Don't Leave Me Alone

~4~

~Ray's POV~

I wanted to scream, cry, laugh, throw up, and punch something all at the same time. I quickly shook it off. Of course Norman is straight. Why would he be anything else?

"You both have lost it..." I grumbled as I released the front of Norman's shirt. I stormed back over to Emma, leaving Norman behind.

~Norman's POV~

I let out a gentle breath as I watched Ray go. Maybe when we escape from Grade Field House, I'll tell him how I really feel.

I hope I didn't mess anything up by saying that...

(Time skip to a few days later cuz my motivation is strange)

Mom had Emma, Ray, Gilda, Don, and I doing chores for the past few days. We weren't able to talk about anything. We couldn't plan anything.

Don bursted out. "Damn it, I want to play! Why's it only us that have to clean? Did we do something wrong?"

Gilda sighed as I winced slightly. I've always been sensitive to loud noises. And Ray, being his usual observant self, noticed my wince and gently placed a hand on my left shoulder. I smiled at him, confirming that I was okay. But Ray had kind of a sad look in his eyes, so I made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Don was still complaining, but after receiving a glaring look from Gilda, he had shut up and continued cleaning.

The next day, we had just finished dinner when Mom and another adult walked through the doorway to the dining hall. Mom was holding a baby.

"Everyone, this is Sister Krone. She is here to help me with my duties. And this is your new little sibling, Carol."

A bunch of kids went up to Mom, asking if they could hold Carol, and a couple others went over to Sister Krone.

"Another adult? Are you kidding me?" Ray appeared next to me, muttering under his breath.

I nodded toward Mom. "We now have sixteen kids here that are under the age of three, and now Mom's not the only enemy."

Emma nodded. "But now we can figure out where the tracking devices are. Carol must have a scar of some sort somewhere on her body since she's new to the farm."

"Right. Check tonight, and if you find anything, tell us tomorrow." Ray leaned against the wall and tilted his head up toward the ceiling.

I found himself staring at Ray again, and I quickly looked away once I realized.

Ray needs to stop being so pretty.

~Emma's POV~

Gilda and I went into Mom's room to get the babies ready for bed. Only the oldest girls were allowed to help with the babies, so I had an excuse to be around Carol. I bathed her, but found no scars or bumps. I sighed as she put Carol into her crib.

Think. That's what Norman and Ray would do. The tracking device is probably taken out before we're eaten, so it must be in a place where it's easily removed. Where would that be...?

Emma checked Carol's right ear, and then her left. There it was. A small bump on her earlobe. Gilda leaned over my shoulder.

"What's that? A bug bite?"

"I think it's where they drew blood. You know, to find out what blood type you are and all that jazz?" I did jazz hands to emphasize my point.

Gilda laughed and nodded. We walked back to our dormitory together. We pasted the dormitory where Ray and Norman slept, and the door was open slightly. It was kind of hard to make out, but I could see that Ray was sitting on Norman's bed, and they were talking quietly, so I couldn't hear what they were saying. They would be a really sweet couple.

I kind of feel guilty for lying to Gilda, but I'll tell her soon.

~Ray's POV~

I was sitting on Norman's bed. We were talking, but not about anything important. I enjoyed Norman's company.

"Hey Ray?"

"Hm?"

"Yesterday, when you were looking at me, you looked kind of sad. Is something wrong?"

Of course he noticed. I smiled in the dark.

"No, nothing's wrong. Try to get some sleep, okay?" I stood up from Norman's beds. I reached out and gently brushed Norman's hair out of his face, just because I felt like it. He felt kind of cold.

I crawled into my bed afterwards. I moved the books from under my pillow onto the nightstand.

Norman spoke softly. "Good night, Ray."

"Good night, Norman."

The next day, Emma "accidentally" kicked a ball into the forest during free time. She ran after it, and Norman decided to follow her. I was already there, juggling the ball with my feet. Once I saw Emma and Norman, I kicked the ball back to Emma, and she had to jump to catch it. Norman giggled.

"Don't laugh at me! It's not my fault you two are taller than me."

"I'm not that much taller than you, Emma. Only by an inch or two."

Emma paused. "Oh yeah. Well, Ray is unnaturally tall." She stuck her tongue out at me, which resulted in me rolling my eyes at her.

"You're so childish. Did you end up finding where the tracking devices are?"

"Yeah, I did. They're in our left ears, right about here." Emma pointed to her left earlobe.

"Hm. I can kind of feel it now that I know where it is. Not that much, but kind of." I pinched at his left ear.

Norman hummed in agreement, also pinching his left ear. "Nice work Emma. Now we just need to figure out how to break them."

I dropped my arm back to my side. "About that... can you guys leave that bit to me? I think I have something figured out."

"If you're sure it's okay, then yeah. We'll leave it to you. I have faith in you, Ray." Norman smiled at me, which made me feel all warm, despite the chilly fall air. But his smile quickly fell. "But what will happen when it comes to taking everyone outside? I don't think a lot of them could handle the truth about that House, and they all have trust in Mom."

"Also, there's the problem of insufficient abilities." I paused. "In other words, the rest of the kids are simply just burdens."

"Ray!" Emma chucked the ball at me, but I caught it since I have amazing physical abilities.

"It's true. A lot of them aren't good with endurance, and there are babies who can barely walk."

"I thought about that, and I have a solution!"

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I hope you all have a good morning/afternoon/evening/night! <3

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Word count: 1131 words