Ruby was feeling so annoyed she couldn’t even think straight. Her temples throbbed, her fingers clenched tighter around the steering wheel as she pulled her car into the narrow parking spot near the restaurant area. The red sky reflected off her windshield, but she couldn’t enjoy it. Everything felt tight. Her shoulders, her breath, even her heart.
She leaned back, her head falling against the seat as she closed her eyes. A deep sigh escaped her lips..
Her head was pounding like a hammer was beating behind her eyes, and the stress... it wasn’t just in her mind—it was clawing through her whole body like invisible thorns wrapped around her.
She opened her eyes and glanced outside again. The restaurant nearby was crowded with people laughing, eating, living their lives as if nothing was wrong in the world.
She blinked slowly. Her gaze shifted.
That’s when she noticed the bar.
It was tucked right next to the restaurant—dim lighting, some rustic wooden chairs outside, and the faint sound of jazz humming from within. She stared at it for a moment. The last time she drank alcohol... was probably in her past life. And even then, she hadn’t enjoyed it much. But right now, she didn’t want to go inside and sit among strangers. She just wanted a moment to herself—quiet, away from everything.
She sighed again and stepped out of the car. Her boots made soft thuds against the pavement as she walked over to the bar’s takeaway counter.
The bartender gave her a look but didn’t say anything when she quietly asked for something light but strong enough to shut her brain up. She paid, took the sealed bottle, and walked back to her car with slow, heavy steps.
She sat inside again, locked the door, and popped the cap open. The smell hit her instantly—bitter and sharp. She hesitated only for a second before lifting it to her lips and taking a sip.
But it was better than the burn in her chest.
And before she could stop herself, Ruby let her head fall against the steering wheel and cried softly.
Her shoulders trembled, and she pressed her palm to her forehead as the headache grew worse with the mix of stress, exhaustion, and disappointment.
She wiped her tears with the back of her hand but they just kept falling. Maybe it wasn’t just about the project. Maybe it was everything—Milo’s surgery, long nights, heavy responsibilities, all the things she kept swallowing down just to stay strong for everyone.
Right now, sitting in the parked car with the faint sound of music in the background, Ruby felt something she didn’t let herself feel very often—
And that feeling hurt more than the headache.
Ruby slowly started feeling a little lighter. The alcohol was gentle—just enough to loosen the knots in her chest, not enough to make her dizzy. Her fingers relaxed against the bottle as the weight of everything she’d been carrying began to lift, little by little, like fog clearing from a mirror. Her breath grew steadier, and the tightness around her heart eased, if only slightly.
She reached for the lever at her side and quietly bent the seat backward until it stretched into a half-bed. Her body sank into the cushioning as if it had been waiting all day to collapse. Reaching behind her, she grabbed the soft travel pillow she always kept on the backseat, tugged it forward, and placed it beneath her head.
The silence inside the car wrapped around her like a warm blanket.
Ruby let her hand fall to her stomach, fingers resting gently there as she stared up at the roof of the car. Then she closed her eyes.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, she took a deep breath—not the sharp kind you take when you’re trying not to cry, but the slow, full kind, the kind that makes your body feel like it belongs to you again.
The air filled her lungs and then left with a soft exhale through her parted lips. She didn’t think about Soul Engine, or Karl, or meetings, or pain. Just the quiet. Just this tiny space where no one could reach her for a little while.
Maybe she’d only rest here for a few minutes.
Just enough to feel like herself again.
Ruby groaned softly, furrowing her brows. Who dared to disturb her when she was finally feeling lighter? She had just begun to relax in the quiet after days of stress—now this.
Annoyed, she rolled down the car window just enough to glare. A ghost stood outside, panting slightly as if he’d run a long way. Golden blond hair messy from the wind, sharp jawline, blue eyes that looked strangely familiar. She narrowed her eyes.
"What?" she snapped, clearly not in the mood.
"Open the door," he said, voice urgent.
"No." Ruby leaned her head back on the pillow, not hiding her laziness.
She wasn’t expecting what happened next.
He yanked the handle and slipped inside her car—on her side.
"What the hell!" she gasped, sitting up. "Who do you think you are?!"
"Just help me. I swear, I’ll give you an autograph," he whispered, looking around nervously.
"Autograph? I don’t even know who you are!" she snapped again.
He grabbed her wrist gently, eyes full of fear. "If you don’t help, they’ll kill us both."
Before Ruby could argue, he nodded toward the street. Her gaze followed and her heart skipped.
Witches with dark robes and shiny blades in their hands were scanning the area like wild dogs sniffing for scent. Her breath caught in her throat.
"Shit..." she muttered.
Without thinking, she locked the doors and reached for the thin blanket in the backseat. But before she could spread it, he clumsily leaned closer and accidentally landed on her.
Ruby’s eyes widened as her back hit the seat and his weight pressed over her. He froze, as if just realizing their position.
Ruby blinked once, then quickly rolled, switching their places. She straddled his lap now, pulling the blanket over both of them.
To be continued... 🪄