Thanks to Lip Butter and Johnny'shumiliatedgrape for reviewing! YOU GUYS ARE SO SWEET:tears of joy: Also thanks to DAFTLIKESPARROW who is continually inspiring me! She will be putting up a Secret Window fanfic at some point as well! I have read bits of it and IT ROCKS! Keep an eye out for it.

Okay, ENJOY!

CHAPTER 3: ENDLESS RAIN

The next morning, Skye woke up, lying on the couch with a blanket draped over her. She remembered how she'd fallen asleep… She sat up looked around. Mort was in the kitchen, making pancakes.

"Good morning, Mr. Rainey." she said.

"Oh, good morning, Skye." he greeted, turning to see her.

"Um… thanks for the, uh…" she held up the blanket.

"Sure." he replied.

"Did I sleep very long?" she asked, getting up.

"No, it's only ten. I got up at seven." he told her. "I guess we just both fell asleep at the same time."

"I guess. Um, I'm going to get dressed and all." she said.

He nodded and she went into her room. She put on a short, blood red skirt with black diagonal stripes, black fishnet tights, and a black spaghetti strap shirt with a black pleather jacket over it, also a red tie around her neck. She readied herself for the day (also applying her makeup which today consisted of mascara and very red lipstick that matched her skirt), and went back into the kitchen where Mort was finishing making breakfast. She grabbed a Frappuccino from the fridge and sat down at the table.

"So… anything for me to edit today?" she asked.

"Yeah, actually." he replied. "I wrote for two and a half hours this morning. I was really inspired wrote three pages."

"Wow. Three pages in two and a half hours." she said, impressed. "That's great."

"That's not sarcasm, is it?" he asked, putting pancakes on two plates.

"No, you forget I'm a writer, too." she told him.

"That's right." he recalled, putting a plate of pancakes in front of her. He sat down with pancakes as well. "I'd like to read some of your writing sometime."

"…Really?" she asked.

"Of course." he replied. "You're a very interesting girl probably have some great stories to tell."

She smiled. "Well, I like to think so."

"After breakfast, then?" he asked. "You'll let me read some of it?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." she told him, pouring syrup on the pancakes.

"Great it's a date." he said. She blushed a little, but he didn't see it. "Oh, may I have the syrup?"

"Oh… yeah." She held it out to him and just as he grabbed onto it, their hands touched, causing a very awkward moment (from Skye's point of view, anyway). She quickly let go of it luckily, he had a good grip on it, so it didn't fall. She hoped she would get over moments like this because if she was going to live with him for a while, she would have to get used to doing things like passing the syrup…

After breakfast, she got some of her writing and gave it to Mort to read. She edited while he read. She put her headphones on and started listening to some music (not as loud as usual, though). He looked up, interested.

"What are you listening to?" he asked.

"Breaking Benjamin." she replied.

"Is that… that Japanese music, too?"

"No, they're American." she told him. "Good stuff. Yeah, I like all sorts of music, not just Jrock."

"Hmm."

"Here, listen. You might like them." she said, holding out her headphones.

"They're a little too new age for me, I'd think." he replied.

"Just listen." she told him. He the headphones next to his ears, it was too loud for him to put on.

"Show me how it ends, it's alright show me how defenseless you really are!" the CD player played. "Satisfied and empty inside that's alright, let's give this another try!"

He handed the headphones back to her. "It's a little harder rock than I'm used to, but it's not bad." he said.

"I just love them." she added happily. He went back to reading and she went back to editing.

After a little while, Skye finished editing and went upstairs to put his writing on his desk. She went back downstairs and walked by him, curiously glancing at what page he was on. He noticed this and looked up at her.

"Oh, sorry." she apologized.

"No, it's alright." he told her. "This is really good."

"Really?" she asked. "Because there's always room for improvement and I wouldn't be offended if"

"No, really, I'm impressed." he said.

"…Really?"

"Yeah, I'm going to keep reading definitely." he told her, going back to reading.

About an hour later, he finished reading the long story she had written.

"That was excellent." he told her. "Honestly. You're going to be a bestseller seriously."

"Wow! Thank you!" she replied, extremely happy.

"You know… I'm feeling pretty inspired." he said. "But I need more inspiration… Come talk to me it usually helps the inspiration process." She sat down next to him on the couch and turned off her CD player. She put it on the coffee table.

