When he arrived home, Ray slammed the doors he went through. He needed to release his feelings somewhere instead of bottling them. His mother always reminded him of that. But maybe she had other things in mind when she taught him that lesson. Maybe she wanted him to open up to her, to talk to her about his problems so she would know how to help him. But he didn't want to do that and act like a frightened kitten. Although he couldn't help it when Isabella ran down the stairs towards him and hugged him tightly. She was always fast to react to anything and he appreciated that even though they weren't on good terms yet. Ever since she adopted him after being away from his life for 12 years, Ray was closer with Isabella's husband, Leslie, who he occasionally called 'dad' even though they weren't blood related. Maybe it was just because of 'boys' things', as Ray has said to Emma earlier, that they were able to understand each other better. Or it was because of the man's youthful and kind appearance that he trusted him better. Or that it wasn't him who left his baby in an orphanage because 'it was complicated' and he was still too young to know the reason.

The more Ray thought about that, the more his anger grew and the fact that he remembered every bit of his past hurt even more.

"What is it, Ray? You can tell me." His mother spoke with a sweet calming voice.

The boy realised just now that Isabella's shoulder was dotted with a few drops of tears. He immediately lowered his head so she wouldn't see him and wiped his eyes with the back of his hands.

"I don't know why, I-" He held his hands, pushing his palms down on his eyes but that didn't stop the tears he held back for so long. "I can't talk about... Please don't... don't ask me."

His mother nodded and pulled him in again for a hug as she rubbed his back comfortingly.

"Then don't restrain yourself. Doesn't it hurt more that way?"

Ray clenched his teeth but nodded slightly. His throat had closed up and it was starting to hurt. His head felt like someone was smashing it with a hammer. His chest hurt. Everything. He tried to talk but his voice strings refused to obey him. Instead he just gasped for air and his emotions overcame his will to not show them.

For the next twenty minutes he didn't care that he was showing his weaknesses to his mother. He was more focused on how nice it felt to take out all those negative feelings that were welling up inside him.

After a few hours Leslie came back home only to see Isabella sitting on the end of the couch in the living room and Ray sleeping, laying there with his head on his mother's lap and his legs dangling off the other end of the couch.

The man smiled at the sight and approached them, leaving a kiss on Isabella's temple.

"I see you two are getting close." He noted to which she responded with a nod and stroked her son's hair.

"Yes. I hope so too."

— — — — — — — — — —

Emma and Norman were already leaving school together with Don and Gilda. They didn't study at the same school but they still managed to meet up at the end of their classes. The conversations they had helped Emma relax as she laughed at Don's jokes but she still felt tense after what Ray did. When she and Norman got back in school, he wasn't there. After they asked their teacher, she explained that Ray didn't feel well so he had to go back home. And Norman, again, had reassured Emma that their friend would be alright but he couldn't convince her so easily. She had to check for herself. And that's what she did. She waited until they split up and instead of going in her direction, she went to Ray's house.

She was already at his doorstep but suddenly couldn't muster up the courage to ring the doorbell. After a few deep breaths, and repeating a few times in her head that Ray is fine, she finally rang. And rang. After a while a man, probably in his twenties or thirties, she didn't really know, opened the door. At first she thought she'd gotten the wrong house, but Isabella soon came and stood by the man's side. Emma recognised her as the woman who came to pick up Ray from the orphanage, and greeted her with a smile.

"I apologise for the late hour, but is Ray home?"

Isabella nodded and responded to her smile with one of her own.

"Oh!" Leslie exclaimed. "You're that girl! Emma, right?"

The woman looked confused by her husband's reaction but she would ask him about that later. Emma on the other side nodded enthusiastically even though she also didn't know why the man was so excited.

"Come in, come in. He's in his room, on the second floor right in front on the stairs."

"But he's sl-" Isabella tried to protest but Leslie shushed and moved away so Emma could walk in.

The girl thanked them and ran up the stairs. She didn't care to knock on the door and entered Ray's room. The boy was sleeping and Emma sighed. She turned to leave but she heard Ray mutter her name.

The redhead quickly approached his bed with a smile.

"Yes?"

The boy shifted in his bed to sit up as he rubbed his eyes.

"Why are you here? What time is it?" He moved his hands away to look at her.

That's when she noticed how red his eyes were. She ignored his questions and sat down next to him with a serious look.

"Why are your eyes so red? Are you ill?"

Ray moved back a little and looked around the room.

"I'm not." He tried to think of an excuse. "I just look like that after I wake up." And as he said that he felt the urge to hit himself. He felt stupid for saying such an obvious lie. Plus, it was in front of the girl who knew him from when he was a small piece of meat.

"You're lying. I know how you look like when you wake up." She moved closer to him until his back hit the wall and there was nowhere else to run. "You're getting sick, aren't you?"

"T... That's not it!" He replied instantly but he felt his cheeks getting hotter. He didn't understand why the calm, laid-back Ray disappeared as soon as he saw Emma in his room. He blamed it on his emotions earlier that day. He knew he would become weaker after pouring out his feelings for almost half an hour and honestly, he did feel weaker, both physically and mentally.

But Ray couldn't tell that to the girl and she kept on pressing him to learn the truth. She got closer and closer until she was just centimeters away from his face. Ray prepared himself for whatever was coming. And then Emma pressed her forehead to his. She stayed like that for a bit, then clicked her tongue and pulled away.

"That's no good. I think your temperature's high." She stood up and looked around. "Where do you keep your- No, wait, I'm going to ask your mom-"

Ray immediately grasped her hand before she could get away but he couldn't find what words to use. The only thing he thought about was 'I shouldn't do things like this. Not in that state but...'

"What is it, Ray?" The girl asked quietly. "You don't want me to meet your mom?"

The boy couldn't think of anything else and his mother would be a perfect excuse. And it wouldn't be a lie, too.

"Yes. In fact, even I don't want to meet her." Emma understood what he felt. She sat back down next to him without letting go of his hand.

"It's already been 4 years. Norman and I learned to accept it. I know it's hard but we're strong enough to overcome those changes."

Ray's grip on her hand tightened and he looked down, his hair falling in front of his face.

"I just can't accept it. You know... It hurts here." He lifted her hand and pressed it to his chest. "And I feel lonely sometimes." It was weird for him to open up like that but somehow he was comfortable with the idea of Emma knowing what he was going through.

Emma felt nervous all of a sudden. She could feel his fast uneven heartbeat and she was pretty sure her own was the same. But she didn't move her hand away. She nodded slightly and whispered "I know. But you still have me and Norman. And the others too. We all care for you so don't be lonely anymore. Please. We're here. I'm here."

Ray was silent but he listened to her carefully. After a few seconds he raised his head to look at the girl but their moment was interrupted. Isabella knocked on the door, then opened it. As soon as that happened, Ray let go of Emma's hand and brought back his usual calm expression. His mother smiled at them.

"Dinner is ready. Come down if you're hungry."

Ray opened his mouth to say something but stopped when he saw Emma's eyes sparkle when she heard about food.

"Are you hungry?" He asked and as he expected, she nodded quickly. He stood up and offered her a hand. "Shall we go then?"

The redhead smiled, took his hand and also got up. They followed Isabella downstairs in the kitchen where Leslie was already leaving the last plates on the table. He looked up and smiled at Ray and Emma.

"Oh, you two showed up." He noted cheerfully, then turned his attention to Ray. "Did you sleep well?"

Ray responded with a nod and they all sat down around the table. After they muttered a short prayer, they started eating in silence. But after a while that silence was interrupted by Leslie who regarded Emma.

"So..." He clasped his hands together and put them under his chin. "Are you two together already or not yet?"