The Chase, Amber Riel [best english books to read txt] 📗

destination.  “Can we listen to the radio?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Nope,” his reply didn’t sound as rude as before but it was obviously that he wasn’t in the mood to talk either.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t want to listen to the radio.”

I narrowed my eyes and glanced over at him.  “How come you’re so rude?”

“That’s none of your damn business.”

I bit my bottom lip.  I wanted to yell at him so bad but I kept myself as calm as possible.  “I’m just trying to start a conversation.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk.”

“I can tell.”  I looked out of the window and watched as the trees and mountains raced paced us in blurs.  The light blue sky had a few clouds flying above the car.  I was board out of my mind I had wished that I was already at Annie’s and didn’t have to sit in the car with the jerk whom could care less about me anyways.  “So, Louis….”

“I told you already…. I don’t want to talk.”

“Well, it’s quiet and I’m going crazy just seating in silence.”

“Well, I don’t care.”

I shook my head.  “Why can’t you just at least pretend to be nice to me?”

“Nope.”

 

Louis had pulled up to a silver gate which was held up by dark red brick walls on both sides.  He rolled down his side window and stuck his right arm out pressing buttons on some kind of alarm thing.

“Yes?” a woman’s voice replied over the intercom.  It wasn’t a voice I had recognized.

“Heather, it’s Louis.  I’m here at the front gate with the American girl.”

“Okay.”  With that said, I watched as the sliver gate opened from the middle.

When the gates had opened completely, Louis drove in slowly.  I turned around in my seat and watch as the gate closed automatically.  I was amazed by the sight.  I had never actually been anywhere that had those kind of gates and when I turned back around I was surprised to see a long, wide huge, beautiful dark brown house…. No, mansion to be exact.  I couldn’t believe my eyes at the sight.  “Annie and Ron live here?” I asked.  The last time I had visited them they had lived in a small two room apartment.  The upgrade was insane.

“Yep.”  Louis didn’t sound too enthused but he had most likely been there a million times or so which to him just seem like another house really.

“That’s so crazy.  The last time I was here they were still living in that little, tiny apartment.”

Louis sighed as he placed the car in park.  He climbed out of the car and a 4 year old blonde child ran out to greet him.  She was the prettiest little thing I had ever seen.  “Uncle Louis,” she said as she wrapped her little arms around his knees.

“Hey there, little girl,” he replied and for the first time I noticed as he actually let a smile grow on his face.

The child looked at me with wide hazel eyes just like my sister and I knew she was without having to ask.  “Who are you?” her little voice asked as she stared at me with curiosity.

I couldn’t hold in my smile.  “I’m your Auntie Samantha,” I replied.

“Oooohhhhh.”  She titled her head trying to take everything in.  That was the one thing about children whether or not they had questions their looks would so interest as they looked at people or animals or other things that they weren’t quite familiar with.  “You’re my mummy’s sister?”

I nodded.

“You don’t look like my mummy…. My daddy’s brothers and sisters look like him but you don’t look like my mummy…. That’s strange.”

My smile grew at her words.

“Time to eat, Lainie,” Annie had said as she walked out of the long wide front door and stepped onto the long round porch with three or four steps.  “Oh, Samantha.”  She rushed over to me and gave me a big hug.  “I’m so glad that you’re finally here.  Now we can catch up on everything in the past few years.”

I nodded.

“Thank you for picking her up for me, Louis.”  Annie had broken out of the hug and turned her attention to the jerk of a driver I had to deal with.  “You’re welcome to stay and hang out if you want.”

Louis kind of smiled.  “Sure.  Let me bring your sister’s things to her room.  Want to show me the way, Lainie?”

“Yea.”  Lainie waited for the man to grab all of my bags out of the trunk and close it then she led him into the mansion.

Annie watched as they vanished then turned her attention back toward me.  “So was he still a jerk to you during the drive?”

“Yea,” I replied.  “How can you think that I’m going to find a man like that attractive?  I had enough jerks in my life…. I want a man who’s actually going to be worth the time not another one who’s going to think he can get away with being snotty toward me.”

Annie shook her head.  “He’s not that bad…. You just have to get to know him.  Now come on inside with me and we can catch up.”

I sighed and nodded as we started to walk into the beautiful structure.

Dining In

I followed Annie into the family room and my mouth dropped.  The room was so big and wide.  There were a couple of couches on both sides of the room.  A few chairs in front of each wall.  A glass chandelier hung over a wide, slim glass coffee table.  The lights on the chandelier looked like glass candles made of glass and the lights shone from the glass flames.  There were family pictures of Annie, Ron, and Lainie all over the walls.  Most of the pictures were of Lainie by herself from when she was a baby to now that she was four.  I noticed a picture of me holding my niece and I smiled.  The picture had been taken from the park the last time I had visited them.  “She was so tiny then,” I said as my smile grew.

