Chapter Seven

"And let there be light!" Ray exclaimed happily, as he lit the last candle in his room. The power had gone out shortly after they'd decided on where to sleep…he and Neela would be sharing his room. Ray's explanation had been he didn't want Neela to wake up tomorrow, to find all of her hair had been cut off…which Jess would be likely to do when she was like this.

And for some reason Neela hadn't felt like arguing with him.

She looked around the room…it was no Hilton hotel, but it did feel like home to her. It was amazing what could happen in the space of a few hours, and then she realised what exactly had changed. She and Ray were together, with Ray, she felt like she belonged somewhere.

Which is just stupid, she kept reminding herself. He doesn't know what he's doing or where he is half the time!

"I get the bed though!" she said, holding him back before he could claim it.

"Of course ma'am!" he said sarcastically, bowing dramatically and gesturing towards the bed. "Ladies first. Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yeah right," she laughed. Scanning the ground quickly, she found one of his T-shirts hanging out of an open draw, and snatched it up.

"Hey, wait a minute!" he protested, but only lightly.

"I don't want to face the wrath of your cousin, remember?" she said sweetly. "You mind turning around?"

Ray reluctantly obliged to this request, and she swiftly changed, grateful suddenly that there was a power cut.

Hurrying into the bed and pulling the covers up around her, she threw a pillow into his waiting hands. "De ja vu huh?" he asked softly. "Sorry…I just…"

"It's ok," she told him. "I was thinking it to."

"Right," he said shakily. "I'm sure I've got a blanket here somewhere…" he eventually found one in one of his cupboards.

Neela felt slightly guilty, but she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. It would be so wrong to let him sleep up here with her…wouldn't it?

"Ray?" she asked softly. As he started to blow out some of the candles furthest away from them.

"Yeah?"

"Are you happy?"

The question hung in the air around them as they listened to the rain.

"You mean with Althea?"

"Maybe."

"Well…it's early to tell I guess. It's kind of…like I said at work, it's new."

Neela nodded, slightly satisfied. It couldn't be that serious then. Not that Ray was known for being serious….which is why she shouldn't be worrying about this.

"Why do you want to know anyway?" he asked, suspicious now.

She leaned up on one elbow and looked down at him.

"You're my room mate right? Can't a girl be curious?"

Ray looked down cast for a second, and Neela wished she hadn't bought up the subject. "Bet it's nice and comfortable up there," he told her. Now she felt even guiltier.

"It's not like we're living on the streets or anything …" she started, but then he gave her the puppy dog eyes look, and she was surprised at how well he pulled it off. Sighing she moved over.

"Fine. I guess you can…come on up."

His eyes widened. "You serious? I was only joking you know!"

"Well, if you really don't want to…." her voice trailed off as he climbed up beside her. To late. She noticed that he lay on top of the covers though, with his own blanket covering him. She didn't know whether to be relieved or not.

"So now I guess the next question is if you're happy or not," he said startling her.

"Damn, I thought you were trying to change the subject!" she laughed. "And happy can mean a lot of things," she continued. Now it was her turn to avoid the question.

"I'm serious."

"Well I guess I…don't really know either. I mean…I should be used to being alone I was for a while before I moved here. Then I met Michael and …it was nice. The idea of being with someone was nice, the fact that someone cared about me and now I…" she hesitated. "I'm sorry, you don't want to know about him do you?"

He shook his head. "You have people that care about you. They may not show it half the time but…they really do."

They looked at each other quietly. "Thanks Ray," she whispered.

"Ray?" she asked after a while. "You asleep?"

"Not anymore," he muttered.

"It's just I was thinking…at work? You never talk about family. I was just wondering why."

"Maybe it's nobody's business?" he said edgily. "I mean…it's not like everyone talks about their past unless they have to right?Besides, it's not like anyone's going out of their way to say anything to me anyway. You know, unless it's to bitch about how i'm doing my job...or how crap i am at it!""

"Sorry," she murmured. "It's just your cousins are staying here now, I was just…"

"No," he told her then. "I should be sorry Neela. It's just…complicated. I mean…I always got on with that side of the family…my cousins anyway. That's why they came here I guess. But Elena, mums sister? She's never really…approved of me I guess. I'm the black sheep of the family. Listen…do I have to talk about this now? I'm really kind of tired."

She nodded. "Ok." Then she hesitated. "And...i know it may seem like people act that way but...i think they're wrong about you."

"Thanks Neela."

"Listen, before we go to sleep…I have to tell you something….."

"What it is?" he asked.

All evening she'd been feeling closer to Ray then she ever had. All evening she'd been building up the confidence to tell him how she felt, and what was going on. But now suddenly that confidence drained away. "It's nothing. Night Ray."

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When Neela opened her eyes the next morning, to her shock she found herself lying close to ray, facing him, her head on his shoulders. He was holding her hand lightly. She looked at him a moment, hardly daring to breath, not wanting to wake him up. But then, when she tried to move, he began to stir slightly.

"Morning," he mumbled into her hair.

"Morning," she whispered back, settling back into her original position, not wanting this moment to end. But then he lifted his head up, and noticed how he was lying. "Sorry Neela," he said, hastily extracting his hand and sitting up.

"Its fine," she said, standing up herself. "Listen, I have to go to the bathroom. See you in a minute?"

"Sure, I'll get started on breakfast." they were both avoiding each others eyes, looking anywhere but each other. Finally he looked up at her. "Look this is stupid. What do we have to be nervous about? I am not having it like it was before."

She looked a little bit more relaxed now. "I'm sorry. You're right Ray. Still…I'll see you in a minute."

When she left the room, he lay back on the bed in exasperation. "Damn it!"

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"Hurry it up Neela!" Yelled Jessica, pounding on the door. "You've been in there all morning! Other people need to use the hot water to you know!"

"Some people should be lucky they have any water at all!" said Neela crankily as she finally appeared.

"Jeez, you look awful," said Ray.

"Thanks!" she snapped.

Luckily, it was then that the phone rang. "Saved by the bell!" said Ray in relief. "Hello?"

"Hey Ray, its Susan Lewis. Is Neela there?"

"Uh…sure," said Ray.

"Hey Susan. Did I forget it's my shift again?" she asked confused.

"No," said Susan, sounding less then pleased. "But you forgot something. It's Abby's surprise birthday party tonight! Just wondering if you were still coming?"

Neela closed her eyes and sat down. "Sure. I'm there already. By!"

"Crap," she said to Ray as she hung up. "I totally forgot about Abby's party."

"There's a party?" asked Jessica. "Can we all go? It'll be so fun!"

Danny looked at her darkly. "I think we've seen enough parties Jess," he told her.

"That's a good point Ray," said Neela. She felt sick, and tired. She hadn't slept well at all last night, and the last thing she felt like was a party. "Maybe I should stay here. Make sure everything's ok?"

"Oh no way," he answered. "You said we would go. So we're going."

"Besides, hello?" said Jessica annoyed. "I'm like, sixteen. Don't need a babysitter."

"You sure about that?" snapped Danny. Jessica shot him a look, but then went on smiling sweetly. Neela hadn't missed any of that little exchange though.

"So, they'll have to come with us. I'm sure Lewis will understand. More the merrier." shrugged Ray, pouring himself an orange juice. "I'll just call Althea to remind her as well, and we're all set for tonight."

Neela looked away from him. Last night had been so perfect; she had actually felt like she was getting somewhere, she had felt like she could finally pluck up the courage to tell him everything. And now everything was going wrong again. How was she going to get through this?