Lyra had filed a leave from her work these past few days in order to tend to Torin well while he was still recuperating. Her mom would also check on him whenever she was in the City.
"Is there good news? By the way, what do you want me to cook for dinner?" Lyra asked. Torin just ended a phone call to the Military Base to ask about the status of the search operation for Jungkook and Lisa.
Torin walked to Lyra and hugged her from behind as he kissed her neck and whispered, "No, no news yet. I'm really sad… I was hoping to hear that they had found them on an island, enjoying their alone time while perhaps practicing their outdoor survival skills so they could pick it up as a hobby or something…"
Lyra patted his back and sighed. She was also worried and was hoping that Lisa and her brother were safe somehow. "I'm sure they will find them soon..."
Both of them were startled by the sound of the doorbell. Lyra's eyes widened when she saw it was her mom. "Mom is here," she said as she quickly composed herself and hurriedly racking her brain for a good excuse as to why she was at Torin's place at that hour.
"Hi mom, what are you doing here?" asked Lyra as soon as she opened the door.
Sheila's forehead crumpled, followed by a raised eyebrow as she asked, "What am I doing here? You tell me what you're doing here at this hour?" Then she looked at Lyra from head to toe, who was wearing her everyday wear, a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. Then she added, "Don't you have work?"
'Yikes…' Lyra hissed silently. She really hated lying to her wonderful mom.
"Oh, there was an event near here that I had to go to yesterday, so I decided to sleep at big Bro's unit instead. It's my day off today so I decided to check on bro Torin's condition," Lyra explained as she followed her mom who had walked passed her and called for Torin.
"I brought some of the dishes that you like," Sheila said with a smile as she organized the lunch boxes and put some of them inside Torin's refrigerator. She noticed Torin had a lot of stuff inside his refrigerator, including several bottles of orange juice. "You don't like orange juice… Why do you have many stocked in here?"
Lyra's face paled. She looked in panic at Torin who was scratching his head as he said, "The doctor advised me to drink fresh fruit juice, especially orange juice since it has a lot of vitamin C that can help me heal, Auntie…"
Lyra sighed inwardly when her mom nodded in agreement. "Isn't it late, mom? I mean are you alone?" Lyra asked. "Josh dropped me off here and I will stay at Jungkook's place, for now, so I can check on Torin too," Sheila explained as she readied some snacks for Torin.
"What?!" Lyra burst out that made Sheila paused and looked at her daughter with suspecting eyes.
"What do you mean 'WHAT'? Why do you look so surprised? Torin saved your brother so we must take care of him. I've been a little busy in the past few days to take care of him, but now I will stay here while waiting for news about Lisa and your brother," Sheila explained.
Then she added, "You also stay with me for a while at your brother's place. So gather some of your things from your apartment and bring them to your brother's place. I will wait for you here at Torin's place."
Lyra's stomach clenched and her throat tightened at her mom's words because all of her things were now in Torin's guest room. She had permanently moved in with him after his return. She looked so perplexed and was startled when her mom spoke once more, "Are you alright, darling? You look a little bit out of sorts. Are you sick?"
Sheila touched her daughter's cheeks and forehead and furrowed her eyebrows as she muttered, "Your temperature is okay. Do you want me to come with you to get your things?"