“Yea,” Annie agreed and I’m pretty sure that she had nodded as well.

“You have to tell me about when you guys moved here,” I told Annie as I turned to face her.

“Well, Ron was promoted quite a bit within the last few years and now he’s making good money….”

“I can tell.”

“I’m just glad that he gets to spend time with Elaine and I…. I kind of worried at first because I didn’t think that Lainie would be able to see her father all of the time but Ron reassured me that he wasn’t going to let his job get in the way of us and he’s done a pretty good job at keeping his word too.”

“That’s good.”

“So anything new with you?”

I shook my head as I sat down in one of the big red bulging chairs.  “I’m still working and in the same boat as always…. I went out with this guy a few times but he turned out to be nothing more than a lying jerk.”

“You’ll find someone, Sam.”

“Who?  Every guy I seem to meet seems to be a total….”

“Hey, Annie, is it okay if I take Lainie to the park?” Louis asked as he stuck his head into the room.

I rolled my eyes.  I couldn’t understand how that guy could be so nice to everyone else but act like such a jerk to me.

“Sure…. Um, Louis, why don’t you take Sam with you?  I’m sure that she would love to get out and do something to get fresh air…. She was stuck on that plane for hours anyway.”

“Annie,” I kind of whispered.

I could tell by the look that Louis of giving my sister that he didn’t want to.

“Please?”

“I don’t---”

Annie shot Louis a look which meant that he had better offer or she would kill him.

“Okay,” I heard him mutter under his breath.  “Samantha,” I could hear the agitation in his voice but he tried to speak kindly and without acting snotty toward me, “would you like to go to the park with me and Lainie?”

“No,” I replied.  “I’ve had a long flight and I would like to stay here and relax…. Maybe tomorrow or something.”

Louis turned his attention back toward my sister.  “See she doesn’t even want to go.”

“Well it’s just a nice gesture…. Now thank you.”

“Okay.”  Louis left.

“See what I mean?” I asked.

“You two need to get along better.”

“Get along?  He started it….”

“Quit acting like a big baby.”

I took a deep breath and sighed.  “Fine.  Is it okay if I can take a shower and freshen up a bit?”

“Oh of course.”

 

I walked out of the bathroom with my long, wet dark brown hair wrapped up in a long white towel.  I wore a long light blue robe over clean clothes which had consisted of sweat pants and a short sleeve shirt and slippers which were white and fuzzy.  I walked down the long dim hallway, carrying my dirty clothes, trying to find my way back to the room Annie had shown me which I would be staying in.  I felt kind of lost as I walked inside of the mansion.  The feeling of being in such a big place felt like something that they show in the movies not something that ordinary people such as me would ever dream of roaming around in.

I had run into a maid who had salt and pepper hair.  She looked to be about in her mid-forties and seem to be a sweet woman.  “Excuse me I’m Annie’s sister Sam and I’m kind of lost.”

“Oh yes, Miss Moore,” her soft, sweet voice replied as she smiled at me.  “I’m Kathleen,” she introduced herself.  “How may I help you?”

“I need to find my room.  I was there earlier but now I forgot where it was located.”

Kathleen nodded and gestured down the hall.  “Right this way.”

“Thank you.”  I followed Kathleen down the hall until we stopped at a room with a picture on the door.

“I believe this is your room, Miss Moore.”

“Oh yes, thank you.”

“Always a pleasure,” Kathleen replied.  “Now if you need anything else I’ll be downstairs preparing the table for dinner…. And I believe that Mr. Matthews will be joining us…. He is such a sweet young man…. He reminds me of my son.”

Mr. Matthews? I thought confused for a moment when I remembered when Louis had introduced himself.  Of course….This is going to be one heck of a night.  “That was the guy who dropped me off here right?” I asked as if I didn’t know the answer.

“Oh yes.  He’s a very helpful fellow.”  Kathleen left without another word and I knew I was in trouble.

 

          As I closed the door to the room I dropped my dirty clothes on the floor and removed the towel from my head dropping it on top of the clothes.  The room wasn’t small but it wasn’t huge.  It was deceit size.  The bed was a full size bed which was already made with a sheet, a thin sheet which was used to cover the person, and then the comforter which was very thick but looked comfortable to sheet under.  I turned to my right to see a dresser which had eight drawers sat against the wall.  It was wide and