Chapter 4: The Underwoods pt. 1

Rain

Noah hasn’t messaged me back all week. Maybe I came on too strong with the mentioning of mythical creatures. I didn’t know what else to say to him. I couldn’t tell him I wanted to search the ocean until I found Romaris’ body. Romaris, my little brother, was my best friend. He wouldn’t have been on that boat if it wasn’t for me. The town newspaper, websites, and social media failed to mention that I was with Romaris when the accident happened. My father and oldest sibling thought it would be best to omit this information from the press. They thought I wouldn’t be able to handle the sudden attention. They weren’t wrong. I was never comfortable being the center of attention. I thought the feeling was normal until I went to a charity event with my family and was left alone. Long story short, I ended up having a panic attack in a coat closet.

Why hasn’t he messaged me back yet?

When I started watching a few episodes of a tv show before dinner, my phone started flashing. I flipped it over and saw a new message from Noah:

What do you mean by sirens?

Was my question not clear enough? I messaged back: 

Like Mermaids. Have you heard of them?

More waiting. I saw the three dots that indicated that Noah was typing. Maybe I should explain myself. 

Noah: Why do you want to know about sirens?

Rain: So you have heard of them. That’s good. I want to look for one.

Noah: Are you fucking crazy? Or on drugs? Please tell me you’re on drugs, so this can begin to make a little sense. 

Rain: I’m not crazy. I’m not on drugs. Do you want to help or not?

Noah: Not gonna lie. I’m interested. You seem like a fucking nut case, but I don’t have anything better to do, so I’m coming over. 

I stared at the message for what felt like forever. Why was Noah coming over? I haven’t prepared myself to interact with anyone outside my family today. 

Rain: Do you know where I live?

Noah: Your family has one of the largest houses in town. Everyone knows where the Underwoods live. See you soon.

Of course, everyone knew where we lived. My family always wanted to stand out. What should I do? Noah would probably be here soon, but I was still wearing an old t-shirt and the boxers that I slept in last night. I hurried to make myself presentable. I quickly got dressed, put on simple makeup, brushed my hair, and put on my hearing aids. Just when I started to panic over how tangled my hair was, Robyn peeked into my room while simultaneously flicking the light switch up and down. I watched from the vanity mirror seat as he invited himself in and laid across my bed. 

“I can make an appointment for a trim. It looks like you’re losing a battle against your hair,” He signed and laughed at the same time. 

“I haven’t brushed it in a while, so it's more tangled than usual” I signed and spoke back to him. 

“Are you going somewhere? I’ll come with you.” 

“You don’t have to follow me everywhere, and no, I’m not going anywhere,” I signed. “I have someone coming over.” 

“Unexpected plans? Are you my real brother?” Robyn asked, still laughing.

“It wasn't my idea, and honestly, I’m freaking out a little!”

“Okay, calm down, Rain. Try not to overthink. It’s just one little guest,” Robyn had gotten up and placed his hand on my shoulder to calm me down. 

I started to run my fingers through my hair. The repeated motion helped calm me. 

“Have you taken anything—”

“—No,” I said harshly. “I don’t need to take anything anymore.”

Robyn looked at me once and nodded. I already asked him not to treat me like a child, so he knew not to ask again. I knew my brother was worried, but I was old enough to take care of myself. 

“So, is your guest going to be staying for dinner?” Robyn said in a low voice. 

“What?” I asked,  getting more frustrated.

“Your guest. Friend? Will they be eating dinner with us?” He said, louder and clear this time.

Robyn was very adamant about having family dinner every night since I returned home from treatment. He talked about how important spending time with family was. I guess having a family of your own made one want to do these things. Robyn’s wife had moved in right before I left, so I don’t know her very well. My nephew, Ryden, was born about a month after Romaris’ death. He became what my family needed to remember that life continued.

Would Noah want to stay for dinner? Wouldn’t that be awkward? I would have to explain why he was here to my family, and I did not want to do that. I shrugged in response to my brother's question. My phone flashed from the corner of my eye. A message from Noah:

Is your house haunted? Cause this place looks haunted as fuck. 

“My guest is here,” I said to my brother before walking out of my room. 

Approaching the front door, I stopped to check my hair in the mirror. It looked tangled but that could be my nervousness inventing problems that weren’t real. I opened the door and saw Noah on the other side taking pictures of my house. He turned to look at me with a smile on his face. His eyes were a calm blue, the kind of blue you see on a clear, cloudless day in the summer. The shape of his eyes was unique. Almond-shaped but turned upward. Weird. 

“I’m like 76% sure that this house used to be a secret base for a secret society,” Noah laughed. 

I responded with a nervous smile then gestured for Noah to enter my home. He looked around the foyer, amused. When he spoke, he turned to me.

“Are you guys vampires? These decorations give off major Halloween vibes.” 

The house was old. Father said it had been in the family for generations. I didn’t think colonial-style homes were associated with vampires or Halloween. I shook my head to reassure him that my family and I weren’t vampires. 

I motioned for Noah to follow me through a door leading to the sunroom, sitting between the double staircases in the foyer. Reaching for the doorknob, I heard muffled voices coming from behind me. I turned and saw Noah talking to my butler, Jon. The butler looked at me when I turned around. 

“Randriel, will your guest be staying for dinner? I can alert the rest of the staff,” Jon said.

Before I could shake my head no, Noah spoke.

“Dinner would be nice. I haven’t eaten anything since I left work this morning,” Noah responded. 

“Then I’ll tell the staff to set an extra place at the table,” said Jon. “I’ll come to get you once the food is ready. Where will you and your guest be?”

