“Is the soup not yet ready or do I have to drop dead before you feed me, you wretched imp!” Hearing Mrs Larry scream for the third time had him emptying the tray of chopped vegetables into the pot.He stirred it quickly and took it down. Today was his second week with the Larry's and he was yet to remember anything about his roots. Mrs. Larry was beginning to adjust to his presence in her house. She wasn't pestering him to leave anymore, probably because he could make a delicious meal out of anything. While a part of him believed it was a good thing, the other part was getting exhausted with her overbearing self. First, she would deliberately leave the kitchen unstocked and force him to make do with anything to prepare their meals, now she was adding to his chores.He didn't complain about that. They put a roof over his head so it was only normal that he repaid them somehow but then…“Raymond!” She yelled and he hurriedly dished out the food. He practically ran to the living room to

Ray stood before the Larrys, Elsa by his side staring at the floor. “Ray,” Mr Larry called and he looked up. “My wife called my attention to something this morning.”“Why are you beating about the bush, honey? Ask him straight to his face what he did to our daughter!” Mrs. Larry cut in. The confusion on his face was evident. He assumed she had complained about his behavior in the morning, but now, he couldn't tell what this was about. “Ray.”“Yes sir,” he responded.“Did Elsa spend the night in your room?” Mr Larry asked. Ray turned to Elsa, seeking explanations but the girl refused to look at him. “I asked a question, Ray.”He shut his eyes, contemplating a response. If he told them the truth, Elsa would likely get in more trouble, that is, if they believed him. “Yes,” he answered.“What happened to her room?” Mr Larry asked. “Uhm… she couldn't sleep. Had some nightmares so she came running to my room. We played a few games until she fell asleep,” Ray responded smoothly. He didn

The plan was simple. At least they thought it was. Elsa was to distract her mother with a deep conversation while Ray would cover sneaking out with the phone.After going over the plan for the umpteenth time, Elsa made the first step. As soon as she located her mom, she knew the plan would never work. The woman had the phone in her hand and whatever conversation are was hoping to strike there and then would be useless. She thought of returning to Ray to tell him to draft another plan, but on second thoughts, she decided to try her luck. She joined her mother in the garden and sat quietly while the woman laughed over a video she was watching. Elsa remained quiet, waiting to be noticed. “What do you want?” The question caught her off-guard. Frankly, she hadn't expected the woman to speak to her at all. “I… I wanted to talk to you about something,” Elsa said, a bit awkwardly. “Get on with it,” even as she said that her eyes were still glued to her phone screen. Elsa cursed inwardl

Edgar stopped in front of the house. After a pleasant evening with her, he decided to drive her home himself just to spend more time with her. Elsa felt a warm feeling in her chest at the gesture, but all that vanished when she saw the figure outside.Ray was lying on the lawn staring at the sky. Was he waiting for her? Her heart fluttered at the thought. Edgar noticed her distant expression and traced her eyes to the man on the field. His features hardened. “Who is that?” He asked her.“Oh,” she turned to him with a nervous smile. “That is Ray.”“Your… brother?” Edgar asked and she shook her head.“Of course not. I expected you to already know I'm an only child,” she snorted, stepping out of the car. Edgar stepped out too. He was pretty sure the man was aware of their presence but he didn't make any attempt to get up from the spot. He watched Elsa run up to the stranger. His lips poised in a frown. He didn't like the excitement on her face. “Ray? I'm back!” She announced, kicki

Elsa visited a few hours later to check on Ray, but Edgar got in the way. “Elsa, I didn't expect you to show up so soon,” He smiled. She looked over his shoulder searching for Ray with her eyes. “Yeah, I didn't think I would come so soon either. Where is Ray?” She asked. He painfully took note of the fact that even though he was right in front of her, she barely glanced at him. Her eyes were searching for a man who told him he had no feelings for her. He didn't comment on that though. He was confident that Ray would help him get her. He just needed to be patient.“Where is Ray?” Elsa looked at him for the first time since she stepped into the room. She raised a brow at him, confused at the expression on his face. “Is there a problem? Did Ray do something to offend you?” She asked. His expression grew more sullen. Just when he thought she was a little concerned about him. “Why aren't you saying anything?” Elsa crossed her arms impatiently. Out of frustration, she walked past him,