She didn’t hang around long enough to grab her stuff. Guess the urge to leave was too strong.
Whatever. She made her choice. Some people weren’t cut out to be parents.
The next box held some old photos. I found a rare one of me and my parents. I was maybe a year old, with a head of curly black hair. Sally held me on her lap while Frank sat beside us. They actually looked happy or maybe they were faking it for the camera.
I once overheard Sally arguing with Grandma when I was little.
“I never wanted a damn kid. She shouldn’t have been possible. Once again, bad luck follows me wherever I go.”
I always figured that I inherited her brand of bad luck, now I wondered if it was something more.
Under a pile of photographs, I found a newspaper clipping. A birth announcement. Ruby Jean Roth, born December 21st, 1998. Right below it, where the announcement had been torn out, was the word Lil. The rest was torn off.
Lily and I were both born on the same day. One of the reasons she insisted we be friends. “Cause we’re practically twins.”
What if we were twins? Could that be it? Did Sally have two daughters and give one away? That didn’t really match up with what Mrs. Blanchard said. She was surprised that we were friends.
A door closed downstairs. Damn, she’s home.
Returning the stuff to the box, I sneaked to the top of the stairs. Maybe I could get out without her noticing. She was moving around the kitchen. Good, I could go out the front door.
I placed a foot on the top step.
“Is there a reason you’re sneaking around my house?” Grandma called.
I closed my eyes, heaving a sigh. She always knows! I came downstairs to find her standing in the hallway with her arms crossed. She wore a long black dress, her dyed black hair pinned back on one side.
Is it any wonder all the kids on the block think she is a witch?
She narrowed her eyes at me. “Well?”
“I was looking through Sally’s things,” I answered.
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Something I heard. Just wanted to see if there is anything up there that might offer some answers.”
“Answers to what?”
“I don’t know. Why I was abandoned? Why my life sucks?”
Grandma rolled her eyes, turning away to go back into the kitchen. I trudged after her.
“You were abandoned because your parents were both immature idiots who couldn’t handle responsibility. Your life sucks because you have the same problem.”
“Thanks, Grandma. You’re right. I’ll go off and find myself a husband, squeeze out some kids, then I’m sure I’ll be happy,” I said, sarcastically.
She placed two mugs on the table. “I’m not talking about marriage or kids. I’m talking about you getting your shit together.”
I slumped into a chair at the table. “It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
“Excuses, excuses. I shouldn’t be surprised. You were never a normal child. There’s always been a darkness in you.”
She poured some coffee and pushed the cup toward me, taking a seat too.
“Not this again. You’ve been saying that for as long as I can remember. So I was a troublemaker. It’s not like I was murdering neighbourhood cats.”
Grandma sipped her coffee, her eyes never leaving mine. “Why are you really here?”
“I told you. I overheard the Blanchards talking about me. You’d get on with them, they think like you do.”
Grandma pulled a face. “Those two? Please. They aren’t as innocent as they paint themselves.”
“What do you mean?”
She stared at her hands.
“Grandma, please. I’m not a child anymore. You’ve always kept things from me. I just want the truth.”
Sighing, she nodded. “Okay. Years ago, those two were struggling to conceive a child. They tried everything. They even came to me, thinking holistic therapies would work. Nothing was going to change the facts. Until he showed up. The Blanchards met with him and a few weeks later, she announces she’s pregnant.”
“Who was this guy?”
“He called himself Hector, but we called him the dwarf.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to call them that.” Didn’t Mrs. Blanchard mention a dwarf too?
“No, he literally was a dwarf. He had powers, but their deal came with a catch. In order to have the perfect child, this paragon of virtue, there had to be a balance. Another child had to be born. A child of darkness.”
“Riiight! And who is this evil child?”
“You know, your mother was told she would never conceive either.”
A laugh burst from my mouth. “Me?”
“You two share a birthday. Lily was born at sunrise and you at sunset. That’s why the Blanchards hate you. Scared you’ll corrupt their perfect little girl.”
I stared at her for a moment, waiting for the punchline. “You’ve said some crazy shit over the years, but this is…I’m out of here.”
Storming out of the house, I vowed never to go back. She was completely crazy.
Child of darkness? Bullshit. Good and evil? It came down to choices, you can’t be born evil.
Three
Lily texted me at lunch time to meet her at the diner in town. Since I needed to look for a new job anyway, I headed out to meet her.
As soon as I walked in, I spotted Lily. She was sucking face with some guy. I had to hand it to her. He was hot. He towered over her, at least 6’2, broad shoulders and light brown hair. One thing was sure, she had to know the guy. There’s no way she’d be in full make out session with someone she just met. She wasn’t me.
“Ruby!” she squealed, running toward me. “You came.”
“Um, yeah. What’s going on exactly?”
“Double date? Like you agreed to last night?” she said slowly.
“Oh, God, Lil. No!” I whined.
“Trust me. It’s Ben’s brother, Oz, you’ll love him. He’ll be here shortly but come meet Ben.”
