Chapter 3: Rainy day

The look on Emily's face was tight. She didn't even say a word to her dad when she got into the car. Mr Gray knew his daughter was upset with him. Given the look on her face, no amount of explaining or excuses would get him out of this one.

Tyler Gray paid no attention to anyone else as he was only focused on his daughter. Even when he heard a faint voice outside his window, he couldn't care less as he racked his brain for the perfect apology present for his daughter.

Then, the not-so-distant drumming on the window caught his attention. The annoying sound meddled with his thoughts.

“Bruce,” Tyler Gray called out to the driver seated comfortably in the front seat.

“Roll down the window,” he commanded.

“Yes, sir,” Bruce replied.

The window went down slowly revealing the person in the car and also the drummer outside.

Lauren's blue eyes were hard to read. For a minute it looked like she was afraid. Although she finally got Emily's dad's attention.

The awkward silence between the both of them caused Emily to interfere.

“Miss Lauren, is there a problem?” Emily asked.

Lauren smiled politely at Emily and shifted her gaze back to Mr Gray.

“Hello, sir. You must be Mr Gray, Emily's father,” Lauren said.

The look on Tyler Gray's face showed how uninterested he was in whatever she had to say; still Lauren didn't stop there.

“I wanted to talk to you about Emily.” She paused while scanning the environment. “I didn't mean to do it through a car window though. I'm concerned about Emily, she is a really good kid. I noticed you are always absent from school activities. She is a really intelligent and outstanding student and as her only guardian I would advise you to pay more attention to her.”

“Excuse me?” Tyler Gray's deep voice stopped Lauren from rambling further.

The crease on his forehead showed he was displeased with the accusations.

“Who are you?” His jaw tightened as the words came out of his mouth.

“I'm Lauren Fisher, Emily's drama teacher…”

And before she could complete the sentence his deep authoritative voice interrupted her again.

“And what gives you the right to make all these accusations against me?”

He stared at Lauren deeply in her eyes. If she wasn't scared before, now she was. His brown eyes held hers.

“Emily is my daughter and we both understand each other. So, little miss drama teacher, take your observations somewhere else.”

And without even getting a reply from her, the tinted glasses went up. The three vehicles were in sync as they followed each other closely.

That was cold, Lauren thought to herself. He didn't even let her speak. He left her stifled and in awe. He really didn't care what she had to say.

The fact that he was immediately defensive shows that she was right. And Tyler Gray knew it. He neglected his daughter.

The sound of thunder brought her back to reality. She looked up to the dark clouds that were ready to pour.

“Oh no,” she let out sadly. It was going to rain and she had no means of transportation to get home.

Thanks to the most grumpy parent she had ever met.

“This day can't get any worse.”

And immediately it began to pour instantly. It was like the universe was working against her tonight. Or was it…

It was already getting late. She continued her walk out of the school premises. Her clothes were already drenched and her hair as flat as it could get. There was no reason to take cover at this point.

The rain increased heavily and it was getting really difficult for her to see in the hoarse wind.

Even as her eyes were half closed, she saw the car from a distance coming towards her. And why did it seem like it was the familiar convoy from ten minutes ago?

Hundreds of raindrops poured on her face and her body all at once. She was drenched from head to toe.

It seemed like she was right about the cars coming towards her. One of the cars took a 360 directly in front of her and paused.

She lifted her right hand over her eyes, trying to look past the parked SUV in front of her to the other two parked ahead.

This wasn't the exact one Emily and her Dad were in. Immediately, the door was unlocked. No one had come out or said a word to her but she was sure she was meant to get in.

Lauren pulled the door and got into the car. It wasn't like she had a choice. She was the only one seated in the back seat.

There was a man seated in front. That was the driver she guessed.

The man started the car and began driving without uttering a word.

“Thank you,” Lauren said, breaking the silence.

“It's alright Miss,” the driver responded. He stretched his hand forward, away from the steering wheel. “You must be cold,” he added while turning on the heater.

Cold was an understatement. Lauren was freezing. She had already soaked the back seat of the car. She was definitely going to fall sick. She could already feel herself coming down with something.

“Thank you,” she repeated to the nice man driving the car.

“You are welcome.” He responded.

Looking out the window the rain increased. She wrapped her arm around herself trying to remain warm. She was too lost in thought to notice she was going in the opposite direction of where she lived.

It was only when they reached a gigantic gate to a suburban neighborhood that she realized.

What was she going to do now? It was already dark and the weather made it worse. And it seemed like they had no plans of taking her home either, considering the fact that the driver didn't ask where she lived.

Then again this was not really great weather to drive around. The mansion inside the gigantic gate caught her attention.

The cars parked in line right in front of the house.

She watched as Emily and her Dad both got rescued with an umbrella into the house.

Lauren's door also opened up. The driver stood there waiting to help her out. Well, guess she was really spending the night here after all, or was she?

She got under the umbrella and rushed into the house.

She suddenly stopped halfway through the door, not knowing whether to go in or not.

Then she heard a familiar voice.

“Miss Lauren. You can come in”

Lauren followed the sound of Emily's voice and met her halfway down the hall.

“Whoa, Miss Lauren, you're soaking wet. I'm really sorry you got caught in the rain. That was obviously my fault.” Emily said apologetically.

“No Emily, it's not your fault. I just didn't want to leave you stranded all by yourself,” Lauren responded.

“And that's why when the rain started immediately I asked my Dad for us to turn back and pick you up. I'm still really sorry.

“Stop apologizing to me, Emily. And thank you for being so thoughtful and turning back.” At least Emily saved her from however she was planning to get home.

Right…home. Lauren was eyeballing the entire house. It was so big and she felt out of place.

It was almost like Emily noticed her discomfort. “Sorry, we couldn't drop you at your place. My Dad doesn't really enjoy driving in the rain so we had to come straight home. Don't worry though, I'm sure you'd be very comfortable in one of the guest rooms.” Emily said.

“Thanks, Emily, you're being really sweet.”

“You're welcome, Miss Lauren. I'll get Lady Dorris to come help you out so you'll be more comfortable.

“Who's that?”

“She's the caretaker,” Emily responded to the question.

“What about your dad?” The question slipped past Lauren's lips. She hadn't set eyes on him since she got inside the house.

“Uhm…he's busy. Probably working or something.” Emily replied as she turned around to leave. She took a few steps and then said, “ When you settle in you can come down and have dinner. It's usually just me,” she added sadly.

“Alright,” Lauren said. Giving her a warm smile.

“I'll go get Lady Dorris,” Emily said, exchanging smiles.