Where Patrick ended up, none of the other brothers could tell her. Ruby was an endless sea of emotions, but one thing stuck in her caw: that Bray Wyatt was a hypocrite. She could not describe the utter hostility she felt towards him. Whatever had just happened with the shack was forgotten, replaced by a feeling of betrayal. It was made all the worse by the fact that Bray was still at the compound. In the evenings, he would take the brothers out, and talk with them around a big bonfire. Like he had in his younger days. To Ruby, it felt like a slap in the face. Here was the truth to it all, that they were both turning thirty that year, and Bray had every advantage. Ruby was stuck being a homemaker for a bunch of grown men. Having Patrick with her gave her a respectable life, and now that had been taken away.

"Dear God, I am a slave." Ruby said aloud one night, lying in bed back in her old bedroom. She could not bear to stay in the double bed she had shared with Patrick. She never realized the gravity of the word until now. She was owned by another human being. One who could change her life on his whims. Owned by a monster. It was going on midnight, but the brothers and Bray were just getting in. She could hear their distant voices from the lower floor. Squeezing her eyes shut, she hoped the sounds would fade soon so she could sleep...sleep and forget everything for a few hours.

Ruby once again opened her eyes. She had nodded off for a little bit, and hoping to get back to sleep, she turned to her opposite side. That is when she saw them. On her wall, where Bray's old room was, there was a set of glowing hand prints. Ruby rubbed her eyes. Perhaps she had squeezed them too tightly before? The hand prints were still there, and maybe a bit brighter? Despite being a bit frightened by now, she got up, and walked to the wall. She remembered putting her hands against this wall. Bray.

"Is that you?" Ruby whispered at the wall, and put her own hands up against the glowing ones. Upon contact, she felt so many things. Deep remorse, and bitter fear. None of them belonged to her, though. They belonged to Bray Wyatt, the man on the other side of the wall. There were no words to go with these emotions. Ruby supposed that Bray felt her hostility towards him. She felt deep loneliness, and projected it back at him. The hands receded quickly against the emotions she felt. She sighed deeply, and slid down the wall. Tears threatened to overwhelm her, but she fought against them. No, this one time she would be the strong one. She didn't need rituals, or strange magics, or heaven and hell, frankly. She needed to only believe in herself.

Bray also was slumped against the wall, opposite to Ruby. Ruby. Did she hate him so much? Yes. The loneliness that radiated through her spoke louder than anything. Gathering himself up, he gathered his thoughts up as well. He had things to do. Great works that needed to be done. He would not be derailed by this woman. Not now. His toughest fight, against Randy Orton himself, would be soon, and he would focus. There could only be victory. It was time to leave the compound for a long while. He needed to be around his normal family anyway, doing normal things, while hiding his true purpose.

Ruby was still on the floor when she heard Bray's truck start up, and drive away. She listened as the sounds of it diminished, then disappeared entirely. Still she would not cry. Rising from the hardwood floor, she threw on a dress, a sweater, and went downstairs to the kitchen, hoping for a bit of tea to soothe her. Flipping on the light switch, she startled badly when she saw Luke Harper, just sitting there, in what would have been the dark.

"Luke? What are you doing here?" Ruby asked, more than surprised he was here. There was animosity now between Luke and Bray. How many people would Bray lose in his life?

"I'll say that I near shit myself when I realized Bray was still here. I thought he'd find me for sure. Anyway, I'm just here for some company."

"Company? In the middle of the night?" Luke shrugged.

"I needed to know if it was true. If what Bray says is true." Ruby didn't have to guess about what he was talking about.

"Yes. I mean as far as I can tell. I'm a simple girl, Luke. You know that. I'm not one to understand any of this."

"I get it. I've been privy to his knowledge, and it's beyond what I can wrap my head around. If what he says is true, though, well, I fear for a lot of folks. You, too. You need to keep your head down, do what you must, but be careful. I've talked to Erick. He's not sure how he feels yet about everything. I guess we'll see."

Luke's late night visit shook Ruby. He departed as quietly as he came in, but Ruby wanted him to stay a bit. She wanted to pick his brain a bit about Bray's motives. Perhaps ignorance will be the thing to help her in the end, she figured. It was four am by the time Ruby sank back into her bed, and this time, there was no waiting for sleep. It enveloped her, and took her away from the stresses and cares of her strange life.