It was a cloudy day in Seattle and Haruka walked down the street towards her brother’s café. The sidewalks were not as crowded in this part of town and she enjoyed the quiet atmosphere. She turned down a relatively clean alley and walked to the back door and knocked. The door opened, but it wasn’t her brother.
“Who are you?” the man asked.
“I’m Haruka, Takashi’s sister. Is he in?” Haruka replied. The man looked over his shoulder
“Takashi, your sister is here” he held the door open for her to come in. He closed the door behind her and then went back to working. Takashi walked to the back room and was hugged by his sister.
“It’s been a while Haruka, what brings you here?” he asked.
“I can’t stop by and say hi to my little brother?” she said as she let go of him and stepped back.
“You’ve grown since I last saw you.”
“Amazing isn’t it?” he asked sarcastically.
“Heh, yeah” she chuckled a little bit.
“I have to get back to work. I’ll call you later, okay?” he said as he hugged her and then went back to work. She left and wandered aimlessly looking in shops and enjoying the day. She played with her necklace as she walked. When she turned a corner she turned around, but was quickly surrounded.
“Hey hey hey, what do we have here?” a guy asked.
“It looks like we’ve got ourselves a lost girlie,” another guy said. She tried to get away, but they closed in on her. One of the men grabbed her arm and forced her to go with him, she struggled, but it did nothing. He turned around and slapped her and she blacked out.
~
The room was dark, but warm when she woke up. She was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room. The curtains were closed on the window so she couldn’t look out to see where she was or what time it was. As her eyes adjusted she could see a door with a small crack of light showing through beneath it where there is a gap between the door and the carpet. She can hear voices, but can’t make out what they are saying. She slowly sat up, but laid back down and put a hand on her head. Her head was throbbing and it felt like it was about to explode. She groaned quietly and sat up again. She stepped onto the soft, warm carpet. She slowly walked to the door and opened it. It creaked as she opened it. She closed her eyes and slowly opened them as they adjusted to the sudden brightness. She poked her head into the hallway and looked down it both directions. When she noticed a big room at the end of the hallway she decided to check it out. As she walked towards it the voices got louder and she could hear what they were saying. She stopped at the end of the hallway and stood just out of sight and listened.
“Roll to see if you hit. A man said. She heard the sound of a die being rolled. “Now roll for damage” the same man said. She walked out from behind the wall and stood there looking down at her feet. One guy looked up and the rest then looked at her. She stood still and didn’t say anything. One guy looked at another and said
“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” He still looked at her and said.
“I don’t. I saved her.”
“What?” another guy asked. He got up and walked over to her. He turned her around and took her back to the room. He sat her down on the bed and then sat down next to her.
“They won’t do anything to you. They may joke, but that’s about it.” He got up and walked towards the door. He stopped and looked back at her. “Everything is going to okay. Don’t worry” he said as he opened the door and closed it behind him.
“It’s been fun, but we’ll have to continue this tomorrow.” He said to his friends as he walked into the living room. A few people groaned and got their stuff.
After everyone left he turned the lights out and checked on Haruka. She was asleep and he slowly pulled the covers up to her neck. He closed the door and went to his room. He sat down on his bed and then fell back with a sigh. He fell asleep shortly after.
Haruka woke up and saw light coming in through the window and through the crack under the door. She slowly got up and walked to the door. She opened it and looked around. He’s not awake yet she thought. She walked into the living room and looked around. It’s nice, but it still needs a bit of a woman’s touch. Maybe a plant over there or something. She walked into the kitchen and noticed the clock on the oven was flashing 3:46. Good thing it’s the weekend or he would be late for work. She turned around and opened the fridge. At least he eats well or at least it looks that way. She took out the carton of eggs and a package of bacon. She put those on the counter next to the fridge and then took two slices of bread and put them in the toaster. As the bread was on its way to becoming toast she found a frying pan and put it on the stove. She turned the burner on and cracked two eggs into the frying pan. She put a few pieces of bacon next to them and grabbed two plates after looking in just about every cabinet. She put the toast onto the plate and then an egg on each slice once they were ready. She put one slice of bacon on her plate and two on his. She opened the fridge again and found some lettuce and a tomato. She put a leaf of lettuce on top of the egg and a tomato slice on top of that. As she was putting the tomato on his breakfast he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.
“Good morning” he said as he took out the milk and two glasses. “Morning” she said as she watched him pour the milk.
She took the plates to the table and sat down. He walked over with the glasses and set one in front of her and sat down in his seat. She looked at him and stared at him while he ate. He looked up and saw that she was gazing at him.
“Aren’t you going to eat?” he asked as he took a bite of his breakfast. She blushed a little bit and took a bite of hers.
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Mah” he said with his mouth full of food.
“Mah?” she asked.
“Matt. What’s yours?” he asked after we swallowed his food.
“Haruka” she said as she drank some milk.
“That’s a pretty name” he said smiling at her. She blushed,
“thanks” she said in almost a whisper. He finished his breakfast and put his plate in the sink. Haruka finished her breakfast and put her plate on top of his.
“We should probably get you home soon” Matt said as he sat down on the couch. Haruka sat down next to him.
