Chapter 197

Ava

“We’ll need fresh herbs, a good cut of meat, some vegetables…”

Fabian tapped his fingers in succession on the steering wheel, counting off his list of groceries needed for tonight’s dinner with Betty. He was clearly excited, and I was glad for it; and I was certain that the company would also be nice in that lonely house of his.

“Don’t forget dessert,” Chris chimed in from the passenger seat. “Every good dinner needs a sweet ending.”

I nodded in agreement. “Maybe we could make a nice chocolate cake? Or a fruit tart?”

Fabian’s eyes lit up. “Betty loves strawberries. A strawberry tart would be perfect.”

We arrived at the store a few minutes later, a quaint little mom-and-pop shop in the middle of town. Upon stepping inside, however, we were met with rather sparse shelves. I frowned, turning slowly as I looked around.

“Sorry,” Fabian muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I should have mentioned that the store’s inventory has been dwindling since the fog rolled in. We have to import a lot of fruits and vegetables now, since the fog and lack of sunlight is making it difficult for anything to grow.”

“Well, that’s not your fault.” I grabbed three baskets, one for each of us, and handed one to Fabian and another to Chris. “We’ll improvise if we have to.”

Fabian and Chris both nodded, and with that, we split up to gather everything we needed. As I was perusing the produce section in search of some fruit that was actually edible and not overripe from sitting on a delivery truck, I took a step back to inspect an apple and felt the heel of my boot accidentally crush someone’s toe.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” I started, whirling around. But then I stopped short when I recognized that head of red hair and those piercing green eyes staring back at me. “A-Amelia?”

Amelia’s eyes widened in recognition, and she immediately looked uncomfortable. “Luna Ava! What are you doing here?” she asked, taking a step back and wrapping her arms around herself. She was wearing a grocery store uniform and had a cart laden with fresh breads beside her.

“Chris and I are visiting Alpha Fabian,” I said, vaguely gesturing over to Fabian and Chris, who were on the other side of the store looking at meat. “Are you working here now?”

Amelia nodded stiffly. “Yes. Since I left my position at Moonshine Manor, Uncle Fabian told me I could serve out the remainder of my sentence working a service job in town. The grocery store was hiring, so…”

Her voice trailed off, and she looked extremely embarrassed in her uniform. There was an awkward silence that stretched on for a few moments, but it felt like an eternity.

“I... I’m so sorry, by the way,” she suddenly blurted out, her eyes cast on her feet. “For… everything.”

I held up a hand to stop her, shaking my head. “It’s okay, Amelia. We’ve been over this. I know you were coerced, and so long as you serve out your sentence, we can put it behind us.”

She nodded, still looking ashamed. “Thank you. I just... I want you to know how truly sorry I am. I never meant to cause any harm.”

“I know. You were scared,” I said softly. Then, changing the subject, I asked, “So, you left Moonshine Manor? You know Fabian needs the help up there, right?”

Amelia’s face paled slightly. “I know,” she admitted. “Look, I was one of the last ones to leave. I tried to stay, but… I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Why not?” I pressed, curious, although I was pretty certain I already knew the answer.

“It’s that damnable house,” she muttered, drawing her arms even tighter around herself and shuddering a bit. “It’s… haunted.”

“Come on, Amelia. You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“Look, I know it sounds crazy,” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “But I swear it’s true. One night, I felt a hand stroking my hair. When I opened my eyes, no one was there. And another night, I woke up to see a woman standing in the corner of my room. She disappeared right in front of my eyes!”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “Amelia, that sounds like sleep paralysis or waking nightmares. It’s a common phenomenon.”

But Amelia’s eyes were wide and serious. “It wasn’t just that. There were noises, whispers, things moving on their own—sometimes even in broad daylight. And that damn fog, always trying to get inside whenever you opened a window or a door. I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to leave.”

Despite my skepticism, I felt a chill run down my spine. Amelia seemed so convinced, so genuinely frightened—just like everyone in this damn town. Despite myself, I couldn’t help but start to wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was some shred of truth to these claims; after all, so many people had said the same thing.

“Well,” I said, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling, “I’m sorry you had such a scary experience. Are you okay now?”

Amelia nodded. “I’m staying with a friend. It’s not as bad here in town as it is at Moonshine Manor, but... I still have nightmares sometimes.”

I opened my mouth to tell her again that it was just in her head, but ultimately, I couldn’t do it. Maybe the fog was getting to me, but I was finding it harder to deny these ghost stories today.

“Well… See you around, Amelia,” I said, offering her a tense smile. She nodded and muttered a goodbye, and we parted ways.

Eventually, Fabrian, Chris and I reconvened at the checkout, our baskets filled with groceries.

“Find everything?” Chris asked, peering into my basket. Then, lowering his voice: “Did you talk to Amelia?”

I nodded, glancing over my shoulder at where Amelia was currently stocking a produce shelf. “Yeah. I did.”

Chris visibly shuddered, pressing his lips into a thin line. As we checked out, however, my mind wasn’t on our past with Amelia, but rather on her words. I still didn’t want to believe that the haunting was real, but… It was getting more and more difficult to find logical explanations for the strange occurrences around here.

As we were leaving the store, something caught my eye across the parking lot—something that made my blood run cold. The fortune teller from the other day was walking past, her colorful skirts swishing as she moved. She didn’t seem to see me at first.

But then, our eyes met, and I felt frozen in place. Her face was stony, unreadable. I couldn’t look away, feeling as if she was staring right into my soul. The memory of her words about my father flooded back, sending another chill through me.

The spell was only broken when Chris touched my arm. “Ava? You okay?”

I blinked, and when I looked back, the fortune teller was entering the grocery store as if nothing had happened. “Uh, yeah. I’m fine,” I mumbled, shaking my head to clear the fog from my mind. “Let’s get the groceries in the car.”

The drive back to Betty’s house was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I couldn’t stop thinking about Amelia’s story and the fortune teller’s intense stare. It was all starting to feel a bit too coincidental, and the damn fog wasn’t doing anything except adding to the eerie atmosphere.

Get it together, Ava, I kept thinking to myself. But those words did nothing to ease my anxiety.

As we pulled up to Betty’s house, the front door opened, and she stepped out. Fabian’s jaw practically hit the car floor as his eyes swept over her appearance: a well-fitting knit sweater, a plaid skirt, a pair of boots. She looked beautiful.

Chris and I exchanged amused glances as Fabian stumbled out of the car to open the door for Betty. He was like a smitten schoolboy, fumbling with the handle and nearly tripping over his own feet.

“You… You look nice, Betty,” Fabian managed to say, his cheeks flushed.

Betty smiled warmly. “Thank you, Fabian. You look quite handsome yourself.” If it was even possible, Fabian’s face turned even redder at that.

As we drove back to the manor, I couldn’t help but think about the fortune teller again. It was as if her eyes—and her words—had seared themselves into my mind, even more so than the countless ghost stories I had heard over the past couple of days.

“Hey, Fabian,” I said abruptly, unable to hold it in any longer, “what’s the deal with that fortune teller in town? The one with the shop on Main Street?”

My question elicited a concerned look from Chris. Fabian glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Oh, her? She opened up shop the day the fog rolled in. Bit of a mystery, that one.”

Betty turned in her seat to look at me. “It’s not just that,” she said. “What’s really weird is that her shop just popped up out of... nowhere.”