unsolved disappearances » otis and ruby

Part 24

There, in front of me was Ruby Matthews.

Although she appeared different from the last sighting I saw her. Her hair had grown longer, tied back into a ponytail and slight curls appeared in the blonde tones. Her makeup was much lighter than previously.

But the most noticiable difference was the small rounding of her stomach in front of her. The chosen jumper she wore did hide the appearance, However, you were able to tell she was pregnant.

I'm left speechless.

Ruby had returned.

"H...hey Ruby." I greet her in a small voice.

There is an amused smile on her face, as the figure behind her is busy looking at the different bread types. His accent was very different from what I had heard before as he complained about the gluten intake. "Hi Otis, I suppose I'm back from the grave."

"And you look stunning as usual," Anwar claims. "Outfit is basic, but you're making it work."

Ruby looks down at the grey sweater and the black leggings she wore with her Converse sneakers. "I'm just comfortable." She says shrugging. "You look great, are you dating Eric now?"

Eric had remained silent since Ruby had walked over. There had been both positive and negative things Eric had said about Ruby in the past. "Casually dating." Eric pipes up. "We hook up sometimes after school and I asked for a proper date."

"Good for you," Ruby says, the confidence returning to her voice.

The tanned boy behind Ruby stands next to her, holding a packet of crumpets and brown bread. "Honestly, it's hard to find bread that is low in gluten." He complains, his accent is almost hard to understand.

He looks curiously at the three men in front of us. "Hey, it's Eric!" He chimes with a bright smile.

"See, Otis I knew he was lying about Ruby being with him," Eric complains.

The man speaks up before anyone else can get their words in. "And you must be the baby daddy." He points at me. "Yeah, I was meaning to organize an appointment with you. And you are?"

"Anwar, best friends with Ruby," Anwar says, crossing his arms across his chest. "What does that make you?"

The man lets out a bitter laugh. "Mate chill, I'm just a good friend of Ruby's. The name's Noah." He introduces himself. "Wait." He pauses. "You're the friend Ruby told me had an allergic reaction to a condom, you thought you were going to die."

There is a look of embarrassment on both Anwar and Ruby's faces as Noah bursts out with laughter. "Alright, let's go before you have the whole Moordale senior year coming to hunt you down," Ruby suggests, wanting to leave the store. "Nice to see you, boys, again."

The there of us waves the couple away. "Well I suppose Otis is a baby daddy, you'll be needing these more than me," Eric suggests handing me the box of condoms he had in his hands. "And you also have to compete with one sexy future step-father."

"He's not terrible looking but is an asshole," Anwar adds. "I don't know why Ruby would put up with him, but I suppose she needed a rich international boyfriend to raise a child."

I would throw the condoms back at Eric with anger before grabbing the milk needed for my mother. Paying for the needed product was quick before I rush out of the store towards my mother's car.

Slamming the door behind me as I sit in the car, I'm angry.

There was a need for a conversation, if I was the father to the child, didn't I get an opportunity to be present in the child's life? And what the fuck was Noah asking about setting up an appointment with me? Would be discussing co-parting options as fathers?

There were a lot of answered questions that I wanted answers to.

I knew where to get them from now.