Below the Sky

Chapter 23: Riana

We stumbled into Luke's front yard. The relief I felt that me and Lila had made it to safety was indescribable, but there was no time for those feelings. We were safe, and we would have a warm bed, and a good meal tonight.
I pulled Lila across the yard, and up to Luke's front door. I could tell that she was nervous. She hadn't seen Luke since the incident, and now we were showing up on his doorstep, asking for help and shelter.
I wrapped my arm around Lila, trying to comfort her. She was now beginning to shake, and even in the dark I could tell more tears were rushing down her face. "You can do this," I whispered in her ear, then I kissed her cheek.
Lila nodded her head, trying to be brave. It broke my heart seeing her so vulnerable, and in pain. If I could I would take all of her struggle, and give it to myself. I couldn't do that though, so instead I gripped Lila tight, giving her some sense of stability in my arms.
With Lila still holding onto me, I moved towards the big door. I sucked in a breath, tried to calm my pounding heart, and knocked. At first nothing happened, so then I knocked again. It was the middle of the night, so I figured no one was awake.
Soft knocking soon gave way to pounding on the door though. It seemed that no one was going to come, but then someone did. A middle aged man opened the door.
When the man took in the scene in front of him, his eyes widened with shock. Two young girls, muddy and clearly exhausted, were presented before him at midnight.
"Rebecca!" The man called out. After a minute or two, a middle aged women appeared. Her features were striking, and I estimated her age to be around early forties. She was beautiful, and I could tell that she was Luke's mother.
"Yes dear," the women said as she approached her husband. She stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed me and Lila though. "Oh my lord," she said.
"Hi," I interjected. My voice was barely a whisper, but both William and Rebecca Davis heard it.
"Oh lord what happened to you two?" Rebecca asked.
"It's...well it's a really long story," I said to the kind woman, "we would really appreciate if we could maybe spend the night, and have some food."
Rebecca and William assessed our situation again. Rebecca noticed the bags at our feet, then she saw Lila, hiding behind me. "Is that Lila Hayes?" She asked me. I opened my mouth to answer, but my voice refused to sound out. So instead I just nodded my head.
"Are you Riana, Bill's intern?" William asked me.
"Yes," I said.
"Why are you two girls so battered up in the middle of the night, showing up on our doorstep?" Rebecca asked.
"Like I said earlier, it's a really long story. Can we please just come in?" I was desperate, and begging wasn't a pretty color on me, but there weren't any other options.
Rebecca sensed my dismay, and her expression softened. "Oh dear, come in," she said. She reached for me, ushering me into her home. Lila followed close behind.
In a matter of minutes, me and Lila were seated around a fire, wrapped in warm blankets. Rebecca had a pot of tea on, and was now starting to question.
"So, would you like to explain your situation?" She asked me.
Lila was tucked into my chair, her head resting on my shoulder. She was fast asleep, and I didn't want to wake her, so I explained to Rebecca myself. "It all began this morning..." I started.
I explained everything, or almost everything, (I left out the part about me and Lila's love, but if Rebecca were to judge our relationship off of how we were sitting right now, it would be pretty obvious). When I finished my story, ending with how we stumbled off the Hayes's property, Rebecca was on the verge of tears.
She stood up from her seat, and came over to me, taking my hands in mine. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry," she said.
"Ya, and me and Lila figured we would come here, even if it's just temporary. We just needed somewhere to hide out, until we figure out what's next."
"You two girls can stay here for as long as you need," Rebecca assured me.
I nodded at her, conveying my gratitude. Then I heard a creak. It came from my left, and it wasn't a particularly loud sound. Still I turned towards the noise, searching for the source.
Luke suddenly appeared, and judging off the expression on his face, he had been eavesdropping to our conversation for quite some time. "Riana?" He asked.
"Oh Luke, go back to sleep," Rebecca hurried over to him, trying to tell him to go back upstairs. He didn't listen though. He slid past his mother, walking towards me.
Then I noticed a girl. She was young, I was probably only a year or two older than her. I could tell that she bright red hair, even in the dark. She wasn't that tall, but she seemed kind.
The girl followed Luke over to me, examining me. Then she noticed Lila, huddled up to me.
"Who are you?" The girl asked me.
I was tired, and didn't feel like upholding another conversation, still I answered the girl's question. "My name is Riana, and this is Lila," I said, gesturing to Lila.
The girls eyes widened at the mention of a girl named Lila. She nudged Luke, and whispered something in his ear.
"We'll explain everything in the morning, let's get these girls to bed," Rebecca ushered Luke and the girl away. She returned to us, showing us to a set of stairs. "Come on, I'll take you to your room. You and Lila can have Luke's, he'll sleep with Abigail for tonight."
I nodded my head, too tired to do much else. I pulled Lila along, waking her. We stumbled up the stairs, into a plain bedroom.
"Good night girls," Rebecca said, closing the door.
Instantly I pulled Lila to the bed, not caring that we had muddy shoes and were still dressed. We climbed under the warm covers, and were asleep in seconds.