Chapter 12 Bah For one terrifying second , I thought Raphael Segretto was going to kiss me .
Even more horrifying , I would have let him .
Seven years ! Seven years and he still had the ability to take my breath away .
How pathetic was 17 I didnt blame Rafe .
After all , Raphael was born with natural charisma .
He charmed women without even trying .
But I wasnt just any woman .
After everything Id been through , I should have grown a thicker skin .
I should have developed a systemic immunity .
Above all , I should know better than to even allow those feelings to stir up inside of me .
I didnt breathe normally again until his rental car pulled out of the driveway , and his taillights disappeared .
Even then , I was so upset , I could only pick at the dinner I had prepared for Nana Charlie and Lucy .
The food tasted like ash in my mouth , and I found it difficult to swallow I Watching Rate interact with Lucy was heartbreaking .
If the last seven years had taught me anything , it was that I had to let go of an of any romantic fantasies and cling to reality .
And the reality was , Rafe was a part of my past , but he had no place in my future .
Hed let me down once .
I wasnt going to throw myself at him so he could abandon me and his daughter again .
There were too many old wounds , too many secrets .
And besides , nothing had really changed about our situation .
He was still tied to the business .
Rafe was here now , but for how long ? A few weeks .
maybe a few months at best .
I had no doubt that he would finish whatever work was needed at the Mountain Top resort , and then he would get back on his jet and fly back to whatever luxury home he lived in , in whatever country he was occupying at the moment , while he went about the business of running the hotel chain .
Rafe found a leak in the roof in his old room , I told Nana , just to make conversation.
One sided conversation , but at least it filled the silence at the dinner table .
Im going to go up and have a look at it and see if it is something I can fix myself After I had cleared away by the dirty dishes and wiped the table , I helped Charlie move into the living room , and left her and Lucy to watch a Christmas Removing the heavy duty flashlight out of the kitchen drawer , I went upstairs and pulled the ladder down from the attic hatch yet again .
Id already made two trips into the attic to carry down the decorations .
Now I climbed once again into the dark , dusty space I hated so much , and began picking my way carefully across the joists , avoiding the insulation filled spaces in between .
I wasnt even sure exactly where Raphaels old room was in relation to the attic , as the space and shape of the house was disorienting .
But I knew , generally , which side , under the slope of the roof .

Follow new episodes on the CrushnovelS.Com

That side of the attic was worse than the area where the Christmas decorations were stored .
At least the storage area was visited once or twice a year .
When was the last time a human ventured into this part of the attic ? When I showed the light down toward my feet , there were suspicious looking droppings littering the insulation like chocolate sprinkles .
Ugh , what was that ? Mouse droppings ? Please , not rat droppings ! Were they old , from some earlier infestation , or were they fresh ? I had no idea how to find out , and God knows I wasnt going to touch them ! I would just put some traps in the attic the next time I had to venture up here .
Hopefully , I wouldnt have to crawl around in the dark , cramped , airless space again until it was time to put the Christmas decorations away .
I reached the spot that I guessed was over Rates room and aimed the light onto the underside of the roof .
There was no insulation on this part of the root , so I was able to clearly inspect the rafters .
The Segretto house was more than a hundred years old , but it had been constructed with strong , solid materials .
The boards , although gray with age , still appeared to be in good condition .
Until my flashlight beam landed on a spot that wasnt .
I could see that the water had been seeping between the two rafters for a long time , because the wood was dark , discolored , and slightly moldy When I pointed the light down , the pink insulation was turning black Although I was becoming quite proficient in DIY home repair projects , fixing a leaking roof on an old Victorian house in the middle of winter was almost certainly beyond my skill set .
I leaned closer to examine the warped boards a little closer .
There was probably a problem with the shingles on the roof .
Maybe some had blown off in the last summer storm , when we had considerable wind damage in the neighborhood .
As I leaned in , I blindly put my hand against one of the supports .
Instead of finding hard , cold , rough wood , I touched something soft and warm , and it moved under my hand .
I screamed , and the thing squeaked like a mouse .
Out it was not a mouse , as it then flew out , darting around my head in a flurry of confusion It was a bat Chapter 12 In my panic i stepped backward , slipped off the joist , and fell hard , on my butt , into the insulation between two beams , while my flashlight flew off somewhere , landing in the insulation For a second , I thought it was okay .
It seemed that the sheet rock that covered the ceiling of the room below me was going to hold my weight .
But I was wrong .
With a sickening crack , the thin material split under me .
I tried to catch myself , but instead of grabbing the boards , I somehow only managed to grab fistfuls of insulation , and I crashed through the ceiling .
By some providence , as I braced to hit the hard floor , I instead bounced onto the mattress of Raphaels childhood bed , in a cloud of dust , insulation , and God help me , what I now knew was bat poop ! Although the mattress had cushioned my fall , it still knocked the wind out of me .
I lay there in the dark , panting for breath , staring up at a Beth sized hole in the ceiling , which was eerily slightly illuminated by my lost flashlight .
It kind of reminded me of a gaping hole into hell .
I didnt know whether to cry , or to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all .
Hiring a handyman to fix a few shingles on the roof was nothing compared to the mess that Id just made .
Where on earth was I going to come up with the money to fix the ceiling now ? I heard the sound of small feet pounding up the stairs , and the door flew open , letting light spill in from the hallway Lucy flipped on the lights and gaped at me .
Mommy ? What are you doing in Uncle Rafes bed ? That was it .
I started to laugh hysterically , even as tears were rolling down my cheeks .
Lucy walked into the room , her mouth sagging open as she stared at the hole in the ceiling , and the debris on the bed .
I couldnt even catch my breath long enough to tell her about the leak in the roof , and the bat in the attic that had caused me to come crashing through the ceiling .
Are you hurt ? Should I call 9117 No Peanut .
Im fine ! Im fine .
I gasped .
I started to brush myself off and realized that I probably wasnt fine .
I had fallen into fiberglass insulation , and I probably had it all over my skin .
But Ive got to get in the shower right away .
Listen , dont touch that pink stuff , its very bad for your skin .
I rolled off the bed and stood shakily My flashlight was still up there .
Screw it , it could just stay up there forever .