AUTHOR'S NOTES: Yay, second chapter is up! Thank you so much for your wonderful and inspiring reviews. You guys all rock. Here is your much-deserved Rainey lollipops! Enjoy and please review!! Oh, and by the way, the song in the beginning of this chapter is Life For Rent by Dido.
While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Mort Rainey was not a poor man. Nor was he rich. He was simply in the middle. His house was small but spacious if that makes any sense. I noticed wooden stairs that probably led to the bedroom, and any other rooms he might've had. His house was relatively clean, from what I saw, minus the crumpled papers decorating the floor.
"Bad endings," he said after shutting and locking the door.
I jumped and figured he meant what the papers would read. I felt very vulnerable at the moment. He was a head taller than me with a strong build, from what I could tell. He didn't act like he killed anyone, though. Granted, I doubt anyone would flaunt their killing abilities, but...
I shook my head. No, I could not trust this man. At least not until he proved that he would do me no harm... which probably wasn't going to happen. I have found that people can sometimes be way too trusting when they first meet someone new. It was ridiculous, telling someone your goals and dreams and ambitions with them only telling you their name. That was why I probably didn't have any friends; because I never opened up. But, better safe than sorry, right?
"Come on," Rainey said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "I'll show you around.... er..."
"Madison," I said.
He smiled. "Madison."
He led me through the living room. I noticed a coffee table with many coffee stains upon it. The couch had a grove in it, which meant Rainey slept on the couch often. The phone, which sat on the table, was unplugged. I quirked an eyebrow. Use the phone... I thought, scrunching my nose.
He led me into the kitchen where I nearly jumped from surprise. There were ears of corn everywhere. The trash can was stuffed with the husks of the corn. There was a cooking pot upon the stove, water boiling in it. I noticed about three ears of corn inside it. Obsessive much? I thought as he turned and gave me a cheeky grin.
"What can I say?" he asked. "I like corn."
I figured, I thought, keeping a steady pace behind him. I had seen the oddly-placed corn field in front of his house, so not only was he a murderer, but crazy as well. What have I gotten myself into?
After showing me the bathroom downstairs, he led me upstairs. The stairs creaked when we ascended up, but he either didn't notice or didn't care. Taking a left, a noticed a desk with a clear view of the front door, a laptop upon it and a plate of half-eaten corn. I promised to never, ever eat corn again. "This is where I work," he said and I nodded, remaining silent.
Rainey walked into a room and turned on the light. I followed but kept a safe distance between the two of us, and studied the room. It had a small bed in the center of it with a small dresser to its right. There was a small window that had a view of a beautiful woodland area and a small, empty table that I assumed you could put books on after you were done reading them.
"This is where you'll be staying," he said from behind me. I jumped, not knowing how deep in thought I was.
I turned and smiled a small smile, although my eyes danced with excitement. I dropped my pillowcase on the foot of the bed, trying my best to keep calm but inside, I was ecstatic. A bed!! A room! I nearly cried, but thankfully, I kept my composure.
"Thank you," I said softly and he smiled. I followed him back out in the hall when he suddenly stopped and turned. "Do I frighten you?" he asked, a hint of amusement on his face.
I was taken aback by his forward question that I stayed silent for a moment, staring at the wooden floor. Finally deciding that honesty was the best policy, I quietly said, "Yes."
"Why?" he asked as he took a step towards me, quirking an eyebrow.
"People have been talking," I said, avoiding eye contact.
His amused smile fell from his face and was replaced by a frown, his lips pursed. "Madison," he said softly but firmly. "Can I remind you that I am allowing you to live in my house? I don't know you. Who knows, you might try and kill me, but I need the help, the company. I think I deserve your trust because you have mine."
My eyes burned with fury and raised from the floor meeting his. My fear subsided and was quickly replaced by anger. How dare he order me to give up my trust? How dare he try and make me feel compassion for him?
