Chapter 2: Chapter 2

As the music start to play, I turn off the screen of my phone and lean against the car door whose window is rolled up. Letting my eyes wander the street, I look at the blurry trees and houses which seems even blurrier due to the effect of the heavy rains, dropping down with simultaneously rumbling thunders.

My hands helps smooth my dress that stopped around my knees as the car drives past to our new house.

Dad's sitting on the driver's seat. His hands, fixed firmly against the steering wheel, colouring his knuckles white. His index fingers taps the wheel, consistently while he and mom exchange chats, who's sitting on the passenger seat beside him.

After a while of sinking into the melody of the soft tune I'm hearing from the ear bud, I feel myself pull forward by a sudden change in gravity.

I open my eyes and leaned forward to notice that dad's face is tilted to the back seat where I am. Quickly, I remove the ear bud and he repeats what he's said before.

"We've arrived, Rayne." Then, he open the door click and move out of the vehicle. "You should be careful of those gadgets. It isn't healthy, raising up their volume too much." Advise, dad and I murmur an 'okay'.

I alight from the car after mom and notice that the rain's almost gone. It's just sieving down on us now.

"Let's just get some of this boxes down. We'll get the rest tomorrow." I hear mom say to dad but my attention is placed on the view ahead from me.

Dad's rich; his flourishing businesses confirms that but I never actually thought, he'd own a house as fancy and grand as this. Not that I'm belittling him in any bad way, it's just that I'm amazed by his worth.

The place looks moderate, not too big but yet it looks like a dream house. The compound is filled with fragrances of fresh scent of nature. Decorative trees surrounds the roadway and across the walkway are eclectics grasses of all sorts.

Small wooden fences, painted in cream acts as the gateway and at a side is a small fountain with a cemented eagle statute on top. Dad loves fountains, so it's no amazement there's one in this kind of house.

The grasses looks even greener, probably from the effect of the rain. Snapping off my drooling, I collect a heavy cardboard box from dad that's slightly obscuring my view.

Dad chuckles as he pass by me into our house while mom just shakes her head beside him.

I roll my eyes at them, and start to walk inside when I hear a low creaking sound of a door opening. It calls my attention and I turn shift my attention to the opposite direction, across the street from our house to another.

A girl, most likely will be of my age walks out from the house opposite ours with a dustbin on her hands. She has a chestnut wavy hair with few strands of purple dye in it that's made into braid and the free locks are tied into ponytail. Her dark-golden skin seems to lighten up, showing more of her black beauty under the shining incandescent light-bulb beneath the roof fixed to the door. I wonder how rich her skin will be under the shining sun.

She raises an eyebrow at me before waving. I return a smile since I couldn't wave back because of the heavy cardboard box in my hands and turn to enter.

Finally getting in and dropping the box, I gape.

My jaw seems to forget how to close for a minutes as I watch dumbfounded-ly.

The white tiled ground is squeaky clean as it reflects rays of light from the dark sky that's still leaving life-threatening thunders. I think the rain still wants to drop.

I couldn't take in much as my eyes just move from one place to another, trying to access them all at once.

Dad and mom walks out from a room to approach me with smiles. Most of the furnitures are made with glassy and wooden materials and they seem luxurious.

The whole place is stunning and delicate to the sight. The scents are pleasant to the smell. Everything seems inviting and cosy.

I turn my back to face dad and mom and say. "When..." I pause and look around again. "...you never told me, you're buying this kind of new house. It speaks money." I wonder.

"Honey, we wanted to surprise you." Mom smiles and walks closer. Her hands gently pat my cheeks before putting my hair behind my ears. She then pulls me into a light hug. Dad hugs us both from sides with his long arms that shows safety.

"I love this place." I mutter under their lovely bear hug.

"We knew you would." Dad says in his boasting tone and I roll my eyes at him while mom swat his shoulder.

Before dinner time clocked, I made sure to have checked each and every space of my own room. As expected, it looks exquisite and spectacular.

When I get to the dining room, I see dad, seating already with his head buried into the newspaper as always. I wonder why he doesn't get bored of it. Mom's bringing in the dishes and I hasten my gait to help her in arranging the dinner plan.

After some minutes or so, we finally finish with the arrangements and mom's well-manicured hands snatches the newspaper away from dad. His gaze shoot up and immediately soften when he sees her as she takes the sit beside him while I take the left side of dad.

Finally, I dive into the plateful of spaghetti with my fork. Silence embed us for minutes and the only sound that erupt is the rumblings of the sky.

"Rayne." I move my gaze to dad when he calls me, supping in some strands of the spaghetti.

"Yes." I mumble.

"About your schooling, your mom and I have made arrangements for it. Since you said you don't want a too-fancy school, we registered you for the Franklin regional senior high school here in Murrysville." Dad's hazel eyes access my reaction but I only nod. I knew already that I'll have no choice than to change my school and that reminds me...

