Denise raised an eyebrow, but let it drop. ‘All right, well, if you need anything, you know where to find me.’ With that, she turned and headed out, leaving Rain alone with her thoughts.
Rain slumped against her locker, her head spinning from the whole messed up situation. Great, just fucking great. Now he’s onto me.
Part of her wanted to just go straight to Lauren and tell her what happened, but then she had to get real with herself. If she told Lauren, she’d probably freak out and put some serious distance between them.
Not that Rain could blame her. Lauren had a lot riding on keeping up appearances. If her family found out she was messing around with one of the hotel cleaners, they’d probably flip. So as much as she wanted to fill her in, she decided to keep it to herself for now and see how things played out. Maybe she’ll actually work up the nerve to tell Jake herself.
Still shaken, Rain headed out into the night. She didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she needed a drink. Or several.
She found herself at a nearby bar, downing one beer after another until the world started to blur around the edges. She barely registered the woman who slid onto the stool next to her, barely heard the words they exchanged. The next thing she knew, they were stumbling out of the bar together, giggling and clinging to each other like old friends. Rain’s mind was fuzzy, her thoughts scattered, but she couldn’t seem to bring herself to care.
When she woke up the next morning, she was in a strange bed, her head pounding and her mouth dry as a desert. Panic threatened to engulf her as she frantically searched her memory for any clue as to how she had ended up here, but the events of the night remained stubbornly out of reach.
Just as the tendrils of panic began to tighten their grip, the door opened, and the woman from the night before entered the room, carrying a mug of coffee, the rich aroma filling the air.
‘Morning,’ the woman said. ‘I thought you might need this.’
Rain took the coffee, the warmth of the mug soothing against her clammy palms. As she took a tentative sip, a wave of nausea washed over her.
‘I’m sorry,’ Rain mumbled. ‘I don’t even remember how I got here.’
The woman smiled. ‘It’s okay. You had a bit too much to drink last night. But don’t worry, nothing happened between us. I’m Clara, by the way.’
Relief flooded through Rain like a tidal wave, washing away the remnants of her hangover-induced panic. She offered Clara a weak smile.
‘I don’t usually—’
‘It’s okay. We’ve all been there before. You were pretty upset.’
‘Sorry, there’s nothing worse than an overbearing drunk.’
‘Not at all. You were quite entertaining. All I can say is that whoever this Lauren is, she’s lucky to have someone who cares about her as much as you do. It’s her loss if she doesn’t realise it.’
‘Thanks. And thanks for . . . for not letting me do anything dumb last night,’ Rain said, managing a heartfelt smile.
‘Anytime,’ Clara replied with a wink. ‘Now, how about something to eat? I make a mean breakfast, if I do say so myself.’
‘Yeah,’ Rain said, smiling to herself. ‘Breakfast sounds pretty good right about now.’
They headed to the kitchen, where Clara busied herself preparing food.
‘So,’ Clara said, glancing over her shoulder, ‘you said something about your sister last night. Fay, was it?’
Rain looked up, surprised. ‘Did I?’
Clara nodded, turning back to the pan. ‘You mentioned her a few times. Said she was missing.’
Rain sighed. ‘Yeah. It’s been a couple of weeks. I’ve been trying to find her, but . . . no luck.’
Clara slid a plate of food in front of her and sat down across the table.
‘That must be tough. I can’t even begin to imagine what that’s like.’
Rain shrugged, picking up her fork. ‘It is what it is. I just . . . I feel like I should be doing more.’
Clara took a bite of her toast, chewing thoughtfully. ‘Well, what have you done so far?’
Rain poked at her food, suddenly not very hungry. ‘I’ve been asking around, trying to retrace her steps. That’s how I ended up working at the hotel Lauren’s family own.’
‘That’s the married woman you were talking about last night, right?’
Rain felt her cheeks heat up. ‘Yeah. We . . . we have a thing.’
‘That can’t be easy, on top of everything else.’
Rain shrugged again, blinking back the tears that suddenly welled in her eyes. ‘It’s my own fault, really. I knew what I was getting into.’
‘Hey,’ Clara said, her voice firm. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. You can’t help who you fall for.’
Rain managed a weak smile. ‘I guess not. I just wish I’d been honest with her from the beginning about who I was. Then there’s this whole thing with a staff member dealing drugs at the hotel . . . I don’t know. It’s all such a mess.’
Clara leaned back in her chair, studying Rain. ‘Okay, let me get this straight. Your sister’s missing, you’ve got feelings for a married woman, and there’s a drug dealer operating out of her hotel?’
Rain let out a humourless laugh. ‘Pretty much, yeah.’
Clara whistled. ‘Damn. And I thought my life was complicated.’
‘Yeah, well, welcome to the shitshow.’
