The next morning was groggy and depressing. It was raining outside and a storm was on its way.
The arm that was around my waist tightened as I shifted.
I remembered what happened last night and turned carefully to face Landon.
He was watching the rain.
I gently touched his chin. He looked down at me and we were quiet.
The rain outside got louder and soon the power went out.
A few moments later the emergency generators kicked on and the power came back.
I carefully put my head in his neck and he smoothed the back of my wrinkled shirt.
"I'm sorry about last night." he whispered. I pulled my face back and nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I shook my head. "No."
His phone started ringing.
"Your phone bill must be expensive. It rings every ten minutes." I said and tried and failed pathetically to smile.
He smiled and pulled it out of his pocket. "Hello?" pause "Yeah." pause pause "Okay." he closed the phone and looked down at me. "Valencio wants to see you."
I looked away and nodded.
He slid out of the bed and held a hand out to me.
I took it and let him pull me to the closet. He handed me a fresh pair of clothes and left so I could dress.
I put on a pair of sweat pants that cinched under my knee and a long sleeve shirt.
I walked into the bathroom and stared at my reflection. My eyes were puffy and red from crying, my hair was in a knot, and I felt exactly like I looked: horrible.
After I yanked a hairbrush through my hair and brushed my teeth, I walked to the waiting car outside.
Landon drove off and I leaned back into the seat. We were in a different car; still black, same model, but definitely a different car.
After a few minutes, I broke the silence.
"Landon?" I whispered.
"Hmm?" he asked and glanced over at me.
"Thanks."
He smiled and nodded.
The rest of the car ride was quiet.
A house came into view and Landon rolled down his window to punch in some numbers at the keypad. The large black gates opened and he drove up the driveway and parked beside an expensive looking red car.
Valencio's house was pretty big and Victorian looking. The front yard was huge and kept well. He had a fountain in the middle of it and the backyard must be spectacular.
Landon got out of the car and I followed him. He opened the garage door and led me through another door.
We walked to what looked like a living room and up a set of stairs. The inside of the house was just a s beautiful or even more, than the outside.
The halls were deep mahogany and brilliant reds and golds.
He stopped at a large door and knocked.
It opened and a bodyguard glanced at me and moved aside so we could walk in.
The room was an office that was the size of a large master bedroom. Two of the walls were filled with bookshelves that touched the ceilings. The other two were filled with pictures: old and new.
