think you mean to say, 'Thank you for saving me, Atlas. Thank you for not letting that wolf murder me.'"

Ruby set down the water cup. "Did someone call animal control?"

Atlas shifted his weight. He rubbed a hand over his jaw. He didn't take his eyes off of her. "Something like that."

Ruby decided she was never drinking again. She reached and turned on the shower, yelping at how cold it felt against her skin. "I'll clean myself up," she tried to get out of her mouth without slurring. "You can leave."

Ruby pulled the curtain around the tub, letting the water wash over her, clothes and all. She didn't try to stand, but she did try to wash the vomit from her hair. She wrangled the wet clothes off of her body, just sitting, letting the water run over her.

She wasn't sure how much time she spent in the shower. By the time she got out, she was feeling a little bit more sober. She wrapped herself in a towel and opened the bathroom door.

And screamed. Atlas was standing there, leaning against the wall, reading something. His eyes met hers, but his expression was calm. Unphased by her nearly naked state. "I wanted to make sure you made it out of the shower safely." He set something on top of one of her boxes. "Go to bed and drink plenty of water. You're going to feel this tomorrow."

Ruby gripped her towel tightly around her body, definitely feeling sober now. She didn't know what to say, or how to handle the fact that her body felt hot all of sudden in his presence. She was nearly naked, and he was right there.

Atlas eyed her for a moment, hesitating at her front door. His mouth twitched, and then he tore out of her apartment and slammed the door shut. She stood there in shock, hair dripping over her floor, wondering what had just happened.

He had saved her.

He had stayed. And made sure she was okay.

Ruby didn't dare to hope, but she couldn't stop the thought from entering her head: maybe he likes me more than I thought. Maybe he likes me enough to let me stay.

 * * *

Hi everyone! Sorry i haven't be around! School just started for me, and it's been a CRAZY long and tiring start. So i'm hoping now that i'm back in the routine of school, i'll be able to write and post more :)

hope you guys are enjoying so far!!

XOXO