Chapitre 28: Sign of anything amiss

He walked downstairs reluctantly, not wanting to leave her side. It had been a while since he felt this excited to wake up, opening his eyes to her beautiful face. He wanted to stay longer in that position, his arms around her, but the persistent ringing of the bell left him with no choice.

"Baxter, what is it?" He tried to check as his dog continued barking at the closed door. He was not expecting anyone today, so who could be visiting him at this early, he wondered.

He moved to answer the door and was surprised to see Xavier with his mom with a packed suitcase in her hand.

"Hi, Uncle Raf," Xavier immediately greeted him with a tight hug on his waist. "Mom said I will be staying with you for a week. Isn't that awesome?" He continued excitedly.

"Oh! That's great news kid. Why don't we get your things inside?" He immediately invited them inside, taking his bag and placing it on the other side of the living room.

Baxter quickly jumped in and started licking Xavier's face. "Baxter, you have to stop," Xavier exclaimed, hugging the dog as they continued to play together in the living room.

"Sorry to barge on you like this, but something came up with work. I need to fly out for a week to attend a conference," Melissa explained as she took a sit on the black leather sofa in the middle of the room.

After Oliver died, Melissa decided to go back to work. She was a great artist, working in a big advertising agency. He offered her a job with his company, but she declined. She felt that Raf had done enough for the two of them.

"Uncle Raf, I brought a lot of my things so that I could stay here longer," Xavier announced, pointing to his fully pack backpack, as Baxter continued to play with him.

"That's good. I'm sure we will have a great time." He answered him. "You know you don't have to explain anything. I am glad to help out, Melissa, Anything you need, just tell me," shifting his attention to her.

"Thanks. I hope we are not interrupting anything." Melissa hesitantly said, seeing his rugged looks and rumpled clothes. Although they had become very close, treating each other as if they were actual siblings, she still did not want to abuse his kindness.

He sat beside her and took her hand. "You and Xavier are my family. Nothing you do will ever bother me. Remember that." When Oliver, his twin died, he promised that he would be there for them, no matter what. "You might be hungry. Let me fix you something."

"I was trying to contact you last night, but you were not answering your phone." She stated as she walked towards the kitchen beside him. He had left his phone in the kitchen as far as he remembered, so answering her last night was out of the question.

"Uncle Raf, can I play with Baxter outside?" Xavier asked excitedly, jumping happily, glad that he was back in this place that he loved. Someday, he would be a great surfer like his dad and uncle. It was one of his dreams.

"Sure, just make sure that you won't wander far. Promise me first that you won't go to the water." He extended his hand for Xavier to shake to seal the deal.

Xavier took his hands and shook them hard, just like what a grown-up man would do. "Promise," Xavier even raised his hand to pledge to him. "Baxter, let's go."

"Baxter, that goes for you too." He shouted to his dog, as Xavier ran towards the backdoor with the dog at his trail.

He had to shake his head as he heard Xavier shouted at Baxter and the dog responded with a loud bark. He was happy that he could help them in a way. He loved when Xavier stayed over.

"From the way you look, I would suspect you have no idea of what's going on at your resort." Melissa examined him as if he was a lab rat. "Did you just woke up?"

He was still in his white shirt and shorts, with his messy hair and still sleepy eyes. She was not used to seeing him like this. She had never seen him like this before. Oliver and he had this habit of waking very early in the morning to take their jog. Therefore, seeing him waking up with the sun up was very unlike him.

"I don't feel like going for a jog today." He simply said. "What's going on outside?" Changing the topic.

"I think I spotted several vans along the way here, setting up in front of one of your private villas." She went to the cabinets to get some cups for the coffee he prepared.

"What vans?" He asked, furrowing his brows, thinking of an event scheduled today that he did not notice.

"I think they are news reporters looking for Sabrina Sanders. The actress that is hiding in the villa beside yours." She explained, remembering Lindsey mentioning it the last time Xavier and her visited this place.

"How did they know she was here?" He questioned, but not particularly waiting for an answer. It was more to himself.

"Maybe you should alert your staff to take care of the growing news crew converging on the front lawn of the villa of your guest," Melissa suggested.

