In the Rain (Prequel to Rain Again)

Chapter Three: The Accidental Kiss

Never had Kate seen a scene like this in her entire life. It made her feel lightheaded. She was sure she would have fallen to the ground if she were not already sitting on her seat on the bus.

In the middle of the crossroad in Infront of her, a car lay gruesomely crushed and stuck under the humongous front tires of a truck.

A long traffic jam had formed on all surrounding roads around. Noises of police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks filled the area. Overpowering anxious voices of people stuck in vehicles kept getting more and more desperate with each passing minute.

At some point, Kate had done the mistake of looking out the bus window, craning her neck to get a better view. She got what she wanted but regretted it instantly. Her eyes rounded in pity and horror, seeing the dismantled, bloodied, and still shaking bodies getting pulled out. Sucking in a breath, she looked away and prayed in her mind.

Don't let them die. Please don't let them die.

Suddenly, she had a weird, telepathic feeling - like someone was staring at her.

She snapped her eyes open—first one, then the other.

And truly, right next to her on the other side of the aisle, a man with his amused eyes sat staring at her. His inky black pupils shone with interest and he didn't look away even after getting caught.

Instead, Kate blinked and looked away, not knowing what to do or say.

"They look way too messed up. I don't think prayers would be enough to save them."

Kate felt a dire need to protest. "There's a thing called a miracle."

"Which happens to only a few."

"Doesn't mean it can't happen to them."

There was a moment's pause that made her look at him from the corner of her eyes.

"True," he said easing up at last.

Her tensed shoulders eased as the argument was dropped.

"Hi. I'm Isaac Groff."

In reply, he got moments of awkward silence while she brainstormed if she should take forward an introduction with the stranger. It was easier in novels. In real life, people must contemplate safety first, or at least people with reserved personalities had that sort of thinking process.

"I'm not a serial killer, you know," the guy, Isaac, said with a hint of a smile.

Kate observed the guy. It was true. He didn't look too bad. In a three-piece suit, perfectly back brushed hair with not even a single strand out of place, shiny clean shoes, a welcoming smile, and wise, gleaming eyes he at least didn't look like a goon.

An introduction won't hurt anyone, she decided at last.

"Kate," she said finally. "I'm Kate."

Isaac nodded, smiling.

A group of people getting off the bus caught her attention. She straightened to look at them, "...can't sit here all night," she heard someone saying, making her look at the time on her wristwatch.

She was getting late for the interview.

It was a given that she was not going to be able to get there in time, but if she sat here anymore and kept waiting for the roads to be cleared, she was going to miss the interview completely. And she wasn't sure if people like Howard Leon gave more than one chance to people like her.

And so, deciding to get off the bus as well, she started to slide her bag up around her shoulder.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw Isaac beginning to rise from his seat as well.