Beneath The Surface

Chapter Six

Olivia yawned as she strolled to the front door of the granny-flat. The loud knocking came again.

"I'm coming," she called. A quick glance at the clock on the wall let her know that it was half past eight. She pulled open the door and her pupils contracted painfully with the burst of bright sunlight. The rain had stopped.

Travis's lips parted as he stared at her. "Rough night?"

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Just wanted to let you know Sandy just called and said the road is still flooded so looks like you're stuck here for another day. Kevin and I need to check the fences and the bores around the property today, but feel free to use my laundry and clothes line. If you need to use the phone I've connected up the old corded phone."

Olivia bared her teeth as she recalled the phone-destroying incident she had caused yesterday.

"Help yourself to any food." Travis scratched his jaw and gave a thin smile.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." He turned and walked away. "Come Rupert." He gave a small whistle and his three dogs darted after him, following closely on his heels.

Rupert? Odd choice for a dog's name.

Travis looked back over his shoulder. Wide eyed and with a look that resembled concern.

Olivia closed the door and rubbed her eyes. She had slept well; didn't even wake once. She walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth and froze as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. No wonder Travis had looked horrified. Going to sleep with damp hair had caused her hair to stick out wildly on one side. Her mascara was smudged and reminded her of why her nightly cleanse, tone, moisturise routine was necessary- and she scolded herself for skipping it. With the combination of her ill-fitting outfit she looked like one of the homeless men that sat in alley ways in Sydney. The only thing missing was a bottle of spirits wrapped in brown paper.

She began splashing water on her face and using wet hands tried to smooth her hair down. When that didn't work she opted to just tie it back into a messy ponytail.

She made the bed, washed the plate, fork, and knife from last nights dinner then ate an apple for breakfast. She lifted out her expensive shoes and sat them outside on the verandah to dry. Then she lugged her suitcase across the still-muddy lawn to Travis's house.

It felt wrong to be entering someone else's house when they were absent, but if she didn't get her clothes clean and dried soon they were going to start to stink and she really didn't want to be stuck wearing Kevin's clothes longer than she had to.

Travis's house was larger and brighter than she had imagined. Tastefully decorated with a clean white and blue nautical theme. But it was messy and lacking a woman's touch. She didn't want to violate his personal space by inspecting and gawking at everything so she avoided looking at the photos hanging on the walls and the stash of magazines and books in the book case. She wasn't there to study him, or pry into his personal life. She was there simply to pass time until she could travel south to visit the Coleman's.

Olivia peeked through the open doors leading off the hallway, diverting her eyes once establishing they weren't the laundry. When finally she did find the laundry she was relieved it was large enough to fit her suitcase in comfortably.

Once the first load was in the machine and going through the delicate cycle she stepped outside into what she could only determine was Travis's backyard. What appeared to have once been a beautiful garden setting, was now an over-grown, weed-infested yard. A simple hills-hoist clothes line stood in the centre. Two large water tanks sat on the dirt beyond the grassy lawn. There were three brown chickens scratching and pecking at the ground beneath a bush.