Invitation
"Really? Damian is an FBI agent? How is that possible?"
"Hahaha...it does sound surprising. Even though in the past he was very resistant to becoming a police officer, military officer and the like. However, for special reasons, he changed his mind."
"Special reason?"
"Unfortunately he kept it a secret, but as a mother I know what he was really thinking."
"Is that so?"
"He wants to find out where you are."
"What?""
"Since you and your mom moved 10 years ago, no one knows where you went. Your friends, Damian, Henry, Aiden and Jacob, I'm very sure they feel very sad and lost. But now unfortunately their relationship is increasingly strained. "
"Really? But-" Ruby didn't know what to say. She didn't know anything about this city and neither did her four friends. Since her mother forced her to move to Canada, her mother cut off all contact with her past life.
Mrs. Erika gently touched Ruby's face, who looked sad. She felt guilty for telling her something that she shouldn't have said.
"Live in this house, your dad left this house two years ago and until now this house is empty and neglected."
"Do you know where my dad went?"
"Unfortunately I don't know, but several years before he disappeared, he seemed to be suffering from mental disorders."
"Mental disorders?"
"Some kind of schizophrenia, that's just my guess. But several times I saw him talking alone and running to his house as if someone was chasing him."
"Really? Is dad being chased by someone?"
"Unfortunately no one is known to be chasing him, he's just alone all the time. That's why I suspect that your dad is schizophrenic."
"FBI agent? Damian is an FBI agent? That's impossible, didn't he say he was going to be a football athlete? How could he be an FBI agent?"
Ruby sighed, even though she was very excited to clean up all the trash and dirt in this house. However, every time she thought back to her conversation with Damian's mother this morning, her focus shifted.
Ruby sat limply on the floor, this house felt very quiet and when she opened the window, she could see that Milliam Blue Lake behind her house still looked the same as before.
"Dad? Where are you going?" She muttered. From the side of her house, she saw the boy who had taunted her this morning when she had just entered the house. She didn't know that the child lived in the same house as Damian's house. She remembered that Damian had a younger brother who was born when they entered high school.
"Could it be that that naughty kid is Ricky?" She thought. She had been daydreaming and muttering so much all day that she forgot to do something important, namely going to the supermarket to shop.
She decided to leave the house which people in this town considered a haunted house and went to the nearest convenience store which was near the shopping center.
"Welcome?" Greet a female employee standing behind the cashier's desk.
Ruby glanced at the female employee briefly, her face felt familiar. She has blonde hair and a freckled face.
"I think I know her," she thought. The woman smiled kindly at her when an unconscious Ruby kept glancing at her.
After taking the shopping basket, Ruby immediately walked around the shelves to buy the items she needed.
"Looks like that's all, I just need to pay for it now." She muttered as she walked towards the cashier which looked quiet without a queue.
Ruby handed the basket containing quite a lot of her shopping to the cashier. She immediately read the identification tag hanging around this woman's neck.
"Barbara Atkins?"
"May I help you?" Asked the woman.
"Sorry, can I ask something?"
"Yes, sure."
"Are you Barbara Atkins who used to go to Louisville High School!"
"That's right, what's wrong?"
"Oh my God, it's true, you're Barbara. Don't you remember me?" She asked with a big smile, hoping this woman still remembered her.
Barbara looked at Ruby closely, trying to recall the figure of the beautiful woman standing in front of her at this moment.
"Do we know each other?"
"Barbara, I'm Ruby, Ruby James who lives in front of Milliam Blue Lake."
"Ruby? You're Ruby?"
"Yeah right!"
"Ruby? Oh my God, this is impossible!" Her doubtful expression turned hysterical after remembering the figure of Ruby James the "Trouble maker"
"You remember now? How are you? Long time no see,"
"I'm fine, but didn't you transfer during the summer of 11th grade?"
"Yeah, I came back to town this morning. Do you work here?"
"Yes, that's it, have you met Henry and the others?"
"No, do they still live in this city?
"None of the four of them still live in this city. I heard that Henry has become CEO of several companies owned by his dad."
"R-really? But if he doesn't seem surprising, he's always been very rich."
"Yes, that's right, I met Jacob this afternoon."
"Jake? He's in town? Does he still live at his father's house?"
"I think he's still here, this afternoon he went into this shop with his daughter to buy ice cream."
"Jake is married?"
"You don't know? Have you two never exchanged news?"
"A-actually no," she answered hesitantly.
"Weren't the five of you very close before?"
"Yes, but I left without saying goodbye to them. So, we never contacted each other again."
"It's a shame, Jake is very handsome, as I remember he was the shyest and quietest."
"Did he bring his wife too? I wonder what his wife is like."
"Jake's wife is dead,"
"Dead? Are you serious?"
"Yes, I heard that his wife died after giving birth to her daughter. I went to their wedding party, his wife was very beautiful. I heard that Jake's wife was the daughter of the owner of a famous hospital and Jake happened to work as a forensic doctor at that hospital."
"Is that so? I really don't know-" Ruby's expression turned sad, the fact that she had missed so many things made her really regret it.
"Just try going to his parents' house, who knows he's still there!"
"Where does he live now?"
"Jake lives in Carson City, I don't know if he lives alone or with his daughter."
"Oh, I see?"
"You're so beautiful, Ruby. I really couldn't believe it."
"Really? Hahaha...thank you, then I'll go home first, okay?"
"Oh, wait!"
"What is it?"
"You don't want to come to your high school reunion?"
"Reunion?"
"Yes, yesterday I got the invitation. The reunion will be held at The Walter Hotel this Saturday at six in the afternoon. You'd better come too!"
"But, I wasn't invited. It wouldn't feel right if I-"
"Don't talk like that, you weren't invited because no one saved your phone number. Besides, Jonathan, who was the event organizer, said to send invitations to other friends who didn't receive invitations directly."
"Okay, I'll think about it later."
"No! Anyway, you have to come. We can go together, where do you live?"
"I stay at my house."
"You live in that haunted house?"
"Haunted house?"
"S-sorry, I mean your house has been empty for almost two years, right?"
"Yeah, my dad went somewhere. He disappeared and no one knows where he went."
"Oh my God, that was terrible. So what?"
"I will stay in that house for a while because I have no other place."
"Okay, then ask for your phone number. I'll call you later!"
Ruby, who was confused by this sudden invitation, could only nod in agreement, just like someone who was being hypnotized.
After exchanging phone numbers, Ruby said goodbye to the new information that was filling her head at the moment. Actually, she also wanted to ask about Aiden. Moreover, Aiden is her soulmate when it comes to doing silly and crazy things.
She raised her head, looking at the sky which was starting to darken. Above the sky, millions of stars looked very beautiful. She was stunned, this was the night view she really missed. Memories of when she and her friends sat on Rosemary Hill at night just to enjoy the beauty of the sky filled with stars.