Just then, thunder sounded. They hadn't even noticed, but the sky had clouded over and it had started to rain.

"Oh, I love rain." Skye said.

"Me too." he replied, as they looked out the window. "We have a lot in common, you know."

"Yeah, I noticed." she told him.

"Well, uh… anyway, what was your high school experience like?" he asked. "This is book-related, I promise, not just totally random."

She laughed. "Well, uh, high school sucked a lot for me. I didn't want to do homework, I wanted to write all the time. Failed a few classed because of it. Luckily, I later learned to manage school and writing, and was able to graduate on time. …But that wasn't the only reason it sucked… I didn't have many friends. Just a few. I was a complete geek."

"Oh, me too in high school." he told her. "Got beaten up a lot."

"Oh, that's sad!" she exclaimed. "Well, I never got beaten up, but… made fun of a lot. I mean, I'm still a geek always will be but it wasn't so welcomed in my high school."

Suddenly, the phone rang. Mort went to it and answered it.

"Hello?" he said, carrying the phone to the coffee table, and sat back down next to Skye.

"Hello, may I speak to Skye?" It was Skye's mother.

"Sure, hang on a second." he replied. He held the phone out to Skye. "It's your mother."

"Ugh…" Skye groaned quietly. She took the phone from him and reluctantly put it to her ear. "Hello, mother."

"You're always so formal, Skye, why?" her mother asked. Mort, sitting right next to Skye, could hear every word that was being said by both parties.

"Why not?" Skye replied.

Her mother sighed loudly. "Anyway, I called because I started to get worried again."

"Why would you be worried this time?"

"Because you haven't called me!" her mother pressed.

"I had no reason to call." Skye told her.

"You know that when your sister goes out, even if it's just to a friends house, she calls very often."

"Well, I don't have the time to call that often." Skye said. "You shouldn't worry. I'm fine."

"I don't trust that Mort Rainey." her mother told her. "He didn't sound like a very reliable person. He sounded very untrustworthy."

"Don't say that, mother, you don't even know h"

"Well, you be careful." her mother scolded. "All men want the same thing. I worry about you being up there alone with that man. He could rape you and no one would be there to help you."

"He wouldn't do that." Skye stated. "He's"

"And how do you know?" her mother asked. "That man who… did what he did to me when I was your age seemed like he wouldn't do that either. I don't even know why I let you go up there." Skye sighed. "You think you have him pegged, but he could change at any moment."

"Mother, really, he's"

"I respected what my mother taught me." her mother scolded. "Every word she told me, I listened and obeyed. She was never wrong. You don't have the brains to think for yourself, Skye, that's what parents are for."

"Well, I think I'm old enough"

"Until the day she died, I listened to my mother. She also taught me that being a housewife is the best place for a woman."

"That's not what I'm meant for." Skye told her mother. "I write. I can't waste my tal"

"My mother wasn't wrong!" her mother yelled. "She was never wrong! Why can't you be like your sister!" By this time, Skye's eyes were watering. "And about this writing thing. It's just a phase, I'm sure."

"A phase!" Skye exclaimed. "I majored in it in college! I've been writing for"

"You'll change your mind when you find out that you can't make money." her mother scolded.

I want to kill her. I want to kill her. It would be so easy… the voice in the back of her head said.

'No, I would never do that it's wrong.' she thought.

"Only a few writers make it big, you know."

"Not really, there's plenty of"

"You only look at the good parts of this writing thing. You don't realize that you need something to fall back on." her mother continued.

"There are lots of positions for writers, not just books." Skye said. "There's screenwriters for TV and movies, and"

"Again, how many make it?" her mother interrupted. "God, why can't I just have a normal daughter?" A tear ran down Skye's cheek. Mort pitied her immensely. He got up and went to the other side of the room quickly.

"Skye, can you come here, please?" Mort called to her. "I would like for you to edit something for me!" She looked up at him and caught on.

"Oh, mother, I have to go, Mr. Rainey wants me to edit something for him." Skye said as Mort sat back down next to her.

Her mother sighed. "Alright, but as I said, you be careful of that man. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him."

"Right." Skye replied doggedly. "Alright, bye." She hung up the phone. "Thanks for that." She sniffled, looking up at him. "She can be so cruel sometimes… Yeah, that's my mother. Lived with her torture my entire life. You heard her, right?"

