Her mother was sitting in the sa fold-out chair in the living room. She had a thin blanket wrapped around her and dark circles under her eyes.
As soon as Ella burst through the door, she looked up at her daughter with tears in her eyes. "You're finally back. I was so worried!" She stood up and walked over to Ella.
"Mhm! And guess what! I found Dad!" said Ella cheerfully. As soon as she said that, Reginald walked into the room.
"Hello, honey. I'm so sorry for making you worry," he said quietly, walking over to his wife. He noticed the dark circles and puffy eyes, which made his heart break.
He watched as she ran over to him, hugging him while crying into his chest. "I was so scared that sothing bad happened. I thought you wouldn't co back to !" she cried.
"I know, I know. I'm so sorry for making you worry," he said gently, wiping the tears from her face with his finger. He could tell that she hadn't slept all night waiting for him to return.
He bent over and kissed her on the cheek. "Everything is okay now. We even brought back many good things. I even found you a small surprise." He hoped that these items could cheer her up, at least a little bit.
"You coming back to is the biggest gift," she said, hugging him once more. But a small part of her was happy that he had thought of her while he was away.
His heart ward at her words. "Co, let's go to the car so I can show you what we brought," he said and led her down.
On the way out, they bumped into Rayne and Julian, who were waiting outside.
"Rayne! Is that you? I'm so glad to see that you're safe!" she exclaid.
"Thank you, Mrs. Soto. I'm very happy to have run into Ella and Mr. Soto outside," replied Rayne with a smile.
The two chatted until they made it down to the car.
"Wow, dear! So many nice things!" exclaid his wife as Reginald walked her over to the small trailer attachnt.
Reginald smiled. "Yes, we found a number of decent items. Let's talk about them once we get back inside. I don't want prying eyes to know what we got."
The group then got to work, carrying in all of the newly obtained items. Rayne and Julian helped carry most of the heavier items, while the rest of them brought in the smaller ones.
Working as a team, they finished carrying everything in rather quickly, and the previously empty living room was now filled with many pieces of furniture and boxes of supplies.
"Mom, we even found heating blankets and an electric heater!" Ella walked over and showed her mom.
"Oh, great job! These items will be very useful to keep warm in the colder months," her mother replied, smiling. Her worries were gone since her family had co back safely, and she could now enjoy looking through all of the items that were brought back.
Reginald walked over to the stack of boxes and dug around, looking for the art supplies he had found for her.
"Honey, look. I found these for you. I hope they can ease your boredom," he said, walking over with a box of various paints, pencils, and sketchbooks.
He saw her face blossom into a smile. She had always been a good artist and enjoyed painting. As a typical heiress from a wealthy family, she was brought up learning how to paint and play the piano, which she excelled at.
"Thank you, dear. I really love it. I'll paint sothing for us to hang up on the walls," she said, looking up at him happily.
While Reginald was having a mont with his wife, Ella walked over towards Rayne. "Hey, let show you my room. You can help choose a good layout for the new furniture." She grabbed her by the arm and led her over to the smaller bedroom.
When Rayne walked in, she frowned, seeing the bare room with a very simple mattress lying on the floor.
The only other items in the room were a few cardboard boxes with so clothing. This made Rayne begin to think about how she could send more items over to Ella and her family.
Ella misinterpreted Rayne's shocked expression, thinking she was impressed by the setup. By current normal standards, simply having a mattress was already a rare thing.
"We were lucky. When the first earthquakes began, Dad quickly made the decision to pack up and go to our countryside house. That's why we had the trailer attachnt. Before coming here, we loaded up as many items from that house, including these small mattresses, since they didn't take up as much space as a traditional one," explained Ella.
Julian had ntioned how Reginald was a resourceful man, but Ella's explanation really painted the picture for her. Rayne felt that he was better ntally prepared for the apocalypse than she was, and she knew about it ahead of ti!
"Say, Rayne. Do you need a place to stay? Stay here with !" said Ella.
Rayne felt happy having such a nice friend, but she shook her head. She enjoyed having her own space with Julian, as well as the freedom to be able to use her system freely. If she moved in with Ella and her family, she wouldn't be able to live as comfortably as she had been.
"Thank you for the invitation, but Julian and I have our own place on the other side of the base," Rayne replied.
Julian walked in to hear Rayne's words and smiled. "Hey now, don't go poaching Rayne behind my back," he joked.
Ella looked at Rayne, then at Julian, and giggled. "Girl, we need to talk! Since when are you living with a man?" She walked over and whispered.
Rayne blushed but didn't deny it. Although she and Julian weren't in any formal relationship, things were certainly heading that route.
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