I signed to him, “At my boat.” 

Jon nodded, then left Noah and me alone. 

I waved my hand in an attempt to get Noah to follow me through the sunroom and out the back door. Walking past our small pond with twin fish fountains and surrounded by a different assortment of flowers, Noah stopped to take more photos. Why does he keep doing that? He took pictures of the fountain, the gazebo sitting to the left of the yard, then took some of the flowers. 

I saw the different purple hues of his hair in the sunlight. His hair had to be freshly dyed because there was no sign of his roots growing out. Anxious to know why he kept taking photos, I pulled out my phone, so I could type out a message to him: 

Why do you keep taking pictures of my house?

He was smiling at me. Why?

“I’m guessing my intel was right. Do you only talk to your family? Or can you not speak at all?” 

Who was this intel of his? I typed back: 

I can speak.  

Noah looked at me like he knew everything about me with just a small conversation.

“Let me guess,” he began, “you only talk to people you’re comfortable around, like your family. And seeing that you have been playing with your hair since you opened the front door, you’re uncomfortable around me.” 

I dropped the hair in my hands, not aware that I was doing that. I stared back at Noah. A smile slowly stretched across his face because he knew he was right. 

“Well, RAIN-DRI-EL,” Noah enunciated each syllable of my full name, “lucky for you, I've made it my mission to have you speak to me.” He stared at me for a second, then continued taking photos. 

How was I supposed to respond to that? Noah seemed like a completely different person from the guy crying behind a pillar at the boardwalk. Is this his real personality? To avoid Noah seeing me get more anxious, I turned and hoped he followed me to the dock. 

We approached the dock that sat behind my house. Sitting on the river that eventually flowed out to the cove was my boat, technically classified as a small yacht. Now looking at the expensive white yacht model with black and gray details, I realized this must look flashy. I always became aware of my family wealth when I was with someone other than my family. What if he thought I was trying to show off? How do I handle the situation if he does think I was showing off?

I stepped down off the dock onto the end of my boat with Noah following me. Standing on the boat deck, I vaguely gestured at the area attempting to let him know this was mine. He was looking around but stopped and turned toward the water. Noah ventured to the back of the boat, near the ladder, then crouched down and placed his hand in the water. He slowly closed his eyes. His actions were pure, almost intimate. I turned away to give him some privacy. 

Waiting for Noah, I slid the door to the kitchenette open and reached into the cabinet, revealing a tablet that I left out there to hide from my family. As I was pulling up all the information I needed for scuba diving, Noah joined me. His eyelids looked heavy as if he was in deep thought. Clearing my throat, Noah glanced in my direction. His emotions faded from his face like he wasn’t just thinking about something intensely. 

“So this is what we’re going to ride around in to look for sirens, huh?” Noah said, doing air quotes when he said the word ‘sirens.’ 

He probably thought I was crazy for believing in sirens. All I have to do is explain myself. I typed out a message:

I’ve seen one.

Noah made a dismissive hand motion while laughing. 

Do you know any sign language? 

“Yeah.” Noah said, then signed, “N-O-A-H.”

The look on my face must have looked annoyed because Noah burst out laughing. 

“Hey bro, you said if I knew any sign language, not if it was anything useful,” He laughed, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. “Maybe If I annoy you enough, you’ll speak to me.” 

Noah watched me as I typed a message back to him.

We’ll have to use my phone to talk. 

“Fine, have it your way. You’ll speak to me one day.” Noah winked when he said that. 

Why would he do that? I didn’t know what kind of game he was playing. 

I saw a siren the day of the boating accident. I want to dive near and around those spots. 

The look on Noah's face let me know he knew what boating accident I was referring to. Everyone who lived in town knew, so I wasn’t surprised. I tried to avoid touching my hair, waiting for his reply. 

“Look, if this is some closure technique, I don’t know if I’m the right person to help you,” He responded.

You might not believe me, but I know what I saw and I know what I heard.

“Heard?” He asked, confused.

Yes, I heard. I can hear sounds.  

“What did you hear?”

Singing.

Noah’s dark skin had lost a bit of color when he read my message. Was he okay? Does being on boats make him sick? Why didn't I ask him that? I turned around to the mini-fridge to get him a box of water. Seeing his face after getting the water, he had the same expression as earlier. He was in deep thought. When our eyes met, there was a hint of panic in him. I pushed the water in his direction, Noah quickly gulped it down. 

Are you nauseous? We can go inside.

He shook his head. “I’m fine,” he breathed shakily. “Just thought of something. No big deal. Where were the spots you wanted to dive at?”

I touched the screen of the tablet turning it on then pulled up a map with locations I had circled. Noah closely studied the screen. His eyes are a lot nicer up close. He had thin eyelashes and few eyebrow hairs. Delicate. I assumed he probably doesn't have much body hair. His skin was clear but dry. I peaked at his hands holding the tablet. His fingers were long, the underside of his palms was paler than his overall skin tone. His slender hands matched his body. Standing across from Noah, I realized that I was taller than him, but not by much. 

“Fuck it!” Noah yelled as if he was convincing himself. “You’re lucky you’re interesting, RAIN-DRI-EL. I’ll help.”

I smiled to let him know how thankful I was. I was about to ask him the best times he was available when I saw a shadow in the corner of my eye. Glancing up, I saw Jon. 

“Dinner is ready, sir,” Jon said. 

I nodded my head and let Jon lead Noah and me toward the dining room. I was so worried about telling Noah about my plans I forgot to worry about this dinner that was about to happen. I started running my fingers through my hair, praying that the motion would get me through the night.