"Yes, Ray?"
Half-asleep he murmured again "stay" and fell asleep again. Alice stifled a cry and composed herself before she walked near him and sat beside him. She ran her hands through his hair as if he were a little boy and he smiled in his sleep. Alice might have been the younger sibling, but she often played the role of his mother and his fierce protector. It was as if someone apart from his mother knew his deepest desires, it was his sister.
However, lately, even he had been keeping things from her, not wanting her to think that he won't be able to handle the stress. The things he buried deep down in his heart were now getting burdensome.
