Everybody hates Death *ON HOLD*

Chapter Seven - Gobstoppers

"Katherine Wells and I were inseparable in Primary school." Ruby sat on the living room sofa, gazing down at the photo. "I guess we used to have a lot of tea parties?" She laughed at the tiny china cups laid  out on the floor around the two seven year old's. 

"Ruby, if you don't mind me asking, how did Katherine die?" I asked. 

Ruby's head snapped up to face me, looking shocked. Crap. 

"I don't think I mentioned that she died, Mort." She said, pushing her eyebrows together in a puzzled fashion. Oh God, my hands were sweating again. 

"No, you're right. You didn't. I guess its just...the way you spoke about her....I mean I guess I just assumed..."  I was suddenly very aware of my tongue and how it kept getting tangled under my words. 

Ruby stared at me for a few seconds but then seemed to shake it off. Thank God. 

"There was this little sweet shop across from our house. It sold the best gobstoppers in the world." She said, smiling at the memory. "We had to cross a road to get there. It was always quiet. Ten, maybe twenty cars would go past each day and even then the speed limit was so low." Ruby looked down at her hands and shook her head slightly. I nervously reached out and placed my hand over her wrist. Although my own fingers were shaking, it seemed to comfort her. 

"Katherine and I, we had this stupid fight because she wanted me to come over to the sweet shop to play with her. We would roll our gobstoppers down the hill and race them before we ate them. Disgusting, I know. Anyway, I told her I couldn't play with her that day because there was an old batman cartoon rerun on TV. The one with Kevin Conroy and everything. Katherine said she would cross the road so that we could watch it together. I told her not to. That's when she started to get angry. She never got angry but I guess that day was an exception. She told me she didn't want to be my friend anymore and then she hung up the phone. Her parents only gave her a phone so that she could call me." She smiled but I could see the tears in her eyes that threatened to overflow. "I should have gone to seen her or phoned her back but at the time I guess I didn't think or I just...I don't know." She shook her head again and frowned. "Next thing I heard was the sound of tires stopping suddenly outside. I went out and saw Katherine just lying there, broken, with two gobstoppers rolling away from her open hands." Ruby's voice hitched in her throat as she spoke.

"You know what the most stupid part of it all is?" She laughed sadly and tears spilled down her freckled cheeks. "Katherine hated batman cartoons. She couldn't even stand the taste of the gobstoppers. She just wanted me to play with her." 

 Her words brought me back to the little girl standing in the middle of my room in her frilly pink dress. I JUST WANT RUBY TO PLAY WITH ME. I glanced at the picture in Ruby's hands. It was difficult to see the resemblance between the happy, gap-toothed little child in this picture and the dark, twisted spirit with black rings around her eyes. 

Ruby wiped her tears away with the back of her hand before rising from her seat. She looked up at the large Grandfather clock on the other side of the room and glanced at me apologetically. 

"You know Mort, I'm sorry but its getting really late and I have homework to do so..." Her eyes shifted too the door discreetly.

I stared down at the digital watch on my pale wrist to see that Ruby was right. It was nearly midnight. 

"Sure, yeah no problem. Thanks for the water." I smiled as I shuffled past her and straight out the door. What a night. 

***Super short chapter (like the others..oops!) but at least we get to hear about Katherine! Tell me in the comments what you think Katherine will do next. Is this the last we've seen of her? Peace out Morticians ;) xx