Chapter 8

Emelda's POV

I jolted awake by the sound of a loud voice and a sharp tap on my shoulder.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" The voice called out. It was Bryan's, his tone mocking and aggressive.

Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up, the room still swimming in a haze of grogginess. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice thick with sleep.

"Is this how you sleep?" Bryan smirked, his voice dripping with contempt. "Wow, you sleep like the dead. Guess that means you won't be nagging me in the middle of the night, huh?"

I ignored his jab, climbed out of bed and smoothed down my hair. "It's late," I said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Dinner should be ready soon."

Bryan scoffed. "Yeah, well, I'm starving. What is there to eat?"

Swallowing the retort rising in my throat, I headed to the kitchen. I opened the old wooden cupboard to find a bag of rice and some tinned vegetables. Not exactly a five-star meal, but it'll have to do.

As I started the rice cooker and heated the vegetables on th