"Mr. Rainey," I said through gritted teeth. "As you said, I have no clue who you are. I don't know if people are right about you or not. You can't prove to me that you didn't kill them. I'm not here to judge you; I'm here to work. However, I can't give my trust up just like that. I don't even trust my family... why would I trust you? I'm sorry for the disrespect, Mr. Rainey." My eyes locked with the floor once again, and fear replaced my anger. Quickly, I added. "This is how I feel."
A moment of silence passed and I mustered up the courage to glance at him. I was awed to find him smiling and looking down at me, his glasses slowly sliding down the bridge of his nose.
"What?" I asked quietly.
I was surprised to see his smile widen as he studied him, and I scrunched my eyebrows in confusement.
"You are very bold, Madison," he replied with a hint of amusement in his low voice. "And you're right. I can understand how hard it is for you to trust someone, especially me, so I apologize for snapping at you and thank you for coming to work for me."
"You're welcome, Mr. Rainey," I replied, averting my eyes from his face. "My family needs the money."
I glanced back up at him and could've sworn I had seen a hint of sadness in his eyes. What did he expect? It's not like I wanted to live with what people were calling a mass murderer... but I couldn't help feel a tiny bit sorry for him.
"Anyways," he said, clapping his hands together, making me snap out of my thoughts. "I should tell you some guidelines and stuff so you'll know what I expect, huh?"
I nodded, still taking in the man's words. That was not what I was expecting; I thought he would yell, curse, or worse, fire me... but apologize? That was an odd thing for him to do- from what I've heard anyways. Maybe he'd change... but he'd have to prove it with actions, not words.
"Well," he said rubbing his hands together and staring intently at them. "Of course I need you to help with the basics: cooking and cleaning." I quirked an eyebrow as he counted them on his long fingers. "And, I need the company."
I looked up at him and was surprised to find a light blush appear on his tan face. The thought almost made me smile; a murderer, embarrassed to ask for company. What kind of company? I did not know. Probably, helping him with stories or playing poker or something like that.
"So," he said, looking at me again. "Do you think you could handle that?"
I nodded and he smiled.
"Good," he said. "I'll let you get settled. You start tomorrow." With that, he gave me one last smile before heading down the stairs.
I shook my head and walked back into my room. I grabbed my pillowcase and emptied it out, putting my clothes in their assigned drawers in the dresser. I didn't have much; just three old outfits that were either too big or too small and a pair of pajamas. When I was finished with that, I spread the quilt on the bed and placed the pillowcase on the table nearby.
The bed. It looked so welcoming and warm. Without thinking, I kicked off my old tennis shoes and climbed in, enjoying the support it gave my back and the warmth it gave my body. I pulled the quilt, along with the sheets, over my body and told myself not to fall asleep, but to enjoy the bed for five minutes longer...
Mort Rainey had just set the table for a delicious dinner with his new employee. He had made his favorite, corn on the cob. Sure, it was weird, but he didn't care. Corn was delicious AND nutritious. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
After waiting ten minutes longer, he decided to go and check on Madison. Glancing at the clock while running up the stairs, he figured that he had about an hour or so until he would get back to his writing; hence, it was about seven thirty.
Seeing her door slightly opened, he knocked softly so he wouldn't scare her. Receiving no answer, he pushed the door opened and was surprised to see Madison curled into a ball on the bed, fast asleep. He smiled as he studied her. He had never seen anyone so peaceful. Turning around and glancing back at the girl, he turned out the light and whispered, "Good night, Madison."
AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, there is Chapter Two! More fluffiness next chapter. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! You guys rock. Anyways, confuzable, no, it's not just going to be from her point of view. I also felt that Madison was being mean to Mort in this chapter.
Jim Carrey, muse: Well, she needs to keep her guard up. There's a reason you put that Dido song in the beginning. And don't worry, you know she begins to relax.
A/N: Oh, yeah. Jim, what would I do without you? Wait... don't answer that.