Sold #2 - A Desperate Love

Chapter 20

Tai was more than happy to have the house to himself on Monday morning, sitting in front of the television with his feet resting on the coffee table seemed like such a novelty, even though he'd spent many days that way after initially leaving school. But a Monday morning was different, he should have been at work but he was thankful he wasn't. The rain was pouring down outside and if it hadn't been a bank holiday, with the garage closed for the day and the only people in the office being Antony and Travis, still trying to work out the murder side of their divorce case, with Trisha tottering about trying to find some other loophole to catch out Cameron Murdoch without the video evidence, he would have been out in that rain all day. But now, it was useless even attempting to go into work. He had nothing to do and with his chance encounter with young Jake Murdoch a few years ago at school, and the fact that the murder victim in Antony's case looked so much like his brothers fiancée, there was too many conflicting interest factors for him to even offer his help on either case. Which meant more time for Tai to spend by himself, in front of the television, safe from the rain and with a bottle of beer in his hand. It didn't matter that it was almost noon, he'd woken up with a banging hangover and the best way he knew to cure it was with a cool, fresh bottle of beer first thing in the morning. And blow him over, it was working. That was until he started to hear a repeating rapping inside his head, frowning to himself as he took one look at the bottle in his hand and then lifted the remote control to turn the volume up until it had passed. The only problem was that, it kept going for another five minutes and just as he was beginning to get frustrated, rubbing his forehead as he got up from the sofa and through to the hallway, intending to go up to the bathroom for some aspirin, he noticed a petite figure trying to peek through the window alongside the front door.

"You fucking idiot, it's not all in your head after all." Tai cursed himself, now able to tell that the drumming he had heard wasn't his head trying to tell him the beer wasn't working but someone outside in the rain, desperate to get into the heat. Which he couldn't blame them for, as the second he unlocked and opened the door to the poor, drowned rat standing before him, the cool breeze hit him instantly. "Come in." He sighed, more for his own sake than whoever his guest was. It didn't matter if it was a sales girl or some strange person going on about new religions again after the week before, he just wanted in out the cold and figured he could send them packing without going near the door if he wanted to.

"Thank you." Lani was freezing as she stepped inside and let Tai shut the door behind her, visibly shaking as she tried to heat herself up, rubbing her arms in a desperate attempt to generate some heat in the already hot house. And it wasn't until she glanced up at the room she was in, trying to remind herself of her surroundings, that Tai saw her face, pointing at her as he tried to place a name with the face he felt he should have known instantly. "I don't mean to bother you. I just thought Darcy might be home." She stammered through her chattering teeth, making him smile when he finally realised why he knew her but was unable to find a name to prove his suspicion. He couldn't quite find his voice to invite her inside, able to remember the way he had been unexplainably unable to keep his eyes off her the last time she had been at the house, though he had been unwilling to admit to such a thing when his father had commented on her being such a suitable bride because of her heritage. He had been sad to see her go, recalling how well they had talked and laughed together a week or so ago, and could only lead the way to the kitchen and pull out a seat at the table, waiting for her to sit down before he went ahead and switched on the kettle, confusing her with his silence when he left the room again. But Tai was too busy thinking about how strange it was that Lani would show up when he had the house to himself and his brother wasn't there to tease him as to having been so unhappy about the entire circumstances only to now have the beginnings of a crush for one of those girls who had once been Darcy's best friends. He lifted his sweatshirt from the back of the sofa and took out Michael's blanket from the bureau in case she was really cold and returned to the kitchen to hand them to her, grateful for the smile she gave him in thanks.