Curtains Close; Take a bow. I think we fooled all of them now.

Rain's POV

I sat on the steps, untouched and alone. Danny had left me a few moments ago, and I saw his shadow pass into his bedroom to talk to Anthony. It's funny how just one person can say something to someone else to change their mind and alter their view on something important.

I had left the front door slightly ajar, and I was listening to inside the house.The television was still on, but the picture was fuzzy and it was giving off a quiet buzz that was somehow comforting. The fridge hummed too, and the radiators were giving off a gentle tapping. There was a stream somewhere nearby, as I could hear the water swashing over the shallow stones when I stood out on the wet grass in the mornings.

I lifted the hood up on my jacket, to protect me from the rain, and I took tiny steps down the concrete stairs. When I reached the grass, I felt the wet, overgrown blades stroke past my bare ankles. There was a breeze this evening, but it was so gentle it merely stroked my hair and pinched my bare skin.

The forest in front of me was dark and consuming. I didn't want to go too deep, just merely wander through it, in search of wildlife, or the stream I could hear sometimes. Pine needles were scattered across the moist black earth and the smell of damp wood was heavy in the air. I could see the moon through the open patches of trees and it was so bright tonight, I could trace the craters on it's surface.

There were huge mushrooms, hugging onto the bottoms of trees and inside hollow fallen branches. When I was a kid, my grandfather used to take me out into the forest behind his cottage and show me all the different types of mushrooms and which ones were edible. If only I could remember his teachings right now, as they would come in handy.

In the darkness, I saw a flickering light. Like a torch being shone directly at me. I squinted into it, trying to make out the character who was behind it. The light scared some crows who were nesting in the tree a few feet in front of me, causing them to take flight and squawk and scream in terror.

"Rain?" Oli said, running towards me. "What are you doing out here? I looked everywhere for you..."

"Everywhere?" I delicately sighed. "I just wanted to go for a walk. Get some fresh air, and leave Danny and Anthony to themselves."

He looked directly into my eyes and smiled. "You look georgous in this light." He whispered.

I laughed. "What? In the dark?"

He shrugged off my humor and we walked together. He slipped his hand over mine and shone his torch at the ground, making sure the path was clear for us. "You know that I loved you this whole time right?" He suggested, leaning into me.

His breath was cloudy against my cheek. "I think so." I replied, still unsure about the whole thing.

He starred down at our hands, linked together so tightly. "I admit. I hadn't fully stopped loving SJ when I started loving you. So when I found out she was pregnant, I knew what I had to do. I wasn't going to leave her for you. Not when we would share a child. And I started to hate you because I knew I wasn't ever going to have you again. And I had ruined your life, dragging you out there with me. It was so complicated. And when SJ died, well that really buggered me up you know."

I frowned slightly. "Why?"

He starred out into the trees, his eyes tracing the silhouettes of old stumps and piles of leaves. "Because I thought you hated me. And knowing that all along, I could have been with you anyway... Well. It just killed me. And I was suck with a kid that I had no clue how to take care of. I love Hanley... I really do. But I just can't seem to do anything right for him..."

I stroked his face gently and pressed my lips against his cheek. "You've done everything perfectly, so far. Hanley loves you very much. You two have a strong friendship between you. He trusts you. I can see it in his eyes when you play or feed or do anything with him."

Oli generously raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Now let's go back to the house, my feet are frozen."

Notes