Charles stared at the man, who didn't take his eyes off Vera, and felt uncomfortable. The both of them had barged in on their table, but of course, they were not to blame. The cafeteria was full. The man had a kind of dark aura around him. "So…who's this?" He asked Layla, and she placed an arm around him. "He's my cousin. He's odd right? Well, that's how he always is. Don't you worry about him. Introduce yourself, Kent." Layla said, with a wide smile. Charles looked at her weirdly. She'd already introduced him. The both of them were weird, and smelled strongly of apples. If they told him they ran an apple farm, he would believe them instantly. "I'm Kent." He replied, in a deep voice, and Charles and Vera gave little smiles. "So, Layla…" Vera began, when the table seemed silent. "Kent, get us toast and tea, too. I'm hungry again." Layla said, and Kent got up slowly. Charles looked around and sighed. The cafeteria was packed. If he'd known, he'd have just eaten at the dining table in the suite. The people there stared a lot, but surely, they would stop staring at some point. "You were saying something." Layla said, turning back to Vera. "Oh. I was about to ask why you're here." She said, and Layla pursed her lips. "Vacation. We've come to enjoy the view of the sea, barley fields, and rich scenery of Los Olivos." She replied cheerfully, and Vera smiled. "What about you guys?" She asked. "We're here on vacation, too" Charles replied, hurriedly, not wanting to disclose their real reasons. Trusting people easily was not something he did. "Wow. That makes the four of us. So, what are your names? You haven't introduced yourselves yet." She asked. "Vera." "Charles.""Wow! Such beautiful names." She squealed, looking delighted. "Thank you." Vera replied. Kent returned with toast for he and Layla, and Layla bit into it hungrily. "Hmm. This is great." She said, munching on it. Charles wanted nothing more than to leave, and be by himself, and Vera, apparently wanted the same thing, as Kent had returned to staring at her. It made her oddly uncomfortable. "So, how do you like Madame Boyle's? For me it has been fun so far. I never expected so many people to share a suite. She literally dumped me and my cousin into one room. We didn't know we were sharing." Layla said, and Vera chuckled. "We also didn't know we were sharing. Not until I calculated twelve dining chairs, six rooms, and a single key for our room." She replied, and Layla laughed out loud. "It has been uncomfortable, too. It's hard to change, to bath… How do you even expect to change clothes, and bathe when such a man is staring at you with intense eyes?" Layla asked, with a goofy smile. "Who? Charles? No!" Vera exclaimed, in horror, and Charles couldn't help laughing. "We're not like that. Gosh, that is so cringy to think about." She said, and Charles continued to laugh. "Well, I suspected you weren't couples, but I thought maybe you both had a thing for each other, seeing how you were glued to each other when you left the suite this morning." Layla said. "No, we're just very close. We've known each other for a long time." Vera corrected. "So you both are in the same suite as we are?" Charles asked, and Layla nodded. After breakfast, they all went back to the suite, and Charles prepared to leave, after having a phone call with the driver, but Vera looked displeased, and kept on sighing. "What do you want?" Charles asked, eventually. "Let's spend at least a day here. I'm… seriously I'm tired. I sat in the car all day, and even threw up. Sitting in the car for such long hours gave me cramps. Going back into the car would seem like a punishment, so please let's have just a day to rest. Then, we can continue on your journey tomorrow." She pleaded, and Charles sighed. "Alright." He replied, and phoned the driver to tell him he could rest, and go anywhere he wanted for the day. Then a knock sounded on the door."Hello." Came Layla's voice. "What does she want?" Charles mouthed to Vera. "Don't know." Vera mouthed in return, then went to the door. She opened it, and Layla walked in, with a smile, moving towards Charles. She grabbed him by the arm, taking him by surprise, and led him out, hooking her arm around Vera's, as she passed. "The roommates want to speak with you guys. Come, come, come. Don't decline. The sweetest thing about a vacation is meeting with new people." She said, and left the both of them, so she could close their door. "But…" Charles was saying, but Vera pushed him lightly, so he could move to the living room. They all looked eager to speak with Charles and Vera and adjusted in their seats. "Is it true you stay in California?" A pregnant woman asked, immediately they took their seat on the dining chairs, which was only a little distance away from the scattered sofas. "Yes." Vera replied. "Are you two dating? Having a fling? Married? Yet to acknowledge each other's feelings?" A man asked, and Charles tried hard to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "Come on, Damien." The pregnant woman cautioned. Being nosy when you only met someone for the first time was not a good trait. "No, we're friends." Vera replied, in a firm voice. "Ayy, what kind of friends go on a vacation together, and drop in at an inn late at night?" An older woman asked, raising her eyebrows, with a goofy smile. "I also suggested maybe they didn't know they weren't aware they had feelings for each other." Layla said, looking excited. "That must be it." Someone else replied. "No. We… actually we… we came as friends who don't have anything to do. We…" Vera tried to explain. "Oh come on." A man said, and they all began to laugh, and talk. "We're a couple." Vera heard Charles say, and her head snapped to him in a flash. "That what you all want to hear, right? You've heard it. Now we can move on to another topic." He said, and Vera gave a light chuckle.Later in the evening, the both of them went for a walk, and were stunned by the simple beauty of Los Olivos. The farm was neatly taken care of, the lawns mowed, and the field was beautiful, with the grasses lined in rows. She kept taking photos, and squealing at them. When they got to a field of purple flowers, she couldn't resist the urge to run among them. Charles slapped his forehead lightly, and watched her run. When she returned, giggling, she was smelling of flowers. "James would be mad if we told him we saw all these." He said, and she burst into laughter. "Indeed." After walking for a while, they watched the sea and its waves roll gently. Vera persuaded him to take a few photos. He had resisted at first, but three photos later, he couldn't stop taking them. He took photos of everything around and when night fell, they trudged back to Madame Boyle's. They had dinner with the roommates, and after it, they went to prepare for bed, and for their leave the next day. However, the next day, when they woke, they could hear loud noise. It didn't seem like the jolly sound of laughter when the roommates were talking, so they went out to check. When they went out, they met a man shouting, and everyone else was trying to tell him to calm down, but he didn't. "What's wrong?" Charles asked the man. "Sarah is gone! My wife is gone, and everyone is telling me to calm down. "Gone? Then call her and talk to her." Vera said, looking at the man like it was what he ought to do. "No…. I mean she disappeared. She was taken."