The Apparition || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Chapter eleven

The room felt emptier after Ruby's parents left. The silence was only broken by the sounds of work in progress and the almost imperceptible rustle of Ruby's presence beside Noah. He stood for a moment, staring at Nicholas's still incomplete mural, trying to shake off the bitterness of John's words. But Ruby's voice pulled him back to reality.

"Don't take it too personally, Noah. My father has never been good at handling emotions," she said, her tone lighter, almost playful, trying to ease the tension.

Noah smiled faintly. "Yeah, well, it's not easy dealing with someone who hates you for something you didn’t even do."

Even though he could rationalize that thought, John's words had perfectly mirrored how he felt. Guilty.

Ruby sighed, hovering beside him, her ghostly figure barely visible in the sunlight. "He doesn't really hate you. When people don't know where to point the finger, they end up blaming whoever's closest."

"I know." Noah ran a hand through his hair. "But it's hard. I just want to do something right, but it feels like it's never enough."

"For me, it is," Ruby replied softly, moving closer to him. For a moment, it almost seemed like she was about to touch him, but her hand passed through his shoulder like air. "Even though I can't touch any of this, it means so much to me. I'll never stop appreciating it."

Noah turned to look at her, their gazes locking, and for a moment, the pain of that distance felt less sharp. "I just wish I could help you, Ruby. I want to find answers. If there's even the slightest chance someone caused all of this, I won’t let them get away with it."

Ruby looked at him for a long moment, then smiled faintly. "Have you always been this stubborn?"

"No. I'm just motivated," Noah replied, with a teasing grin.

Ruby chuckled softly. "Right. Motivated." She paused for a moment, glancing around the room, as if trying to absorb the energy that filled the air. Then she turned to Noah, suddenly serious. "Did you hear his voice when he mentioned the autopsy? Maybe that's really where you'll find the answers."

"You think it wasn’t just an accident?"

"I don't know. I doubt the autopsy will reveal anything shocking, but as long as the hospital has my body, my parents can't hold a funeral. Maybe that's what my father needs. A final goodbye."

Noah nodded, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. The days passed relentlessly, and the group divided their time between rehearsals and the school renovation.

The entire neighborhood had mobilized, and slowly, the project was taking shape. Even John had started helping out, though Noah suspected Katie was behind his unexpected involvement.

John still treated them coldly, and Noah couldn’t blame him. That day, Noah grabbed two bottles of lemonade Katie brought daily for everyone and asked Ruby if what he was about to do was a good idea.

"Do you think I might get it thrown in my face?"

The ghost smiled. "Just be sure to close your eyes first. Lemon stings."

Noah rolled his eyes, an amused expression on his face. He took a deep breath and steeled himself before heading toward John.

Noah approached the man, the two bottles of lemonade gripped tightly in his hands. Each step felt heavier than the last. Ruby floated beside him, watching him with a look of encouragement.

"Go on, Noah," she whispered, though he was the only one who could hear her. "It’s not as scary as it seems."

"I'm not scared," Noah muttered, more to convince himself than to respond to her.