The Angel's Silence 9

Rayna wasn't sure when Maya was coming back, and knew that she couldn't continue borrowing her clothes forever.

She didn't plan to.

Just long enough to look nice for Mr. Antonov.

However, she wanted to look extra nice for the last time she'll probably ever see him, so
after school, she went shopping at one of the most expensive stores in all of Valle Pacifica.

She had little interest in anything, so therefor, she rarely ever spent any of her money, so she had plenty of it to buy something special, at least that's what she hoped.

The store was called Elegante bellezza.

It was own by an Italian couple.

Everything inside of the store lived up to its name, Elegante bellezza.
(Elegant Beauty)

The store mostly sold dresses, but they did sell less formal clothing.

She had trouble picking something out, being that it wasn't really her style, but she did eventually fins something that caught her eye.

It was a floor length skirt in Upsdell red.

The bottom of it was done in black lace.

The top was a matching overbust red corset with delicate designs on it

She also bought a pair of black high heeled shoes.

She knew that it was way too dressy to be worn at school, but she bought it anyway.

The whole outfit together cost $1500.

She had spent that much money on something she would probably never wear.

Something inside told her that it was worth it.

After coming home with it, she regretted it, and decided she would return it tomorrow.

She suddenly came to her senses, and realized she was acting like a lovestruck teenager.

She decided not to spend anymore money on clothing she would never wear.

***

She was the only one home.

Antanas was still working, and Mariya had gone shopping with her friend.

She hoped that she did not see her buying that outfit.

Even though her essay was completed days ago, she was looking through it again carefully.

She was angry with herself for the way she had been acting all week...
completely different from her old self.

She wasn't sure how some man whom she knew nothing about made her nearly lose complete control of herself.

Though, she was still in a generous mood, and decided to do something she rarely ever did...
cook dinner.

She wasn't sure when her parents would be home, but she started cooking anyway.

She made something that she used to make all the time years earlier, but hadn't since then.

It was her signature recipe...

chicken Parmesan, made her way.

Her parents got home just in time.

Dinner was almost done.

Both Antanas and Mariya were shocked when they discovered Rayna standing over the stove.

It was a sight they hadn't seen in close to three years.

It was 7:48 PM, and Rayna lit two white candles, and placed them on the table.

She served her parents their meal, along with red wine, and left for her room along with a plate of food.

Another hour had passed, and Rayna was getting sleepy.

She had nearly fallen asleep when she heard her parents speaking loudly.

She slowly made her way down the stairs to see Maya standing there staring right at her.

Their parents were very happy that she was home.

Maya's eyes were bloodshot, and she appeared to be quite tired.

She spoke with her parents for ten minutes, but told them little as to where she had been.

She said that she was tired, and wanted to go to sleep, and that she would talk to them more in the morning.

Rayna wanted to see her, but feared that Maya was still angry with her, so she went back to her room.

A few minutes later, there was a soft knock at Rayna's door.

"Come in."
She said.

It was Maya in a white and blue nightdress.

"Hey, Ray."
She said as she slowly stepped into Rayna's room, and sat at the edge of her bed.

"Hey, Maya.
You're home."

"Yeah, for now, I guess."

"Where have you been?"

"In Santo Sussurra."

"What were you doing there?"

"That's a story for another day.
So...
How are things at school?"

"Okay, I guess."

"Okay enough to need to borrow my clothes?"

Rayna was embarrassed, and didn't know how to answer that question.

"It's Okay, Rayna.
I understand completely.
You really like Professor Antonov, don't you?"

Again, Rayna didn't know how to answer this question, mostly because she didn't know the answer, herself.

"I don't think 'like' is the correct word.
I respect him."

"Well, you must respect him an awful lot for you to break your own rule of dressing like me."

Rayna didn't respond to that.

She just put her head down, and tried to hide her red face.

"I'm glad I'll be able to be there to see you hand over your essay to Mr. Antonov tomorrow.
Speaking of which, I need to work on mine in a hurry.
I'll see you tomorrow."
Maya said as she slowly exited the room.

(To Be Continued)