"You guys are staying for a while, right?" I stop eating and dart my eyes from dad to mom. They are always busy with their nature of work.

"Yeah. We'd be around." Mom smiles, genuinely from opposite me and I smile back.

"Your mom's been transfered to work in a hospital here and I also have some business partners that wants my attention here. So, sure we'll be around." As dad says, my mind start to wrap up on everything. I should have knew it.

They relocated here because of their work, nothing else. Because of them, I left friends behind and now, I'm changing school. Sometimes, I don't think they even care about me.

Trying my best not to lash at them, I push my chair backwards and ask. "Can I go out? Just for a bit walk?" Dad and mom wears a sudden confused look. "I'm not going to get lost." I add and heave a heavy sigh.

"Yeah. Don't be late." Says, mom as she looks at me with a pleading face. She's known the reason why I wanted to go outside and I'm thankful she's letting me.

I take a raincoat from the rack along with me when I reach out, in case the rain starts fuming again.

Lights from the street and houses brightens up my surroundings since the sky's moonless.

I started to walk to the backyard while my hands are tucked into my comfy foamy jacket as the ear bud plays random music into my ears.

Dad's a business man, who's extra busy. I rarely find time to speak with him and as far as I know, we mostly talk on phones than conversing face to face. Traveling seems like his favourite thing since that's all he mostly do.

Being an only child in some families might be a great thing but for me, it's like suffering. I'm always alone.

Well, mom on the other side used be at home less times. Due to her nursing work, she sometimes used to stay late for night shift. Or help out when there are lots of patients in the hospital.

I'm used to constantly being on my own until few months ago when I had to force myself to socialize with students in my junior year.

But, now I've been ripped of that extrovert spirit too. When dad and mom decides that we should relocated here, I thought they're finally ready to share time with me. I was so stupid. They came here for nothing but their job.

Being that I don't know much about friendship, I've lost all of my former friends because I've none of their contacts.

I bury my head down and stare at the now rough ground when it clicks, I've been gone for minutes. Dad and mom will be worried sick if I stayed much longer.

I twirl around and start walking back to the house but I can't seem to get the lane anymore. I can barely remember how I got inside the woods behind our building in the first place. I've been too lost in my own train of thoughts to recall.

Snapping of a twig, makes me gasp and quickly turn my back to the woods. It's already creepy with the dark sky so I shouldn't make my imaginations make it creepier. I look around again but nothing seems out place.

I fasten my pace but still, I couldn't see even a fragment of the building. I turn on the screen of my phone, and put on the flashlight. Then, I shift to face the woods again and turn the light to it.

It's just my imagination. I repeat and repeat in my head. This is real life, there's nothing such as whatever I'm thinking.

I sigh and drop down the touch before I switch it off and tuck my phone back into my jeans pocket.

Facing my front again, I yelp and stumble multiple times backwards and when my legs hit a fallen branch, I yelp again and fall on my butt with a groan.

"Lost?" Ask, the creepy masculine frame. His head's buried into the hood fixed into his black jacket as he lowers his face, peering at me.

Lost? His voice is even creepy. Who uses that kind of word to greet a stranger?

"Yea, I guess so." I stand from the ground with a stinging butt. "I was just checking around and somehow, I wander too much and I can't seem to get out of here." All while I explain, an eerie feeling runs up my nerves by his eyes that seems not to back off from staring at me.

"Do you know the way out of this woods? We just relocated here, so I don't know the way out." I explain further. Why am I explaining myself to him? He doesn't need to know me and he doesn't look like a policeman.

It takes him almost a minute before he says, as calming as he can. "Come with me." His accent sounds thick and antique.

"O.." I gulp. "...o-okay." I stutter.

Within minutes of walking, the view of the building comes up to my sight and I sigh in relief.

"Thanks so much." I say to the hoodie guy beside me. I still haven't seen his face.

I add. "Mind if I see your face? You know, not that I'm trying to..." What am I saying? I mentally smack myself. "In case I see you some other time. You know, I'll be able to thank you once I recognize you." I heave.

He doesn't say anything but only turns back, towards the woods and start to approach it.

"Go home now. It's not safe out here." He mutters and then, disappear behind some of the tall, fat trees. Strange.

"Weirdo." I whisper beneath my breath and walk into the house.

When I got in, mom hurriedly runs to me but I avoid her as I run up into my room upstairs. I hear dad calling me but I put his words to deaf ears.

As I laid on the bed, I look behind the headboard and into the woods. I think I see something flashy run past. I would have blamed it on my imaginations, but the fact that the trees and grasses were disturbed only confirms my thoughts. There's something fishy about that man. Well, I don't know him so I need not care about whatever creepy thing he has.