After setting the glass back on the counter, she turned around, only to suddenly crash into someone.
Ruby gasped and found herself pressed against a firm chest. It was Adrian. Their eyes locked for a brief moment, both of them frozen in awkwardness.
Ruby quickly stepped back, flushed with embarrassment. "S-sorry!" she stammered. Adrian, also startled, stepped back as well, his face unreadable.
"It’s fine," he said, his voice low, before he quickly moved past her and into the living room.
Ruby blinked, still trying to process the sudden encounter. What was that? She shook it off, telling herself it was just an accident.
With a sigh, Ruby went back to her room, still feeling the lingering awkwardness of the encounter. She was exhausted, and sleepiness started to settle in again. Without bothering to change, she climbed back into her cloud bed. The soft, comfortable texture of the bed surrounded her, and within moments, her eyes fluttered shut.
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep quickly, her mind quieting as she drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
The next day, Ruby decided it was time to pay her debts. She got ready in her new white robe with a dark red border, the fabric flowing elegantly as she moved. It was simple, yet graceful, and she felt confident in it.
Meanwhile, Julian had already prepared breakfast for everyone. The smell of freshly cooked food filled the house, and Ruby could hear the clattering of plates as she sat down to eat. She didn’t mention her plans for the day, so when she entered the dining room, everyone looked at her with confusion.
"Wife... are you going somewhere?" Milo asked hesitantly, his voice unsure.
"Yeah," Ruby replied, taking a bite of her food, not looking up at him.
"Where...?" Milo asked again, his curiosity growing, and Ruby could feel all eyes on her now.
"To pay my debt," she said nonchalantly, setting her fork down. The moment the words left her mouth, she could feel the shock in the room.
"Really?" Karl was the first to exclaim, his eyes widening with surprise. Ruby nodded her head at him, her gaze steady.
"But wife, you don’t know the address of that Sam ghost..." Julian said, concern creeping into his voice.
"And you also don’t know the address of Louis, the ghost you have to pay too," Julian added quickly, his brows furrowing. "The one you beat up because he was chasing after brother Karl with some of his goons."
Ruby paused for a moment, then looked at them. "Any of you know their addresses?" she asked. Finally, Karl nodded.
"I know Sam’s address because I stole his ecto bike from his house..." As soon as he finished the sentence, he immediately felt like biting his tongue, especially since both Julian and Ruby were glaring at him.
Milo silently watched everything, his innocent brown eyes wide with curiosity.
Adrian, however, didn’t think Karl had done anything wrong. In fact, he felt like they should start stealing as a family business—after all, if everyone steals, it just means more money. He thought about it with an expressionless face.
"And Louis’ address I know," Adrian said, his tone calm as always.
Ruby nodded, processing the information. "So we will go together... and Julian and Milo will stay at home. Is that alright?" she asked, looking at everyone.
They all nodded in agreement.
She went back to her room to grab her purse, already filled with the money she needed. Once ready, she walked outside, only to find Julian and Adrian already waiting for her.
"Let’s go," Ruby said as she headed toward the door and karl and Adrian followed her..
"How long do we have to walk to reach Sam’s house?" Ruby asked, glancing over at Karl, who looked thoughtful as he considered her question.
"His house is in the middle area of the village," Karl said, giving her a quick nod. "It’s bigger than most others around here." He reached out, taking Adrian’s right hand as they walked together.
"Alright, so it might take about fifteen or twenty minutes," Ruby guessed, thinking about the distance.
As they walked through the village, Ruby couldn’t help but notice the way the villagers were looking at her, whispering among themselves.
"How did she manage to buy a house?"
"Oh my god! I can’t believe she stopped drinking and actually achieved this."
"Well, I’m wondering... maybe I could marry her to my little ghost. He’s about the right age for marriage..."
"Don’t bother! She still doesn’t have a job."
Ruby tried to keep her face straight, though her lips twitched at the villagers’ whispers. She tuned out the rest of their comments, keeping her focus forward, until Karl finally stopped in front of a large, eerie mansion.
The house loomed behind a rusty iron gate, the kind you’d expect to see in horror tales. It was tall, but not grand; its age showed in the cracked stone walls, the ivy creeping up the sides like fingers trying to reclaim it. The windows were dark and foggy, framed with peeling black paint, and a lone lantern swung by the door, creaking every time the wind blew.
The gate was slightly ajar, creaking as they pushed it open and stepped inside. Ruby glanced around, taking in the twisted trees scattered across the yard, each one draped with faded, frayed cloths that flapped like hands.
As they walked up to the door, the overgrown grass rustled underfoot, and a chilling breeze swept through, brushing Ruby’s skin like icy fingers.
Ruby noticed a garage tucked away on the left, where an old Victorian car and an ecto bike were parked.
She pressed the doorbell, which echoed loudly in the stillness.
The sound carrying eerily through the air. She waited, her eyes scanning the twisted trees.
After a few moments, the heavy wooden door creaked open.
It was Sam who opened the door, his lips curling into a smug smirk as he saw them standing there. His eyes glinted with a hint of arrogance, as if he’d been expecting this moment.
"Don’t tell me you all came here to say you can’t pay"
—To be continued...🪄