A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Kao's POV

I was met at the door by a pale wide-eyed Rose.

"Come in, come in," she said with a distraught face, "did you want me to prepare some snacks for you?"

"No, no, no, thank you," I said, "it's already close to dinner time. I don't wanna spoil my appetite for dinner."

"Very well," she said, closing the door after me and locking it.

Mrs.Namwirote's office was just beside the receiving area of the house, right after you enter the front door.

Mrs. Namwirote must have heard my and Rose's voices because the door to her office opened and she stepped out of it. She had a stricken look on her face and was clutching at the front of her blouse.

"Are you alright?" I asked, very much concerned.

"I... I... I don't know where to start," she said, her lower lip starting to quiver, "please excuse me," she said, turning away to go back inside her office.

I followed her inside, not waiting to be invited. I set down my heavy backpack by the door and followed her as she plopped onto the soft leather couch in her office.

She buried her face in her hands and started sobbing softly.

I approached her and sat beside her.

"My son Cooheart..." she started to say.

"What happened?" I asked, my heart in my throat.

"He has decided to quit his university studies abroad. He is coming home this weekend!" she was wailing now.

My heart sank to the bottom of my feet.

"Does this mean you're kicking me out?" I asked. I was almost in tears myself.

"Oh no, no, no, not at all," she assured me, "Cooheart is aware that you have signed a contract with me to rent that room until the end of the semester or until someone vacates a unit in my dormitory, whichever comes first."

"So, what will be his living conditions?" I asked, feeling guilty that I was relieved to be assured of my space in the house.

"He has offered to use the foldable bed that's still inside the closet of his room and sleep in the hallway just outside his room," Mrs. Namwirote informed me.

I did remember seeing the folding bed inside the closet but I did not touch it and left it where it was. I had assumed that Cooheart would have used it for some friend who had been invited for a sleepover from time to time. Title, maybe?

"If it will help ease the situation, I am willing to be the one to sleep in the hallway," I offered, starting to feel guilty now that I was keeping the rightful owner of the room from using it for himself.

"No, Kao, please don't worry about it, The reason I am devastated is because I had been hoping that my son would be able to earn a diploma from a well known American university but now it looks like it won't happen anymore. The strain of adjusting to a strange and new environment was too overwhelming for him."

She took a deep breath, and then let out a sigh, and then buried her face in her hands once more.

I moved up closer to her and encircled her in my arms, running my hands up and down her back to comfort her. She held on tightly to me, accepting my offer of comfort.

Suddenly the door was flung open and Title walked in.

"Mom! What the hell!"

Mrs. Namwirote turned around and seemed to be too shocked at first to feel any reaction. We continued to hold on to each other, staring in wide eyed shock at Title and his sudden intrusion.

When Mrs. Namwirote and I did not let go of each other, Title lunged forward and pulled my arms away from Mrs. Namwirote.

Then he turned fiercely on me.

"Would you care to explain just what in bloody hell is going on here?" he demanded.

"It's not what you're thinking, son," Mrs. Namwirote spoke up before I could say a word.

For some reason, I felt some kind of resentment at Title being addressed as 'son'. He wasn't even an occupant in this house like I was.

Suddenly, some kind of understanding seemed to dawn on Title's face.

He forced himself between Mrs. Namwirote and me, forcing me to move farther away on the couch. He gave Mrs. Namwirote a comforting hug.

"I know what is causing you great distress right now, mom," I heard Title saying in a soothing voice, "I received a call from Cooheart a little while ago, that is why I rushed over to see you."

Then why the hell did you make all that commotion when you saw me trying to calm down Mrs. Namwirote, I wanted to ask Title angrily but I decided to hold back my tongue.

"So are you giving Cooheart his room back?" Title asked Mrs. Namwirote.

For a minute there I got an anxiety attack when Mrs. Namwirote didn't answer Title's question right away.

"No," Mrs. Namwirote replied, "Cooheart will be using the foldable bed and will be sleeping in the hallway."

"But that's the bed I sleep in whenever I stay a night or two in Cooheart's room," Title protested.

I knew it! I totally knew it!

"Don't worry, son," Mrs. Namwirote hastened to calm Title down, "I can always buy a second folding bed, or Cooheart can be the one to hang out at your place."

"The second option might be the more practical one," said Title, "seeing as the hallway will not offer any privacy for Cooheart and me."

Was Title trying to take a dig at me? I was starting to really, really not like him at all.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, then it opened and Rose put her head inside from the doorway.

"Dinner is ready," she announced.

Mrs. Namwirote looked at Title. "You wanna stay for dinner?"

"No, thank you," Title replied, "I have been having so many dinners with you already. I don't wanna take advantage of your kindness."

"You shouldn't think that way," Mrs. Namwirote protested, "you're like a second son to me."

Again, for some reason, I felt jealousy tug at my chest.

Title accepted Mrs. Namwirote's invitation because she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Dinner was a silent affair. Each one of us seemed to be lost in our own thoughts. On my part, I was anxiously wondering how things would play out upon the arrival of Cooheart in the house. Since it was only Tuesday, I wasn't expecting Cooheart to be back until Friday night. We still had three days of desperate anticipation, at least on my part. I could only guess what Title and Mrs. Namwirote's feelings about Cooheart's arrival were.

The three days passed very slowly. I felt like a dark heavy cloud was hanging over me. Wait, a dark cloud was literally hanging over the city for the last two days. On the third day, it was pouring like crazy. Some parts of the city were experiencing flash floods. It was all over the news.

I came home from school on Friday afternoon looking like a drowning rat.

Rose looked at me wide eyed and open mouthed when she opened the door and saw me taking off my dripping wet shirt by the door. She quickly placed her hands, with fingers splayed open, across her eyes when she saw me starting to unbuckle my belt and slipping my pants down my thighs and lower down to my legs.

"I'm sorry," I said to Rose, "I don't want to trail a mini flood across the house."

"It's okay, it's okay," Rose assured me, "remove as many wet clothing as you need to take off."

She continued to stand there watching me.

"I can't take anything off more than my shirt and pants," I said, "I don't want Mrs. Namwirote to accuse me of indecent exposure."

"Ohhhhh..." Rose said, her face falling in disappointment.

She then stepped aside to let me through the door.