It was already late after their little date, so Carl drove to Madam George"s restaurant to pick up Kim. As she stepped out of the restaurant, Ryan was awestruck, he had never seen anyone with hair as long as Kims" before and she was beautiful. As he noticed her moving towards them, Ryan pulled Carl closer. "Brother, is that your roommate?" Carl smiled, as his eyes followed Kim, then he nodded. "A female roommate?" Ryan was shocked and amazed at the same time. His brother was living with a beautiful lady, they"re sharing the same room. Although the second part of the statement wasn"t true, he wasn"t aware of that fact."This must be your brother, Ryan." Kim said looking at Ryan. Ryan hugged her immediately. Kim was surprised, then she relaxed, patting his back. When Ryan pulled back, he couldn"t help but complimemnt her, "You"re beautiful and you have really nice hair." Kim giggled. "Thank you, I"m Kim by the way."
On the drive home, Kim sat in front and Ryan was behind while Carl drove. Ryan busied himself by getting to know Kim and Carl was silent the whole time, he didn"t try to interrupt their conversation. "So you"re studying Law, I"m interested in the arts. I want to go on adventures, travel the world, take pictures and eat new food everyday." Ryan said, resting his head on the seat. "That"s nice, I"d love to travel the world too." Kim commented gazing outside the window. "But I have to find my parents first," she thought.
They continued their small talk without any interruption from Carl until Ryan made a statement, "So you both sleep on the same bed." He said rather than ask before nodding his head. Kim and Carl looked at each other, Kim blushed. Ryan noticed this so he smiled, "So you like each other, are you my sister-in-law?" Turning to Carl, Ryan asked, "Brother did you get married?" Carl didn"t know what to say so he ignored Ryan, Ryan on the other hand, took their silence as a confirmation
He knew his brother didn"t talk much and if he wanted answers, he would have to ask Kim. Soon they arrived home. Ryan moved around the house, though it was really small, it felt homely, He went from the living room to the kitchen area and finally the bathroom. It reminded him of his grandparents and the fact that he didn"t tell them he was leaving. So he picked up his phone to call his grandparents, on the first ring, his grandmother picked up.
"Grandma, I"m in State A with brother, I won"t be coming home today either, I"ll be here for a few days." Ryan said immediately the phone was answered. In the capital his grandmother was stunned, "You rascal! How can you leave without informing me or your grandfather?" She scolded him, her words though stern, her voice was warm.
"It was a spur of the moment thing and I"m telling you now, what"s the difference?" Ryan spoke cheekily. His grandmother couldn"t even scold him again so she relented. "Fine! Do whatever you want but be safe." Remembering Carl, she asked, "How"s your brother doing?" Ryan laughed, "that"s why I came here, to find out but you scolded me." He scoffed, "He"s fine, want to say hi?"
"No! It"s fine." His grandmother quickly refused. Ryan laughed at her, "I was just pulling your legs, I know it would be too awkward for both you."
"Brat! What do you know?" His grandmother asked with a loud voice though she was actually blushing in embarra.s.sment. She didn"t think they had anything to talk about. Even if they did, she felt guilty towards him so she didn"t want to.
"Anyway grandma, we"ll talk later." Ryan said while laughing because he could imagine her embara.s.sed face. "Take care of yourself and your brother." She said before hanging up. "Who"s the adult here?" Ryan thought. "He should take care of me instead but anyway..." He said under his breath.
"You"re living with your grandparents?" Carl asked. Ryan was startled because he didn"t think anyone was with him and he did not notice when Carl entered the room. He lowered his head, trying to avoid Carl"s prying eyes. Carl walked to the bedside before asking him again, "Did something happen to you?"
Ryan did not know how to answer his question or what to say. "Tell me." Carl gently coaxed him. Ryan was so tensed he began knotting his fingers while he tapped his right foot against the tiled floor. Carl sat by his side, taking his hand, "You can tell me.." He didn"t need to say more as Ryan began crying. Carl could only pat his back to calm the crying boy.
"After you left.. I just felt bored so I moved in with them." He managed to say. Carl was still patting his back, "You know I can tell when you lie, why do you keep lying?" Carl asked in a gentle voice. "I didn"t feel safe at home." He finally said. "That"s not all, I want to know everything." Carl said calmly.