"Yeah, every word." he said. "She actually said that you didn't have brains to think for yourself? That that's what parents are for?"

"Yeah."

"You're in your twenties!" he exclaimed. "Wow, she's insane. I'd like to tell her 'That's what straightjackets are for.'" She laughed and nodded. He reached over and wiped a tear from her cheek. She blushed at the awkward moment. "Why do you deal with her?"

"Because… well truthfully… I want my education. I need her money."

"Well… you know… I can help you out with that." he told her. "I've got some money from my few published books. You should tell her off."

"Oh, no, I could never let you do that." she replied. Thunder sounded and rain beat the windows.

"No, I could." Mort told her. "It's like an investment. I read your book, it was great. Comeuppance it was called?"

"Yeah." she said. "But I still couldn't possibly accept that…"

"Well, you think on it." he told her. She nodded. "So, uh, you were telling me about high school. Did you date much?"

"Oh, no, no, no." she replied. "Not at all, actually. As I said yesterday, they, uh, they stay away." She looked out the window.

He shook his head. "I couldn't imagine why."

"Well, I'm weird." she said. "And… just… weird… I was always writing, anyway. Wasn't really interested in dating. It was pretty mutual, you know, they weren't interested in me either."

"Well, those guys must've had really, really bad taste." he told her. She looked up at him. "I mean, I find you very interesting."

"I, um, I'm sure you're the only one…" Suddenly, thunder crashed extremely loudly. Skye jumped. She sighed. "Sorry, I get kind of tense when I talk to my mom… and thunder kind of scares me anyway."

"You know, I've really never met anyone like you before." he said. She looked at him. "You're… unique and funny and… we have so much in common." She smiled. "I really like you, Skye."

"I, uh… I really like you, too, Mr. Rainey." she replied a little nervously, blushing a bit. He placed a hand on her cheek, leaned in, and kissed her.

'Oh, this is like… a "Forever Love" moment!' she thought, referring to an X Japan song. She put her hand on the side of his head and ran her fingers through his hair. 'Wow, his hair is soft… I need to ask him what shampoo he uses.' He pulled her closer and put his arms around her, and she put her arms around his neck. 'So much Jrock! It's a little like "Endless Rain!" Okay, maybe I shouldn't be thinking about Jrock right now…' Finally, they pulled away from each other. Mort smiled and stood up.

"You know, I think I'm going to go out for a drive." he told her. "Helps my inspiration." She nodded. "You'll behave until I get back, won't you?" he asked, smiling.

"I'll do my best." she replied, smiling as well. He grabbed his car keys and opened the door.

"Bye." he bid, waving to her.

"Bye." she said, waving back to him. She sat a minute, still a little stunned. She finally got up and went into the bathroom to check her makeup. She looked in the mirror and saw that her lipstick was severely smudged. She fixed it and reapplied it. She went back into the living room and sat down on the couch.

Well, Mr. Rainey sure has a mouth on him, doesn't he? the voice in the back of her head said. Looks like you'll get something out of this besides just a job… She shook her head, trying to rid the thoughts. Mother is really getting on your nerves, huh? You know, when it gets to be Christmas, you can go back home and push her out of her bedroom window. She's on the third floor, isn't she? Or, you could pour soap on the bathroom floor and she could slip on it and break her head open on the bathtub. Skye didn't abandon these thoughts. It really would be easy… She shook her head anyway, knowing how bad it is to kill people..

She turned the TV on and watched random stuff for about an hour. She decided to get up and do something. She stood up and a feeling hit her. The house again… She was alone and there was still something about the house… Twisted… Cold… Watchful… Like something was looking at her from underneath it… The house poured oil on her fiery anger at her mother…

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Skye jumped at the sound of it. She pulled herself together and went to the door to answer it. She opened the door and saw the sheriff standing there.

"Yes?" Skye asked.

"Hello, is Mr. Rainey at home?" the sheriff asked.

"Uh, no, he just went out." Skye replied, running her fingers through her hair nervously as she was still a little jumpy. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.

"Sure, come on in." she said; he entered. She shut the door and they sat down in the living area.

"I'm the sheriff here at Tashmore Lake, can I ask who you are?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry." Skye apologized. "I'm Skye Rivers, Mr. Rainey's personal editor."

