Old memories mingled with the present as Reyona looked at the gaping maw that used to be her lovely home.
Memories of the first time she had been here.
Memories of the person she had been there with.
Memories of how it seemed like her life was working according to plans then.
Yet here she was.
Unable to stand on her own, divorced, and practically homeless.
The fire seemed to have gotten most of the building and only a little of the original structure could be seen standing while new attachments were already constructed to even out what must have been charred remains a week ago.
"We can leave now if you want." Maxwell's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
For once, she did not feel annoyance towards him.
She felt a kindred spirit.
As if he was not just doing all he was doing out of pity.
It was almost as if he could understand how she felt.
Like he cared.
"No, I…can we…can I check it out? I need to see how far things have gone on the inside and...
"Rey," Toria called in a warning.
Maxwell looked at the nurse.
"If she is careful, it should be..."
They were distracted by the approach of two men who stepped out of the house in coveralls and construction helmets on their heads.
Recognition showed on the face of one of them, and he quickly hurried towards the car.
Maxwell opened the door and stepped out as the man came closer.
"Good morning, President Rohan," the man said with a curtsy.
"Morning, Greg. What is going on? Why is everywhere so quiet? Is this how you get the job done here?"
"No, sir. There was a bit of a complication this morning, sir," the man said anxiously. "It is a good thing you are here. I would have called you soon anyway. My men got here this morning, and they met..." He turned to the man behind him and gestured with his hands.
The man quickly entered the house while Greg turned back to Maxwell.
"We met some kids here, all..."
"Kids?" Reyona echoed.
Greg looked in the direction of Reyona's voice, nodded, and answered as the nurse helped Reyona out of the car.
"Yes, ma'am. Kids. There are two of them. A boy and…"
"It is the bad woman!"
Reyona sank hastily into the wheelchair and her gaze went towards what the others had turned to look at.
It was two shivering children with damp-looking clothes.
The girl had her hand over the boy's shoulder and a mutinous look on her face directed at the men who brought them outside.
The boy was pointing his finger at Reyona as he looked excitedly at the girl, even as he repeated, "Look, Ally. It is the bad woman!"
"I can't believe this," Toria said with annoyance. "What is this bastard pulling now? Why would he send these kids here?"
Reyona was about to ask Toria what she meant when the girl quickly rushed towards her.
She walked so close to Reyona, then suddenly stopped and looked at Reyona, the splints, and the wheelchair in confusion.
"What happened to you?" she asked with chattering teeth.
Then, before Reyona could answer, she held her hands tightly around herself as she said, "My dad. We are looking for Dad. We came here looking for him, but we couldn't find him and the men came, but they wouldn't listen when I told them that they needed to find Dad so that he could find Grandma and Leah!"
"Woah, woah. Kid," Maxwell quickly said as he came closer. "Your dad isn't here, and you should be at home. Who brought you here?" Maxwell asked suspiciously as he looked around.
"Ally brought me here," Junior said as he moved closer to his sister's side. "We have to find dad. We can't find him, but we have found the bad woman. She will take us to Dad," he said with conviction. Then, as if he had a rethink, he looked up to Allysyn and said, "Right, Ally?"
"Don't call her a bad woman," her sister tried to whisper to him, which only came out in a comical, chattery sound that everyone heard clearly.
"What is going on?" Reyona wondered aloud. "Who are these kids?"
Then, concerned about their cold clothes, she said compassionately. "We will help you find who you want to find, okay? But you need to change your clothes. You will catch a cold. How did you get this wet? She asked in concern as she removed the jacket she wore over her camisole and gestured to the girl to come closer.
"It was rain. The rain started when we were on the road, but we couldn't stop. Ally said we couldn't stop," Junior said as the nurse removed the large scarf around her neck and covered his body.
"What rain? There was no rain when we were..." Realization dawned on Maxwell, and he asked in disbelief, "Yesterday? You have been here since yesterday."
"In the night. We got here at night. Nobody saw us." Junior piped up again and one could see that his sister was looking forward to gagging him at that time.
She looked towards Reyona again and asked as she accepted the jacket over her shivering body. "Will you help us find our dad?"
"I will look for him, whoever he is, okay? The two of you need some dry clothes first. I know a place around here where they sell nice things. Let me get some clothes for you and your brother, then something to keep you warm, and then we can look for your father, okay?" Reyona said this in concern.
She did not see the look that Toria and Maxwell gave each other.
At that point, Toria wished she could whisk the kids away from Reyona before the inevitable could happen.
Maxwell's thoughts were along the same line. That and the urge to get his hands on that asshole right now.
What the hell was the prick thinking by letting his kids-Susan's kids-run around alone on a rainy night?
Reyona was already turning towards the car when Allysyn stepped away from her, removed the wool jacket over her shoulder and threw it to the floor as she shouted, "No! That would be too late. We need to find our dad now! We need him to bring Leah and Grandma home! They were lying! They were lying! I need to tell him that they were lying!"
The girl was hysterical as tears streaked out of her eyes.
She looked from each of them to the other in desperation.
She suddenly ran full force towards Reyona.
"Hey!" Toria said as she rushed forward to save Reyona from whatever the crazy child was about to do.
Instead of ramming Reyona over as it seemed, the girl suddenly stood before Reyona and held her hand in plea. "You need to find Dad. Call him. He will pick up your call. She calls you her friend. She likes you. She wants to see you, but Grandma won't let her. Call Daddy and tell him that they are lying."
Reyona shook her head at Toria when she wanted to pull the girl away and turned her understanding eyes back on the girl.
She could see that the girl was intelligent, and she was not just blurting things out. She asked, "Who is your Dad? Who called me a friend?"
"You just divorced my dad. He said it was your fault, but Leah likes you. Leah is my sister. Grandma took her to the hospital, but they came back and lied!" The girl ended in a high-pitched tone as she cried more.
She wanted to pull away from Reyona but Reyona held her hand tightly. "What did they lie about?" she asked, as an unexplainable fear made her voice hoarse.
"They sent Junior and me inside but..." The girl looked away in guilt, so Reyona prompted her. "You had to listen, right?"
"Yes," Allysyn answered in a stronger tone.
"Good," Reyona encouraged her, so she could talk, "What did you hear?"
"They lied that she died."
Reyona's heart thumped hard as unbidden pain struck her heart. Not showing her grief to the heartbroken girl, she asked matter-of-factly, "Who did they tell the lie about?"
"Grandma!" Junior piped in.
"And Leah," Allysyn added.
What?!