She dragged me over to the guy. Why didn’t I listen to what she was saying? The last thing I needed was a date with a random guy. I’m sure she told me all about Ben too, but I missed all of it.
“Ruby, this is Ben Burnette. He’s a football player. We met at school,” Lily said.
Well now I’m caught up.
“Nice to meet you,” I said, shaking his hand. He had some grip.
“You too. Lily never stops talking about you. Thanks for agreeing to this. Lily insisted and you seem like Oz’s type.” He looked me up and down.
I was wearing black ripped jeans and a dark gray t-shirt. I looked like I had just rolled out of bed. I’m guessing his brother isn’t a fellow football player.
We took a seat at a booth. Lily and Ben immediately went back to making out.
“I’m going to order something,” I mumbled, not that either of them were listening.
I ordered a soda and sat at the counter to drink it, glancing over my shoulder every few minutes to check if they were done.
“I hate PDA’s, don’t you?” someone asked
I turned to my right to find a guy sitting beside me. Where did he come from?
“Uh, yeah. Especially when one of them is my best friend who forced me to double date with that guy’s brother.”
The guy smiled. He was hot. Dark hair, hazelnut colored eyes and a chiselled jaw. Definitely not a local.
“Oh no. Double dates are the worst. So awkward,” he said.
“Yeah, but she’s my friend. What can I do?”
“I like that kind of loyalty. Can I buy you another?” he offered.
“Sure. Might as well before this guy shows up.”
He signalled the waitress. “What are you imagining?”
“Nothing good. Maybe some frat guy or gamer nerd who still lives in his mom’s basement.”
He laughed. “Or worse. One of the those pretentious assholes who reads poetry in the student union.”
“I think it might be too late for that,” he said.
“What do you mean?”
He held his hand out to me. “Osborn Burnette, I usually go by Oz.”
My cheeks flamed. “Oh, sorry.”
“Don’t be. The only thing pretentious about me is my name, but that’s my parents’ fault.”
I smiled. “Good to know.”
“You still have the option to run if you want?”
“No. I think I’ll stay.”
Despite my earlier reluctance, the double date was going well. Oz was funny and charming and so far, hadn’t tried to steal from me, so I couldn’t complain. We were in a booth at the local bar, O’Flannigan’s.
Lily and Ben were too wrapped up in each other to do much, but when they did join in, Lily led the conversation.
“I still can’t believe you two are brothers,” Lily said.
Ben and Oz didn’t look much alike. Ben was into sports, while Oz studied politics.
“Well unfortunately, we are,” Ben said, draining the last of his beer.
Oz narrowed his eyes at him, but didn’t reply. There seemed to be real bad blood between them. I wondered what caused it. Maybe it was over a girl?
At eleven, Lily said it was time to call it a night. Little Miss Girl Scout would never stay out past midnight, even though as an adult, she could do what she wanted.
After four beers, I was suitably buzzed, but I hated having to leave. I was happy enough to stay until closing time. When Oz pulled on his coat, I had no choice but to follow.
Lily and Ben headed for his truck, while Oz and I walked along the street, toward the B&B where Oz was staying. I wondered where Ben was staying. I couldn’t imagine the Blanchard’s letting him stay at the house.
“Is it too weird to ask for a goodnight kiss?” Oz asked, as we stopped outside.
“Most guys don’t ask,” I said.
He kissed me softly, his hands on my waist.
“Call that a kiss?” I said, pulling him against me. I kissed him more forcefully. Lily had outdone herself, Oz was great and it didn’t look like I would be spending the night alone.
“You could come inside,” he suggested. He read my mind.
I hesitated as Ted’s face flashed into my mind. “Look, you seem like a great guy and I definitely want to go inside, but you should know that my life is a train wreck.”
“How so?”
“I’m bad luck. Like literally.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Oz said laughing.
“I think I killed someone,” I blurted. Oh God, why did I say that?
“You, uh, think you did?” he said, raising an eyebrow.
Before I knew what I was doing, I blurted everything out about the incident with Ted.
“But you never actually touched him?” he said when I was done.
“Well, no, but…”
“But nothing. It sounds like he got what he deserved.”
He hugged me as I burst into tears. I’d no idea why I told him, but it felt good to get it off my chest. He agreed with me, whatever happened to Ted, it wasn’t my fault.
He led me inside the B&B to his room. I took a seat in the only chair in the room while Oz poured me a drink. The room was tiny but cozy. A double bed stood against the far wall and it made me wish that I hadn’t opened my mouth about Ted. I could be naked by now.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop all this on you,” I said, feeling my cheeks burn. I barely knew him. What must he think of me?
“I don’t mind. Here, drink this,” he said.
I took the cup from him and sipped it. “It’s tea.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve had enough to drink.” He made a cup for himself and sprawled on the bed to drink it, kicking off his shoes.
“I imagine this isn’t how you thought the night would end,” I said.
“Well I have a beautiful girl in my room, so I’m not complaining.”
I laughed softly. “You seem very different from your brother.”
“Good. Ben and I have opposing views of the world. We don’t really spend any time together. And by the way, his full name is Bernard.”
