The investigator
Hearing a knock at the door, I roll over trying to ignore everything. I don't want to get up. Everything feels heavy with dread. "Serena, you okay?" Hearing his voice through the door seems to lighten the air a bit.
I don't even know why I'm here.
"Yes." I say so low he likely didn't even hear. The sound of the door opening makes me turn my head.
"It's time." He basically whispers, walking over to my side of the bed. I shake my head and turn around. I can't, if we don't find her. We'll be back to square one.
"Hey" feeling a hand pat my side "face me." Turning back over, he's squatted by me.
"What if we don't find her?" I finally ask, keeping the tears at bay.
"Having doubts are completely normal but, it is a pain in the ass. If she's not there it just means we work harder to find her." His expression is sincere.
Why is he trying to help me? He's obviously having a rough time himself.
"Can I take a shower?" I finally sit up, leaving the warm safety of the bed.
"Come, I'll give you one of my shirts till Bray gets here with the makeup artist." He stands up, lending me his hand.
His shirt? As I follow him into his bedroom, it's kind of bland besides a few painting and a wall of monitors.
"Looks expensive, like this whole ass apartment." I state walking slowly around his room. Looking over at him, he's halfway into the closet by his bed.
"Well, it's a tough job." He states handing me a dark blue undershirt from a suit.
"Are you sure?" I ask, walking up to him grabbing the shirt. Unfolding it, slipping my hand down the silk.
"Yes, I am sure." He smiles and I could've sworn time stopped. Clearing my throat, I walk out giving him a small smile.
After calming myself down in a much needed shower. I throw my hair up into a towel, while slipping into his shirt. It's shorter then I expected, stopping right above mid-thigh. Finally walking out I head back to his room. Going to knock, the door creaks open. He's at his desk.
"Hey" I say softly, trying not to startle him. His eyes meet mine as he stands.
"Would you happen to have a pair of boxers I can borrow?" I ask, trying to fix the shirt. I finally look up to see he's moved closer. His eyes are almost black now. Taking a few steps back my breathe hitches as his hand is placed on my side holding me in place.
"I would rather you stay like this." He says with his voice low and raspy. I'm frozen but, my eyes stay on his.
"I- I-" my words seem to fall short as he moves closer.
"You what?" His lips are centimeters from mine. My head whips away when a knock interrupts.
"Fuck, he always has the worst timing." He whispers, before he turns my head towards him so our eyes meet.
"Boxers are in the closet." With that he walks out, leaving me alone.
Putting the boxers on. I slowly make my way into the main area. Hearing one voice that isn't familiar. They're a woman, It must be the makeup artist. Walking up behind Owen, I poke my head out from behind him.
"Owen, you going to introduce me?" I smile up at him. His eyes have returned to their original shiny golden brown.
"I already introduced you so, they know who you are." He states, continuing the conversation with Brandon and the woman. I nudge him.
"Then introduce her to me." I say.
"I can introduce myself. I'm Franne. They don't know me, since this is our first time meeting. I'm just hired to be your makeup artist." She states, giving a big smile.
"Yeah, can't introduce someone I don't know." Owen chimes in turning his head towards me.
As she does my makeup, we go over the plan.
"It'll be Serena and I going in, she will look tattered and beaten, but still desirable enough for them to take interest. I will come off as a guy just trying to get rid of her." He pauses, looking over at me "now Bray will have eyes on you at all times after we part ways. He will tell me if they do anything to you." He looks away continuing to explain. "Now there will be backup but, only if they're necessary. The rest, well we'll figure it out." Owen ends, rubbing the nape of his neck.
After going through the whole process, I head to the bathroom to change into the clothes Brandon brought. I remove his silk shirt, replacing it with a torn, musty white sundress. Looking at myself, I look awful. Franne did an amazing job at making me look like I was just thrown off a damn bridge. I don't think I'm ready to do this but, if Ashley's there. Fucking hell, I hope all this is worth it. I don't want to put others at risk just because I want to find my long lost best friend that been missing for almost five fucking years. Yes, we know she's alive but, if there's a chance of getting someone killed to find her. Would it be worth it?
Snapping back into reality, about to walk out of the bathroom when I hear Owen and Brandon talking. Putting my ear up to the door I can't make out much so, I slowly crack the door, making sure to not make a sound.
"I understand this is to find Ashley but, if Serena gets hurt" there's a pause before Owen's voice raises a bit "I will go in guns blazing. I hope you know that."
Brandon's voice creeps in with a simple "Okay." Taking a deep breath I walk out, speaking up to make my presence known.
"How do I look?" I ask as I do a little spin, trying to lighten the mood. All though my question ends up ignored.
Walking closer to Owen, he glances back from behind the island with a small smile.
"So, when we going?" I ask, sitting down next to Brandon.
"Soon, first we'll make sure we have everything linked up to each other." Brandon says, sipping on a cup of coffee.
"Linked?" I ask.
"Yeah, like ear pieces and mics." Brandon looks over with a 'duh' type of expression.
"Bray, sometimes you can not be a dick. This is her first time." Owen finally speaks up, handing me a plate with waffles and eggs. I look down confused, when did he even cook this?
"Coffee? Syrup?" Owen asks, looking down at me. I nod, still looking down at the plate.
"I get a cup of joe, she gets served a really good looking plate of food." Brandon scoffs, before taking a sip from his cup.
"Don't be jealous, you're the one that said you already ate." Owen states, before sitting down with a plate of his own. I sit there with my hands on my lap, I'm a bit uncomfortable. Owen hasn't started eating. He's just staring at me, like a parent waiting on their kid to eat. I finally take a bite, looking over at him. He just smiles, taking a bite of his.
YOU ARE READING
Beneath The Rain (18+)
Mystery / ThrillerSerena Bennit ends up having to investigate her own best friend's disappearance. She stumbles across Owen Waren. The man that helps her uncover the dark twisted truth of who she has really been looking for the past five years. Were those years was...
