Problems of an Invisible Girl

Chapter 27

"Look, it's ridiculous for us to stand here and discuss this in such a public place.
Can we go to your house, Rina?" Nat asked.
"No!!" Rina and Serena yelled at the same time.
"Fine, jeez relax. Where can we go?" Nat asked.

As Serena contemplated going to the library, Rina came up with an idea."How about that apartment you were telling me about? We can go take a look and rent it on the spot. What do you think?" Rina asked. As Nat stood there looking at Rina and Serena in turn, highly irritated, Serena nodded her head in agreement.

Her thoughts were scattered all over the place, she couldn't stop the flood of confusing and contradicting thoughts from bouncing through her brain, so she didn't have the strength or the will to think about those details.
Normally, she would have warned Rina against wasting money, but since it was obvious she had more money than she needed and that she didn't care about it, Serena decided to stay quiet.
The more contemplative and serious Serena became, more positive and hopeful Rina was.
They were different sides of the same coin, and they were both unable to balance out their emotions.

Without further discussion, they got up from the bench and headed out of the park, Serena leading the way.
At one point she thought she heard a branch snapping nearby, but she quickly dismissed it thinking that it was probably Rina or Nat who made the noise.

They stopped at the ATM so that Rina could withdraw some money to have as a deposit if the apartment was good enough and Serena stared speechlessly at the amount of money Rina withdrew.
In all her life Serena had never seen such a huge amount of money although most people wouldn't consider it as a lot of money, just an average amount for Serena it was a small fortune.
Noticing Nat's surprised glance Rina quickly put the money in her bag, out of sight.

Serena wasn't sure what annoyed her more that Rina trusted her implicitly and didn't mind her seeing all the money or that she didn't seem to trust Nat at all.
It was obvious that she would have to talk to Rina about it, but she was just too tired to do so at that moment.
Tired of struggling to have even a semblance of normalcy in her life, fighting not to get lost in pain and self-pity she was too exhausted to deal with Rina's mistrust of Nat.

She was also busy being angry with herself that she was jealous of Rina, of all the things she had that Serena never did.
Even though she knew Rina's life was hell, she couldn't stop the clutched of envy from digging into her heart and slowly poisoning it.
For the time being, she managed to fight off the poison, but she wasn't sure how long she would prevail.
As Serena was contemplating her feelings and fighting off the darker side of her soul, and Rina was trying to figure Nat out, they arrived at the apartment.

It was a spacious, three-bedroom apartment with a huge terrace that had an astonishing view of the nearby park and Rina loved it the moment they stepped into it.
"I love it! We should take it!" Rina said, excited to finally have her freedom.

Her moods were shifting so fast that even she couldn't keep up with the changes in her emotions.
Although she was devastated that the people with whom she had spent eighteen years of her life rejected her, she also felt hope for the future.
She had her independence and a strong, confident sister whom she admired greatly.
Also, she had the knowledge that her parents wanted to protect her and that made part of the pain that constricted her heart go away.

"Are you sure it's not too big? Too expensive?" Serena asked. Besides all those lower emotions that she felt, from time to time, she generally cared about the girl who was there to help her out when she almost gave up, her sister.
It worried her that Rina made such rash decisions, and she wanted to make sure she was thinking clearly.
In some ways, it felt like she was taking advantage of her little sister, so she wanted to double check that Rina was sure of what she was doing.

"It's just perfect! We definitely have enough money for it." Rina said with eyes full of joy.
The realtor showing them the apartment was surprised by how quickly they signed the agreement.
It was the easiest deal she had ever made in her whole thirty-year long career.
Before leaving them with the apartment keys she mumbled under her breath: "Rich people!"
Serena heard her and a part of her agreed with the snarky comment. 

People who had a lot of money rarely had to think about the price of anything.
It was strange to Serena who always had to check twice and even give up on some things she wanted because she didn't have enough money.
Somehow it felt wrong for someone to flaunt their money like that when there were people struggling to make a living, but Rina seemed unaware of that. In some ways, she was sheltered. She didn't know what it meant to go hungry for days, but she had her own problems.

The apartment was fully furnished, and they could immediately move in which was good news for Serena since she didn't have where to go having spent all her savings on cheap motels and food.

As they were sitting on the comfortable sofa in the living room, discussing all the possibilities Nat said: "Guys have you ever considered the possibility that your parents might have been spies and that someone is after them because of it?
That would be so cool!
I could tell everyone that I knew the daughter of spies when she was still short and missing her two front teeth." Nat said.
He tried to make it sound like he was joking, but Serena knew him well enough to see that he wasn't kidding, he had seriously considered the possibility.

"On that happy note, I think it's time for me to go. I should inform Grace of the good news and finish packing." Rina said.
"I guess I should go, too," Nat said getting up from the couch.
"Where?" Serena asked.
"I don't know. A cheap motel, I guess." Nat said shrugging his shoulders.
"No way, you are staying here with us. We have an extra bedroom, and I am sure Rina doesn't mind." Serena said.

"Ahem, could I talk with you for a second?" Rina said as she pulled Serena into the hallway.
"We'll be right back. Have a seat." Serena told Nat as she let Rina drag her far from the living room.

"You want me to live with a guy I just met!? Are you crazy? For all, I know he could be a serial killer!" Rina said.
"Rina, I can promise you that Nat is not a serial killer. I have known him since I was a child.
He is a good guy, he is like a brother to me.
Besides, it's him and me who should be worried, we just met you. You could be the killer." Serena said trying to lighten the mood.
Rina wasn't amused.

"Please, Rina. He has nowhere to go, and I don't want anything bad to happen to him. Please!" Serena said.
At that moment, Serena's eyes reminded Rina of their mother's, and she suddenly remembered that she had a family now. If this was something that would make Serena happy, she decided to give in.
"FIne, but if he ends up murdering me, I will haunt you for the rest of your life!" Rina said.
Serena was so happy that she engulfed her in a tight, bone-crushing hug that surprised both of them.

The last thing Rina heard as she exited the apartment was Serena and Nat's excited chatter as she gave him the good news.
Although Rina's life was already confusing enough, she had a feeling that it would become even stranger in the near future.
Unsure of whether she was ready for that or not, she hurried back to the place she used to call home and which would no longer be that, if it ever was.