When Rain Falls

Chapter 7 The Search (Part 1)

     If you think about it, everything seemed to just fall smoothly into its place. But like I said, it might be the universe trying to help me out here. I just couldn't help but overthink. What a coincidence that my boss was the one who I met two years ago. Since we've already met before, it was easy to get the job because he already knew who I was. Perfect timing if you ask me.

My memory went back a few hours earlier when he helped me with my bags up the stairs. The way he said the words slowly how I shouldn't refuse help when I needed it. It seemed a little weird for him to be talking like that, but hey, I don't mind.

Deidre left early right before Rain went on his daily run. I saw him took off with his dog, Cosmo, while I was at my bedroom window. He was wearing his matching charcoal gray sweatshirt and pants. As soon as he disappeared, I picked up my cleaning caddy and started cleaning the house. There weren't a lot of decorations. Just fresh flowers here and there, a couple of paintings on some walls, but not a single, family picture on sight. I guess you could say he's one of those who loves the minimalistic lifestyle.

I went back to the first room where I went in the first time I came here. The cameras are recording, I know. But hey, I'm here to clean. It's not like I'm trying to steal something. I inhaled a deep breathe before stepping inside. I immediately dropped on all fours and started moving the rug underneath the bed. The screwdriver that I wanted to use that day was still there. Shoot. I totally forgot about that. Luckily, Rain didn't come back and check, or else he'd be wondering why there was a screwdriver down here. Not only that, but it'll probably trigger a full-scale war with me. No, we don't need that right now.

This was one of the guestrooms, and I used to hide things all the time under the floor board when I was younger. I'm not sure if dad ever found out my hiding place, though. I hope he never discovered it. After a few minutes of struggling, I managed to get it to open. Although it ended up with a small chip on the wood, but I doubt Rain would ever notice such a small detail. Plus, a rug is covering it. After removing the piece of floor board, I was surprised to find it empty.

It felt like the air was sucked right out of my lungs.

No way. It's impossible. Where the hell did my stuff go? My eyes wanted to roll all the way back to my head. There was a pink pencil case here that contained important things, like bracelet charms, rings, pendants, some notes from my father, and other trinkets that I held so close to me. My father was probably the one who moved it. Or it could be Mabel. I don't know how many times she caught me in that room and the only excuse I've given her that I was just playing around. Yes, that would explain it. Mabel made sure every part of the house was fixed before selling it to Rain Sterling.

I rolled over on my back as I stared up at the ceiling in defeat. Shit. I'm stuck at a dead end. Now what? There's no way I'm leaving this house just yet, and there was no way I could just tell Rain that I'm out of here after one day of work. This is my house. It was unfair that it was sold to someone else. This was supposed to be for me. Dad promised me that he was going to pass this beach mansion to me since I loved the ocean so much. I ran a hand down my face in frustration. I couldn't just sit here and wallow in self-pity. There must be a way to get this mansion back. But how? That's the big question. I'll probably stick around for a few more weeks. I might find something. Not only that, I need to get in touch with my dad's lawyer who delivered his last will and testament.

My phone buzzed. My sister was trying to call me. I got up and quickly wiped the moist that formed underneath my eyes before answering the phone. "Hey, Ella, what's up?"

"Are you crying?" That's the first thing she asked.

"No, I wasn't," I said in defense. "Just woke up with a sore throat, that's all."

"You know I could tell from your voice."

"Again, I wasn't crying," I cleared my throat. "What's going on? How's everything with you guys?"

"Um... Aiden came by today." She said quietly.

My blood began to boil as usual whenever I hear that prick's name. I rolled my eyes. "What does he want now?"

"He was asking where you were at. Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything, especially your location. I just told him you went on vacation somewhere in Asia along with your friends."

"Does mom know he came by?" I pressed my knuckles on my temples to massage it. I certainly didn't see this coming. Why now? How fucking convenient.

"Yeah, I told her," Ella said. "and she wasn't happy about it."

"Next time, ignore him. Be careful, Ella."

"Are you okay? Do you have a place to stay there?" I smiled when Ella asked me these questions. She was acting like my big sister again, which was great. I miss her and mom so much.

"I'll tell you all about it when I get back, Sweet pea. Let's just say I'm in a pretty good spot right now."

After hanging up, I buried my head between my legs. I'm in a pretty good spot right now. Yeah, right. Just when I thought I was making progress, I'm back to square one. Just great. After staying in the same position for several minutes, I managed to move my body and continue the search. I won't be able to progress if I don't keep moving. I surveyed every floor board, making sure they weren't loose. I was a kid back then. Maybe I simply forgot where I hid my stuff, I don't know. The bed's quite heavy, so it would be impossible for me to inspect the rest of the floor boards underneath the bed.

I heard Cosmo barking downstairs as I was going through some drawers. They're home so soon? I glanced at my watch. I realized that I had been cleaning for more than two hours already. I straightened up and grabbed my cleaning caddy. Cosmo met me at the foot of the stairs, barking with excitement as usual. I walked into the kitchen and I saw Rain taking out the groceries from the plastic bags.

"You went grocery shopping?" I asked, placing down the cleaning caddy inside the broom closet.

"I did." He said without looking at me.

"Don't you have people for that, though?" I asked again. He didn't respond this time. "It's like you bought the entire store," I joked, walking toward the refrigerator. "I mean, you have a big house. I'm sure your refrigerator has loads of—"

My eyes bugged out as soon as I saw the refrigerator interior. A few water bottles, some left over sandwiches, and some chilled protein bars.

"Food?" Rain glanced at me. "Yeah, as you can see, I'm the only one who lives here. I don't need a lot of food."

Stay tuned for Part2!