She stood there apprehensively, not sure how she should act. Her dad stood up and briskly walked over to her. She thought he was going to yell at her and braced for his anger. Instead, he pulled her into his arms giving her a tight comforting hug. She couldn’t help but begin to cry again “Where have you been?”

“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed “I should have stayed with you, I wasn’t thinking.” She held onto him feeling his warmth for a bit longer. After a moment her mother spoke up.

“Come have a seat and some hot chocolate darling, tell us what happened.” Ahnali gently pushed away from her father wiping her tears as she walked over to the chair across from the couch that her mom was sitting on. Her father took his seat next to her mother and they both waited for Ahnali to begin.

She took a deep breath and began to tell them what had happened after she left the car, her mother was horrified, her father furious. When she reached the part about Rain she changed it to a random passerby who had heard her crying. “He yanked the man off of me, pulled me to my feet and ran without stopping until we were in a safe area. He gave me his over shirt to cover myself up...he stayed with me until I calmed down. He tried to take me to the police station but I begged him to just let me go home. He finally agreed and called me a cab and rode with me back home. Just to make sure I made it back safely. I offered to pay but he utterly refused. He told me to just go inside and get some rest. After I got to the door, the cab drove off.”

Her dad spoke first “Why didn’t you go to the police?” Ahnali twisted her fingers together nervously as she spoke.

“I just wanted to be home, I was scared and confused, a-and I just wasn’t thinking.” Samuel leaned back against the couch messaging his brow.

“I…” He let out a deep exasperated sigh. “It’s ok, I’ll alert the cops about this tomorrow morning, we’ll head over to the station when you wake up. They’ll probably need you to describe the men who attacked you. We also need to find the man who helped you. You’ll have to describe him to a private investigator, that way we can reward him.” Ahnali did her best to keep a straight face as she agreed to comply with her father’s decision.

“It’s really late, let’s get you to bed, you’ll feel better with some rest. Remember baby, if you need to talk, we’re right here, no matter what time it is.” her mom stood up and took the empty cups from the table smiling softly at her. Ahnali gave her parents one last hug and went up to her room.

She kicked off her slippers, turned on her fan, shut off the lights and climbed into bed. So many things had happened today, most of which she’d rather forget. Instead of dwelling on it she turned her thoughts to Rain. “How in the world am I going to describe an invisible rain man who can fly to the P.I.?” she tried to think of a solution but her eyes grew heavy. Her mind stopped working on a solution as she drifted off to sleep. Instead Rain’s calming voice and gentle manner replayed in her head lulling her into a peaceful slumber.