6

It is 6:20 PM. Emma sat on her living room couch and ate popcorn while watching Bridgerton. After she finished texting her boyfriend for twenty minutes, she decided that it was best for her to take a break. Nothing better than spending the rest of your Sunday binge-watching a new Netflix romance.

With Emma's hand in her popcorn bowl, watching as the credits rolled on episode two, she thought about the immense pressure that Ruby had felt when she arrived home. The pressure from her mother, of course. Was she still okay now? Emma should probably give her a call...Nah, it's okay. Ruby didn't seem to like the idea of her best friend being involved in her supernatural problem, for some reason—if it was a metaphysical problem.

But she's my friend. The least I can do is check up on her. She's probably in her room scrolling through TikTok or something. If that's the case, then all the more reason to call her.

Emma grabs her phone and then shakes at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Who was it?

"Who is it, Emma?!" Her father asked upstairs. Her mother asked the same thing. Emma strolled to the front door and looked through the door hole. She saw three police officers patiently waiting for someone to open the front door.

This isn't good.

"It's the police!"

"Hold up. We're coming!" Emma's parents come downstairs and open the front door. They see a police officer holding a photo of Ruby and her cousins at a beach in Elm Springs—dry blood covers the picture.

"Is there a problem, officer?" Emma's father asked.

"You have affiliations with the Graham family, correct?" She asked.

"Well...we're friends of the family, yes. Why? What's wrong?"

"I'm very sorry, but Penny Graham was murdered at her home just about an hour ago. The murderer was suspected of having also taken her daughter and fled deep into the woods of this town. We...we searched the house, but the only thing we could find was this picture."

The officer shows them the picture. Tears flow down Emma's cheek.

"The murderer must've dropped it outside while going into the woods. Please, if there's any information that you might know, inform us so we can catch, well, whoever did this."

"..."

Emma clutched her chest. To keep herself from falling, she held onto the porch railing. She couldn't control her heartbeat.

"Emma..."

Her mom started. Her voice was filled with sympathy, but her father only seemed perplexed, almost in disbelief that such a thing could happen.

"We'll run some fingerprint tests and get back to you when possible. I appreciate your understanding." The officer said.

She and the other two officers start heading back to the car.

"I'm sorry, baby." Emma's mother said.

When she hugs Emma, she pulls back immediately.

"Ma..what's wrong?"

"There's...blood on your shirt...."