“No!”

Despite the echo, Ben happily agrees.

It’s been about five days since Ben started coaching Andrew. Despite wanting to continue with a sport he was advised to start with some basic exercises. Along with this Emma joined them every day to ensure Andrew doesn’t over-exert himself. Ben was not a fan of this idea, but Ann didn’t give him a chance to say anything as she and Emma continued discussing Andrew’s condition.

With this new exercise routine, Andrew was as lively as ever and Ben was given a sharp warning every day not to try any stunts again. Despite agreeing, he wanted to plan something but couldn’t think of anything or anyone to help him. Since the incident, Tom has been avoiding the subject and Ann was watching him like a hawk. Ann was worried when Andrew first asked Ben to coach him, Ben’s enthusiasm worried her even more and so she was happy to have Emma join them. Despite this she didn’t want Andrew out of site and so she stuck to him every chance she got. She thought this was a great idea however this began a fire inside Ben he didn’t know how to deal with.

“Ann, the spaghetti looks cooked,” Andrew says looking for a fork to check.

“Let it be Andrew. I’ll take care of it.”

“Don’t let her boss you around Andrew,” Ben replies as he comes close to Ann who is making a salad. “She likes to think she can boss anybody around just because it’s her kitchen.” Ben put him arm around her waist and gently kissed her neck, pulling her close to him.

“Ben,” Ann whispers as she blushes and moves away from him. Andrew silently chuckles noticing Ann’s shy but happy reaction. Ben has been like this the past few days, not allowing even one opportunity to pass without him showing his affection for Ann. Andrew just admires their affection for one another as he begins to think about himself.

‘How long can I stay here? I don’t want to overstay my welcome. I should soon get a job and get out of their hair. I am clearly in the way,’ Andrew thinks to himself as he plans the next steps of his life.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

‘Why is Ben acting so romantic?’ Ann thinks as she brushes him away yet again. She is happy with the extra affection but she also looks at Andrew from the corner of her eye. His smile is a short but painful reminder to her, that this man is probably who he says he is.

“Yep, it seems cooked,” Andrew says after tasting it.

“Great, now I’ll just finish up. The two of you can set the table.”

“Yes General!” Ben says sarcastically as he and Andrew move to the other room and the doorbell rings.

“Who could that be?” Ann asks entering the living room as Ben goes to open the door.

“Hello brother,” Oscar says as Ben is taken aback, not expecting Oscar and his sister to be back so soon. “Look, I told you he’d miss me.” With a mischievous smirk, Oscar opens the door before Ben could react and sees Andrew setting up the table.

“What?” Fiona whispers under her breath in shock as Oscar’s mood now flips from fun and easy-going to aggressive and fearful. Just as Oscar is about to take a step toward the unsuspecting Andrew, Ben in a panic, tackles him, forcefully dragging him to the kitchen as if controlling a stubborn child throwing a tantrum.

“Ben!”

“There’s no way I’m letting you win,” Ben shouts. Everyone in the living room hears these words as the kitchen door closes, only hearing the sound of things falling.

“A friend of his?” Andrew asks unsuspectingly.

“My brother,” Ann replies. “And my sister-in-law, who happens to be Ben’s sister.”

“Nice to meet you,” Andrew greets Fiona, stretching out his hand and Fiona shakes his hand, visibly trembling.

“You must be tired,” Ann says before Fiona can utter a word. “Andrew, could you go buy me a couple of bottles of soda, I think we are out.”

“Sure,” Andrew says as he leaves immediately. Just then Ben and a furious Oscar enter the room.

“We can explain. That’s not Nicholas but some guy named Andrew,” Ann says quickly.

“You don’t say,” Oscar says sounding increasingly annoyed. “And at what point did you decide that it was ok for Ben to tackle me and dump a dirty kitchen rug in my mouth?” The women couldn’t control their laughter and neither could Ben. “Ben!” Oscar calls out as Ben takes a step back expecting some backlash. “Why did you let Nicholas into this house?”

“What? Oz, he is not,” Ann tries to defend her boyfriend but is interrupted.

“You know how Ann is and yet you still allowed this?” Ann is hurt by her brother’s words but decides not to challenge him.

“The guy has amnesia alright. We found him injured on our doorstep and he can’t remember who he is,” Ben says trying to convince Oscar, who notices the subtle concern in Ben’s voice. Oscar looks at Ann and is unsure of what’s going on but he was going to find out.

“I’m back,” Andrew says as Oscar turns around.

“Hi, I’m Oscar.”