Rae was the first one to wake up about an hour after his mom had left. He went to go stretch, but remembered Elissa had been leaning on him, so he stopped. He looked at her, and smiled. Rae rolled up the part of the blanket he had been covered up with, and gently laid Elissas head down on it. He got up, and started heading towards his room, when his mom caught him.
"I see you're awake, Rae. Where's Elissa?" she asked.
"She's still asleep," Rae answered. "Thanks Mom."
"Thanks for what?"
"Thanks for covering us up, and not waking us, well at least not waking Elissa. She really needs this sleep," Rae explained.
"Do you think I could talk to you about something before Elissa wakes up?" Mrs. Irving asked.
"Sure, I guess," Rae answered her. "What's it about?"
"It's about...Elissa," she started.
"What about Elissa?"
"How did she get that...scar?"
Rae looked down, and said, "Mom, please, it's...none of your business. I promised Elissa I wouldn't tell anyone, and that includes you too." Rae started heading back up towards his room.
"Rae, you need to tell me one thing then," she said.
"What is it?" Rae sighed.
"Was her dad the one who caused it?"
Rae looked back at her, and sighed. "Yeah, it was..." He then ran up to his room.
His mom stood there with wide eyes, praying that there might be someway he was lying to her, even though she knew the truth. She put her hand up to her heart, and looked toward the living room at Elissa. She walked up the stairs, towards Rae's room. She gently knocked on the door, and patiently waited for Rae to come to the door.
"What is it, Mom?" Rae said, as he opened the door.
"Rae, how long does she need to stay here?" Mrs. Irving asked with caring eyes.
"Probably for a while," Rae answered her.
"She can stay here for as long as she needs. I don't need to hear a story about why she needs to stay here...just as long as she doesn't get anymore scars like that one on her."
Rae smiled at his mom; here she was, saying that a complete stranger to her could stay at her house. "Thanks, Mom. Elissa will appreciate it. Do you have any other questions?"
His mom shook her head, 'no'. "There are many things I would like to ask you about Elissa, but I shouldn't wander into other peoples business. If Elissa ever feels like explaining things to me, then I will let her, but I won't venture into it without her wanting."
Rae smiled. "I just wish I would have gotten that from you."
"You wish you would have gotten what from me?" Rae's mom asked.
"That I would have gotten the ability to stay out of other's business," Rae answered.
"I'm not sure what you mean, Rae," Mrs. Irving questioned further.
"What I mean is...Elissa didn't want to tell me about her life. I kind of made her because of my own curiosity..." Rae sighed.
Rae's mom smiled at this. Rae looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Rae, you can't blame your curiosity. Everyone on the planet is either blessed or cursed with it. In your case, you're blessed with it."
"How am I blessed with that? My curiosity could get me hurt or killed. Haven't you ever heard the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'?" Rae asked, still confused.
"Rae, if it wasn't for your curiosity, you would have never met Elissa. Besides, it's not your fault she told you her story. You can't make anyone do anything. Elissa must have done it on her own free will. She must have been willing to tell you, or she wouldn't have told you, and she wouldn't be here right now," his mom explained further.
Rae thought about it for a minute, when he heard, "Just listen to her, and quit being stubborn," coming from Robert. "She knows what she's talking about."
"Wait, exactly how many people know that about her?" Rae said, turning to his mom.
"Well, both of your brothers and I know about her dad and her scar," their mom confessed.
"How many other people are you planning on telling? She doesn't want anyone to know about her life because she thinks that it will only make other people hate her, so none of you can tell anyone, okay?" Rae asked.
"I won't. Why would any of the people I know care about someone they don't even know?" Robert answered.
"Why would she possibly think that people would hate her?" their mom asked.
"Because she thinks she's the reason for her mom's death because she died while giving birth to E-...way to go idiot..." Rae sighed, and started getting mad at himself.
"She died by giving birth to Elissa...?" Mrs. Irving said with wide eyes.
Rae sighed again, and confirmed, "Yes...but you can't let Elissa know you know. Then she'll get mad at me, and most likely leave. You won't tell her or anyone else, will you, Mom?"
"No, I won't. But I still don't understand why she thinks people would hate her for that..." Mrs. Irving sighed.
"You all ready know I won't tell anyone, but you might want to tell gothic boy down the hall," Robert warned, and went to his room.
Rae sighed, and looked towards Matt's room.
"Do you need me to tell him?" his mom asked.
"No, I can do it...I'm not that afraid of him..." Rae sighed.
"Okay, well good luck with everything. Good luck with Elissa, and good luck with her avoiding her dad."
"Thanks. I just wish there were something I could do without getting her in trouble with her dad..." Rae sighed.
