Page 2 of Big Bad Wolf

“It’s like she’s still in mourning,” Shreya said with a giggle.

“You guys are such bitches,” Kai laughed.

“Her parents died like twenty years ago. You’d think she’d be over it by now. She needs therapy or something,” Trina said, and Ruby wasn’t even tempted to turn around. It didn’t matter anyway. These people had made up their minds about her years ago.

She was the new girl, the sad girl, the weird girl, the goth girl.

She’d learned not to care what they said about her a long time ago. Did she wear a lot of black? Sure. She liked it. Was she sad her parents died? What kind of sociopath wouldn’t be? Was she weird? Not any more than anyone else in this damn town. Did she occasionally like to read horror novels in the cemetery? Everyone needed a hobby. And she’d outgrown that particular one a while ago.

Anyway, she wasn’t concerned with what Trina and her crew thought of her. She’d become like the wolves in the woods, just another story to tell and retell.

But what did stop her in her tracks was the sudden change in topic.

“Did you hear about Lena, though? She’s gone full crazy.”

Ruby spun on her heel, her black skirt twirling around her thighs. “What did you just say?”

Trina’s grin grew. “Oh, sorry, Ruby, it’s just that I heard your sister hasn’t been well.”

“My sister is fine.”

“Then why did she quit her job at the preschool?”

“She needed a change.”

“No one’s seen her around town lately.”

“So what?”

Trina shrugged. “We’re just worried about her.”

“Bullshit.”

Shreya gasped like she was offended by Ruby’s crass language, as though Bert at the next table over wasn’t describing his latest knee surgery in graphic detail loud enough for the entire bar to hear.

“I heard she had to quit her job because her eyes rolled back in her head and she started speaking in tongues. In front of the children,” Shreya whispered as though that would soften the blow of this particular rumor.

That was not what happened.

Not exactly.

“Jesus, who even cares. Leave her alone.” Kurt came to Ruby’s defense. Unfortunately, his help came with a leering look at her tits. Kurt was no hero. If Ruby had a dollar for every time he hit on her when he came in here with his buddies, she’d have enough cash to get the hell out of this small town. Sadly, Kurt was not only ready to cheat on his wife, he was a shitty tipper as well.

But Ruby took the opportunity to slip away while Trina was glaring at her husband for admonishing her, and Shreya and Kai were trying to pretend things hadn’t just become super awkward.

Because if there was one thing Ruby did not want to talk about with anyone, it was her sister.

Chapter Two

Ruby was wiping down tables at the end of the night when the door opened, letting in a burst of cool air. It was a reprieve from the stuffy bar, and Ruby took a deep inhale of the crisp fall breeze before speaking.

“Sorry. Last call was half an hour ago,” Ruby said without looking up. Her lower back ached from standing all night and her feet were killing her. Whoever this was could go pick up a six-pack at the twenty-four-hour market next door and let her get going. She was exhausted.

“I…”

Ruby looked up at the sound of throat-clearing.

She froze.