The Apparition || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

Chapter eighteen

The memory exploded in Ruby's mind with painful clarity. It was as if the fog that had clouded her final moments was finally lifting, allowing her to see every detail, every expression, every word.

The small bar was noisy, the customers' voices blending with the low background music. Ruby and Emma were sitting across from each other, as they had done many times before. They had been friends for years, bound by an invisible thread that seemed unbreakable. Or at least, that's what Ruby thought.

Emma was talking about something trivial, something about the concert, but her voice seemed strangely tense. Ruby, on the other hand, was relaxed, holding her coffee cup with a smile on her face. She was about to say something when her phone buzzed on the table. It was an email.

Her heart leapt in her chest. Emma had also picked up her phone.

"It's here," said Ruby, meeting Emma's gaze.

"Really?" replied Emma, her voice as excited as Ruby's.

Both opened the email at the same moment. Ruby felt the adrenaline surge as she read: Congratulations, we are pleased to offer you the position...

"I did it!" Ruby exclaimed, incredulous, looking up at Emma, her eyes full of happiness. "Emma, we got it! We're moving to Italy!"

Emma didn’t respond immediately. Her gaze was fixed on her phone, her hands trembling. Ruby didn’t notice the change in her friend's expression right away, too caught up in her own excitement. "Did you get a reply too, right?"

Emma nodded slowly. "Yes, but..." She let the phone drop onto the table. "I didn’t."

Ruby froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected that answer. "Oh... Emma, I’m so sorry. That’s not fair, you’re amazing, you know that. There’ll be another opportunity, for sure!"

Emma smiled, but it was a cold, forced smile. "Yeah, sure," she said. But underneath those words, Ruby sensed something different, something off.

"I really mean it," insisted Ruby, trying to comfort her friend. "Maybe we could even write a letter together to ask for an explanation, maybe there was a mistake."

"No, Ruby, stop," Emma said sharply, surprising Ruby. Then Emma took a deep breath and smiled again, more falsely than before. "It’s fine, really."

Ruby relaxed her smile. She understood Emma's mood but knew her friend would be happy for her. "Do you mind if I go to the bathroom for a moment? I’m about to cry from joy and I don’t want my mascara to burn my eyes."

Emma waved her off, and Ruby left her alone at the table. And that was when the idea came to her. A dark, swift thought flashed through her mind. Before she even realized it, she had already reached into her bag, fingers wrapping around the bottle of antipsychotics she always carried. With a quick, silent gesture, she poured several drops into Ruby's coffee. The liquid mixed with the dark brew, invisible, colorless.

Ruby returned shortly after, the smile from the good news still plastered on her face. "Sorry to keep you waiting and for being so happy. I promise I’ll be a good friend again tomorrow."

"It’s fine, really. Let’s toast," said Emma, raising her coffee cup. "To your new life in Europe."

Ruby hesitated, sensing something odd, but then she lifted her cup with a smile. "To our friendship," she said.

Their cups clinked with a dull sound, and Ruby sipped her coffee, unaware that just minutes before, Emma had poured a lethal dose of antipsychotics into it, a dose that would slowly seep into Ruby's veins, setting the stage for the disaster that would unfold that very night.