Stranger Danger

Part 5

After dinner, Tyler and Cassidy took thirty minutes to digest before showering in their separate guest rooms. When Cassidy stepped out of the bathroom, she found clothes on the bed. Right away, she looked towards the bedroom door. It was closed, but she knew someone had come in. She looked around the large space. Her suitcase had been zipped up and placed on the floor against the wall, next to the desk. Holding her fluffy white towel tighter around her body, she kneeled down to open her suitcase.

Once it was open, she peered closely at all the contents inside. Something didn't seem, or feel right. She grabbed a bunch of clothes and yanked them out of the suitcase, shoving them behind her on the floor. Rummaging through her things, she soon realized what was wrong. Some of her clothes were missing – all of her skirts, short shorts, bralettes and crop tops. She didn't understand who would take them. Drying her damp body, she found some clothes to put on.

Meanwhile, Tyler got out of the shower too. In the bedroom, he went over to his sports' bag, which was placed against the wall by an oak desk drawer. He opened it and started going through his clothes, looking for one of the tight sleeveless gray shirts that he normally wore to the gym. Oddly, he couldn't find any of them and became confused. Had someone been in his room? He stopped searching after a while and chose something else to wear. As he was heading back to the bathroom after changing, he noticed some folded up clothes on the bed.

Just as he laid his hand on the clothes, ready to open them up and take a look, there was a knock on the bedroom door. He went over and opened it. Cassidy stood in front of him, looking upset, the ends of her blonde hair dripping water and her bangs flattened against her forehead. "Uh, Cassidy, what's up?"

Cassidy barged into the room, making Tyler quickly move aside. "Some of my clothes are missing!"

Tyler closed the door, not wanting anyone from the Beiler family to overhear or eavesdrop on their conversation. "Wait, what?" he asked Cassidy.

"My clothes!" Cassidy repeated. "Some of them are missing!"

Tyler frowned and scratched his head. "Really? Some of my clothes are missing too."

Cassidy looked at him, surprised. "Did you find neatly folded up clothes on your..." She trailed off as she looked over at his bed and noticed the neatly tucked clothes on it. Her eyes widened. "It happened to both of us!" she exclaimed.

"But, who would take our things?"

"I don't know."

"I mean, it's gotta be someone in this house."

Cassidy looked up at Tyler, her mouth open in sudden realization. "It's Ruby! She's the one who stole our things."

Tyler seemed confused. "Ruby? Why her?"

Cassidy was now pacing back and forth in front of Tyler. "Because she hates me, and she loves you."

"What?"

"Did you see how she attacked me earlier at the dinner table for no reason? I don't think that means she likes me. But I know she likes you. I noticed how she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off you. Why do you think she wanted to know if I was your girlfriend or not?"

Tyler seemed clueless. "Um, okay, but if she doesn't hate me, then why would she take some of my clothes?"

Cassidy shook her head. "I don't know! Because she's looking for attention?" She looked around, feeling the heat rise in her. "Gosh! I'm gonna get that girl!" She started towards the door.

Tyler quickly caught her right arm. "Cassidy."

She spun around. "What?" she demanded.

"You can't do this. Think about it. We're the guests. We can't just go out there and confront one of them for stealing a few of our belongings. We wouldn't have that right, and that could definitely start a conflict." Breathing hard, Cassidy glared at Tyler. "Right now, what you need to do is calm down."