I giggled. “Your parents must have hated you both. Why did you agree to come here?”
He took a sip of his tea. “Lily saw us talking and she learned we were brothers. She…well, you know Lily.”
“Yeah, sounds about right. Sorry.”
“I told you, I’m not complaining. I got to meet you.”
“You know all the right things to say, don’t you?”
“I try.”
He placed the cup on the nightstand and lay back with his hands behind his head. “So how come you didn’t do the whole college thing?”
“Because it requires money that I don’t have.”
“I’m kind of regretting it myself. Four more years in a classroom for thousands of debt, it doesn’t seem worth it. At least in the real world, you get to do something worthwhile.”
“What would you do if you weren’t in college?” I asked.
“I always wanted to travel. Just pack up the car and start driving.”
“That sounds good. I would love to do that too.”
“Maybe we should just run away together?” he said, grinning.
“Very tempting.”
I moved from the chair to the bed, lying down beside him. “Where would we go?”
Walking through the hallways, I called out for Lily. I knew she was close by, but she must be hiding.
This looks like the old theatre in town. What was I doing here?
“Lily,” I called in a sing song voice.
I glanced down at my hand to find that I was carrying an axe. What the hell?
Someone ran from a room up ahead. I saw a flash of blonde hair before she disappeared around the corner.
“You can’t hide from me, Lily.”
I found her desperately trying to open a locked door. She faced me, tears running down her face. She wore the pink pjs from last night.
“Please, Ruby. Don’t do this. You’re my best friend.”
“Sorry, Lil. I don’t have a choice.” I swung the axe at her head.
Jerking awake, I found myself curled up on the bed next to Oz. We’d sat up talking for hours before I fell asleep.
“You okay?” Oz asked, opening his eyes and stretching.
“I had a nightmare.” Pushing myself up, I tried to shake the horrible images from my head.
“What about?”
“I dreamed that I was trying to kill Lily with an axe.”
“It was just a dream,” Oz said. “Or you’re really pissed she set you up on a double date.”
“I’m not, believe me. I should get going.” I pulled my boots on and grabbed my jacket.
“Can I call you later?” he asked,
I paused at the door. “Sure.”
Hurrying outside, I tried to shake the dream. As shocking as it was, it wasn’t the first time I’ve had it. It used to be a frequent dream a few years back. I couldn’t understand why I would dream about killing Lily. Sure, she annoyed me sometimes, but I’d never hurt her.
Dreams never meant what you thought though. There was probably some obscure meaning behind it.
As I left the B&B, I saw a crowd had gathered outside the Sheriff’s station. I approached them, wondering what it was about.
The Sheriff stood on the front steps, looking annoyed at the attention. “Folks, you know as much as I do right now. We pulled a body from the river, but that’s all we know so far.”
Ted. They found him. I glanced at the crowd, certain someone would take one look at me and know that I was involved. Keeping my head down, I crossed the street and headed into an alley which lead past the old theatre. It was condemned, had been for years, but it was the quickest route home. The theatre used to be the main focus of the town. It was surrounded by a courtyard, with an old
fountain in the middle.
If they found Ted, I wondered how long it would be before they came sniffing around me. I hoped I never had to find out.
As I crossed the courtyard, I glanced behind me, feeling spooked. The dream didn’t help.
When I turned around, I stopped short. Standing ten feet away, was Ted. He looked exactly as he had before he went over the bridge, he even wore the same clothes.
“Ted? You’re alive! Look, I don’t know what…”
I didn’t get to finish as Ted seemed to fade away right in front of my eyes.
I took a step back, heart racing. This had to be a trick of some kind. I turned in a circle, looking for the source. There was no sign of Ted or anyone else. No one jumped out and said, “Gotcha!” either.
I must have imagined him. Yeah, that had to be it. It was guilt, making me see things.
I still wasn’t walking through the rest of the courtyard. Running back to the street, I made my way back to the trailer the long way, glancing over my shoulder the entire time.
Once inside, I grabbed my headphones, jammed them in my ears and cranked up the music on my stereo. Hopping onto the bed, I closed my eyes, trying to shut everything out.
Keep it together, Ruby.
“Ruby!”
I snatched the headphones off to find an angry looking Mr. Sullivan, my landlord, standing over me.
“What the hell?”
“I’ve been knocking for ages. Didn’t you hear me?”
“Uh, no. Sorry.”
He rolled his eyes. He was in his fifties, with a balding head and a beard. He owned several trailers in the park which were the least expensive places to rent in town. “Rent is due.”
“I know. I’ll get it to you later.”
“No, Ruby. You’ve been late too many times. Maybe I should evict you,” he said, clomping back to the door.
I jumped up. “No, wait. I mean I don’t have it on me. I need to go to the bank.”
He paused in the doorway. “Fine. You have until six or you’re out.”
With no other choice, I returned to town. I checked how much cash I had in my account. A measly $10.
“I am so screwed,” I muttered, slamming a hand into the machine.
“Whoa, what did it ever do to you?” Oz said, coming up behind me. He had changed into a blue shirt and a leather jacket.
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