Billy's gone.
Ruby Buckley's world ended with him.
But Hawkins isn't done with her yet.
When strange deaths begin again, Ruby is pulled into the heart of the storm. Between shadowy nightmares, the town's newest outcast, and someone she was never s...
( songs for the chapter ) hometown glory // adele wicked game // chris isaak
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"Ruby!"
Chrissy Cunningham's voice carried across the yard, bright and sugar-sweet as always. She waved both hands in the air like a beacon of light, that endless optimism of hers spilling through every movement.
Ruby couldn't help but smile. No matter what, Chrissy always looked like sunshine.
Blonde hair brushed to perfection, bow glinting beneath the fluorescent lights, but up close, Ruby noticed the shadows beneath her eyes.
Faint bruises of sleeplessness. It didn't make sense, not on someone like Chrissy.
She looked like she belonged in a music box, not in nightmares.
"Hey, Chris." Ruby pulled her into a quick hug, the familiar scent of her strawberry shampoo momentarily grounding her. Then she turned to face the rest of the cheer squad, forcing a cordial smile. "What's up, guys?"
The girls stood there in their matching uniforms, bright green and white and plastic smiles to match. But their faces, soft with sympathy, their gazes heavy still, even after six months, didn't suit the glossy image.
"How are you holding up, honey?" Tina asked, her voice all honeyed pity, the kind that sounded more performative than kind. Ruby could practically hear the falseness dripping from every syllable.
"Just peachy," Ruby muttered under her breath before catching herself. "I'm fine, thanks, Tina." Her smile tightened, a perfect imitation of friendliness.
Tina didn't seem to notice. Her gaze had already wandered toward a group of guys across the parking lot. Typical.
Ruby's jaw clenched. Tina, the same girl who had whispered to Billy more than once, thinking Ruby wouldn't find out. "Don't worry, babe, your perfect little girlfriend doesn't have to know."
Ruby could still hear the echo of those words, oily and smug.
But Billy always told her. Every time.
And that was the thing, Ruby trusted him.
She didn't doubt him for a second.
Still, the idea that someone she'd once called a friend kept testing that trust, made her blood simmer.
She stayed, only because Chrissy was there.
"Girls," Chrissy said gently, cutting through the awkward air, "maybe we should head inside? We're starting soon."
Her tone was cheerful, but Ruby caught something underneath, a faint quiver, maybe exhaustion. Or something heavier she couldn't name.
"Tina?" Chrissy's patience thinned as the girl's attention drifted again.