"Yes, you're right. I'll have my security clear it as soon as possible," he said, clearly annoyed by the impending problem.

It would be bad publicity for the resort if news about an actress, staying in one of his villas, would be harassed by the media. It would ruin its reputation for its privacy.

"Have you met her personally?" She placed her hand on top of the table as she waited for him to answer her.

"Who? That actress." He said with a sneer. "Yes, twice I think."

"What do you think of her?" She started teasing him. "You know she is a very attractive young single lady. I'm a fan of her. Just a shame that she got involved in that scandal." Melissa stated, clearly acting like a cupid.

"Melissa, honestly, I would not want anything to do with her. I could never trust a woman like her with questionable integrity." He stated as he moved around the kitchen, preparing breakfast for them.

"Don't you think you're being too judgmental? You know we could never trust the news. Maybe Sabrina had her reason, or she just made a mistake." Melissa protested, defending her idol. "After all, she is just human like us."

"It still doesn't change anything. Brad is a married man, yet she still had an affair with him. That spoke volume of her moral character." He spoke with a slight rage on his tone.

They kept talking about the actress, not knowing that Sky or Sabrina was lurking behind the wall, hearing their whole conversation.

"Before you wake up sleeping beauty, why don't you deal with the growing crowd outside before it becomes a world news that would ruin your beautiful paradise." Melissa interrupted his thought.

He busied himself, calling the manager to arrange the security to clear the growing reporters surrounding the villa of Ms. Sanders. He also asked the PR team to handle the media so that it would not escalate to something they could not control.

After an hour, the media was dealt with and left without any more fuss. The matter was settled.

He suddenly remembered that Sky was still sleeping in his room. He better wake her up, so they could have breakfast and introduce her to Melissa and Xavier.

"I'm gonna check on her." He said to Melissa who took charge of cooking their breakfast.

"Go ahead. I'm almost done here. Please call Xavier and Baxter on the way back." She yelled after him when he ran off upstairs.

He went directly to his room, only to find the room empty. The bed was already cold, meaning she was already up earlier. He checked the comfort room and then his walk-in closet, but she was not in there too.

There was no sign of her in his room, except for the slightly wet clothes still laying on the floor. Maybe she borrowed some of his clothes and went home, not wanting to disturb him earlier because he was busy.

He tried to look at the tabletop, checking if she left a note, but there was nothing on it. He quickly went back downstairs to check his phone which he remembered leaving on the kitchen counter. Maybe she sent him a message that he did not notice.

"Did you notice her leave earlier? She is not in my room." He immediately asked Melissa who was perplexed by his question.

"Are we talking about your date? I thought you said she was still sleeping." She asked him.

"Well, she's not anymore." He scratched his head, combing his hair with his fingers, wondering what happened to her. He finally found his phone and checked for any messages he might have missed in the chaos earlier. There was none.

"Why don't you call her? I'm sure you have her number. Right?" She started putting the food on the table.

He walked out to the back door while dialing her number. Maybe she came that way, surely Xavier and Baxter would notice her walking out.

The call just kept on ringing without anybody picking it up, then her voice mail answered. He decided to leave her a message instead. Asking her to call him as soon as she received his message.

He saw Xavier busy throwing a ball to Baxter, playing fetch when he approached them. Baxter started barking wanting him to play with them.

"Not now, Bax." He said as he continued to get closer to Xavier.

"Would you like to play with us, Uncle Raf?" Xavier asked when he was closed enough.

"Maybe later. Your mom already set the table for breakfast, so better hurry up and go to the kitchen." He said. "Hey, did you notice a girl went out of the house earlier?"

"Oh yeah. The girl who delivered the milk and eggs. She left in a hurry." Xavier exclaimed before running to the door with Baxter in tow.

He wanted to ask him more, but he was already far from him. He was puzzled by his statement. Milk and eggs? Xavier sometimes had a vivid imagination. He must have mixed up breakfast with his question.

He looked beyond the beach past the villa, toward the small cottage where she was staying with Gerry and Lindsey. He would just drop by after breakfast at her house.

He did not take her leaving as a sign of anything amiss. He just thought that she might not be ready to meet his family in their current new relationship.