“I don’t want to go back” she said as she put her head in her hands “I never want to go back there.” She was crying now and her words were muffled by her hands and her tears. “You’re one of the few people I know who are actually nice to me without being told to be.” Matt rubbed her back with one hand.
“Won’t they miss you?” he asked.
“No. They’ll probably be glad I’m gone and so will I” she said crying. She hugged him and buried her head in his shoulder. He hugged her and held her there until she stopped crying. It was silent in Matt’s house until the phone rang. He let it ring.
“Aren’t’ you going to answer it?” Haruka asked.
“No” he said and left it at that. The ringing stopped and his answering machine beeped and a girl said “Hey Matt, it’s been a while. I’m back in town and I was wondering if we could hang out. Well I guess you’re not in right now so I’ll try again later. Bye.” It beeped again.
“Who was that?” Haruka asked.
“My ex-girlfriend” Matt said hoping that she wouldn’t continue talking about it. Haruka felt a little jealous after hearing that.
“Are you planning on getting back together?” she asked.
“I hope not. She knew it wasn’t going to work out the first time and I hope she doesn’t think it will work a second time.” He started to get up, but Haruka pulled him back.
“Just a little longer. Please?” Haruka whispered. Matt sat back down.
“Where are you planning on staying?” Matt asked hoping that she wouldn’t say his house.
“I was hoping I could stay here. I like it here. I feel comfortable here. Safe even.” She said as she looked at him. Being the guy he is he couldn’t refuse.
“Okay, but you’ll have to do chores and cook and all that.” He said looking back at her.
“As long as I don’t have to go back to my old place I’m fine with it” she said a little happier than before. Matt stood up and walked to his room. Haruka followed him. He stopped in the doorway
“What was I going to do?” he asked himself out loud.
“I’m not sure” Haruka said. Matt walked back to the living room and sat back down on the couch. Haruka sat down next to him.
“Oh right, what are you going to do about your things?” Matt asked.
“The only thing I treasure is my necklace my mother gave me. I don’t need any of my old stuff and I don’t really want it either.” She looked down and sighed.
“What about clothes?” Matt asked.
“I’ll buy new ones” she said looking up at Matt.
“With what money?” he asked.
“Well, um, I was kind of hoping you would buy them for me” she said a little shyly.
“Alright” He said as he stood up.
“Let me grab my keys and we can get you new clothes.” He walked to his room and grabbed his keys. He walked back to the living room and grabbed his jacket. Haruka was waiting for him at the door. He walked over and opened the door. He held it open for Haruka and closed it behind him.
“It’s the purple one” Matt said as he walked down the balcony and down the stairs to the parking lot. Haruka walked over to the purple car and looked at it.
“Why is it purple and why is there a butterfly on the side?” she asked curious about the car.
“Because I wanted my car to be different and I like purple” Matt said as he got in the car and started it. Haruka got in and looked around in the car.
“It’s kind of small, but it’s cozy too” she said as she petted the seat. Matt backed it out of the parking space and drove it out of the parking lot to the mall.
~
Matt and Haruka were on the couch in the living room. The TV was on, but they weren’t really watching it.
“Thanks for the clothes” Haruka said during a commercial.
“You’re welcome” Matt said. Haruka leaned on him.
“I think I like you” she said a little shyly. Matt looked at her and smiled.
He put his arm around her and his hand was on her arm. She smiled and hmmed softly as she leaned back on his arm. She didn’t care how he felt about her as long as he knew how she felt about him and was okay with it.
Later that night while Matt was asleep Haruka snuck into his room and watched him sleep. She stood there watching him as she thought about what he might do if he woke up and found her watching him or if he woke up and found her lying next to him. She started to feel tired again and she didn’t want to sleep alone, afraid that they might find her and take her. She crawled onto his bed slowly and pulled the covers down so that she could get under them. He moaned and moved a little, but didn’t wake up. She pulled the covers back up and fell asleep next to him with a smile.
When Matt woke up the next morning he noticed Haruka next to him. He chuckled silently to himself and then fell back asleep. She woke up shortly after he fell back asleep. She looked at him sleep and she smiled.
“Matt?” she whispered not sure if he was awake or still asleep.
“I’m sorry for doing this without asking you. I hope you’re not mad” she whispered still not sure if he was awake or asleep. Matt woke up and rolled over. He looked at Haruka and smiled.
“I’m not mad” he whispered “It’s been a while since a girl has been in my bed so it’s kind of” he paused trying to think of a word.
“Nice?” Haruka asked throwing out a word that might help.
“Yeah, that’s probably the best word” Matt said. Haruka chuckled and rolled over so that she was on her side looking at him.
“Can I ask you something?” Haruka asked softly.
“Sure, what is it?” Matt asked looking at her.
“Do you think it’s weird that I” she paused thinking of how to word it. “Do you think it’s weird that I like you, like really like you even though I just met you yesterday?” She asked blushing.
“Not at all” Matt said rolling on his side so that he was facing her. They were closer than they have been and Haruka tried looking away, but it was hard and she was blushing heavily. Matt smiled and looked at her while she tried to look away. She looked at him again. Matt leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. He looked at her.
“I think” he paused “I think I love you” Matt said. Haruka smiled at him and kissed him.
“I think I love you too.” |
Submission Name: Yoruyonaka Hana(Midnight Flower)