"Personal editor, huh?" he asked. "Well, I want to warn you about something. You live here with Mr. Rainey, don't you?" Skye nodded. "You'd do best nto to get very close to him." Skye shifted uncomfortably. "He's suspected of the murder of four people."

Skye blinked. "Wh-what?" she asked, getting a little dizzy.

"Well, about a year ago…" the sheriff explained the events that surrounded the four dead people who were possibly killed by Mort: Amy Rainey, Ted Milner, Kenneth Karcsh, and Tom Greenleaf.

Skye gulped, the worst case scenario running through her mind. It could be possible… but… No. No, it couldn't. Not the Mort she grew so fond of. She shook off the feeling and came to her senses.

"N-no, Mr. Rainey wouldn't do anything like that." Skye dismissed. "He's a nice man. A little strange sometimes, but he wouldn't kill anyone. He's a great writer, you know he says I have potential"

"Be that as it may, the circumstances were just too coincidental." the sheriff interrupted. "We've never found the bodies, but we certainly plan to."

"I can assure you he didn't do that." Skye stated. "He's a good person."

The sheriff sighed. "Alright… but if you see anything strange, please call."

"Of course." Skye said. "I hope you find whoever did it."

"…Yeah…" the sheriff replied. He tipped his hat to her and left.

She thought for a moment. She didn't know what to do, so she decided to go out and wander around the grounds. She grabbed an umbrella by the door and walked outside. She looked at the garden on the side of the house that was growing corn.

"Think he has enough corn growing?" Skye muttered. She spotted a window right next to her and realized the soil under it was empty no flowers or anything. It looked out of place. "Maybe I'll plant flowers for him there someday…"

She paced over to the corn and looked at it idly. She ran her finger along the stalk out of sheer boredom.

"What are you doing?" Mort asked sharply.

"Oh, hi, Mr. Rainey." she greeted, turning to look at him. "Just looking at your garden. Lots of corn."

"Yeah, don't touch it." Mort told her, trying to hide his panic. "The smallest disturbance could ruin it."

"Oh, sorry." she apologized. A moment of silence went by.

"You want to tell me something?" he asked sharply. She looked at him questioningly. "I saw that sheriff driving away from here. What did he tell you?"

"What?" she asked. "Oh, yeah. Nothing. He wanted to talk to you, but you weren't here, so he left." she lied.

"That's all?" he asked. "Did he ask you anything?"

"Not really." she lied again. "Just who I was and stuff. Curious, I guess. I mean, no one really knows I'm here except my family… I guess he was a little surprised."

"What did you tell him?"

"I said I was Skye Rivers, your personal editor." she replied. "That's right, isn't it?" she asked jokingly.

"Yeah… yeah, of course it is." Mort said, relieved. "You know me I tend to panic pretty easily. Sorry." (Which is exactly why Skye wasn't telling him what the sheriff said).

"Yeah, of course. It's fine. Don't worry about it." she dismissed. After a moment, she realized he was getting soaked, just standing in the rain like that. "Oh, here, you're getting all wet!" She hurried over to him, holding the umbrella up to shelter them both.

"Thanks." he said and they went inside.

"Get any inspiration?" she asked.

"A little." he replied. "I'm hungry, though."

"Oh, I'll make something." she told him. She took her jacket off and tossed it on the couch. He noticed the fact that she was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and was a little distracted for a moment. She went into the kitchen and looked in the cabinets. "What should I make?"

"Actually, I went out and picked some corn out of the garden this morning. It's in a bowl over there." Mort said, gesturing to the other side of the kitchen.

"Ooh, that sounds good." she replied, going over to the bowl and retrieving the corn to cook. He joined her in the kitchen and helped her shuck the corn. He glanced over at her every once in a while because of the tank top, but she didn't notice it.

Skye didn't realize what was so significant about the corn. She didn't know what was under it. What she did know was that she was starting to like Mort more and more by the day…

Alrighty! Hope you all liked the chapter! Gasp! SOMETHING FINALLY HAPPENED! Yay! Anyway, for those of you who are unfamilliar with Jrock... I suggest you download some. It's really awesome. Ask me for the best of the best picks. Cuz my taste is flawless. Haha, jk. Anyway, I do hope you liked the chapter! Im hoping to draw a picture of Skye soon. I'll probably use Peachgirl art as something to look off of. When I do draw her, I'll be putting it in my Deviantart gallery which you can access from my profile page.

PLEASE REVIEW!