Ray looked at me intensely and for the first time, I had to guess hard to know what he may be thinking about. He looked at me with his stormy green eyes but they soon morphed into a warmer expression. The tightness of his jaw released a little, and he sighed.
"Sorry," I muttered.
" It's okay actually and it's fair enough that I give you an honest answer as well," Ray said.
My eyes bulged at his response. I was curious about what he had to say about himself and I leaned forward to hear him.
"It's not something I'm casual about but since you told me something you aren't proud to say yourself then I will as well. My dad passed away 6 months ago. He was murdered by a rival of his and it's not that I like working and meeting new people. His sudden death made me want to work because living in the house with my mom was a lot worse than working. Working keeps my mind off things," Ray informed.
His confession appalled me. I wasn't able to comprehend half his words. But I noticed how he said the house instead of home. I made a stony face and wondered why living at the 'house' was hell. What happened to his mom? I wondered.
" Why can't you live with your mom, what happened to her?" I inquired knowing I was getting personal yet pushing myself closer to the edge.
" She hasn't gotten out of her room since dad's funeral. Nothing I try doing works. She gets angry if I try persuading her to get out, she gets all her food served in her room and if she comes out she only walks around the house and not even in the backyard. It's considered progress if she does come out but the next day she cocoons herself in her room again. I know she was madly in love with my dad and he loved her as much as well but it's been six months now and there's no change in her. At this point, I want my mother to date, someone just so she gets out of the house and communicates with people other than the servants. She's stopped talking to me and I can't understand what I did wrong. She just rolls herself to the other side of the bed when I come begging her to get outside. For six months, I've been trying to convince her for one hundred and eighty-two days and I have failed every single time. But she's my mom and I love her and I'm worried about her and I won't give up. I can't bear to see her like this. But I have to deal with it and help her get out of her depression. But I break sometimes as well. I need out as well. I can't be the never bending iron all the time. I feel alone too I miss dad too," Ray's voice cracked. My heart cracked at the same time and I felt for him as well. His pain seeped into me and the cracks in his soul filled mine as if it was some forming constellation.