Sweet Burden (18 page)

Get up and walk out of here. Finish your list and everything can go back to the way it was.
He shook his head at his thoughts. He could go back to sitting in his dark cavern and slowly wasting away. The notion made his chest clench as the door opened.

There she stood smiling. She was his own personal brightness and he wouldn’t trade that sensation for anything. Obi wanted to feel it forever.

“Sorry. She’s gone.”

Obi got up and went out into the room. “When will she be back?”

“Not until morning.”

He gave a nod and walked over to the bed.

“I’m going to go take a shower and then I’ll make us some dinner. Do you want to watch a movie after?” Hitomi clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back on her heels.

“Sure,” he shrugged and sat down.

She fidgeted for a few more moments and then went around the room picking out various articles of clothing. Within a few minutes she disappeared across the hall. Obi relaxed on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

They sat on the couch munching on pizza after her shower. Hitomi couldn’t decide on what to cook so she settled for ordering out. After eating, Hitomi made some popcorn and she shoved a DVD into the player. He watched as she curled herself up on the other side of the couch. Flipping the light beside her off, she set the bowl of popcorn between them.

“What are we watching?” he asked.

She smirked. “Have you seen
Braveheart
?”

“No.” The only movies Obi had ever seen were a few inappropriate ones at Rediisu’s house. She started the movie and he watched her dig into the popcorn. While she stared ahead at the TV, he spent most of the movie eyeing her. He liked watching her reactions to certain parts in the film. By the end, Hitomi had drifted off to sleep. Resting his head on the back of the couch, he gazed at her for awhile and then moved the bowl to the table. Obi got up and moved over to her, picking her up and carrying her upstairs.

He laid her down in bed and pulled the covers up over her. She let out a little groan and smiled in her sleep. Obi moved around the house making sure everything was secure and all the lights shut off. He walked into her room like he had so many nights before, but now she would not be surprised to wake and see him there.

Standing at the foot of the bed, he debated what he wanted to do and what he should do. Finally deciding, he crawled into the bed behind her. He pulled the covers up and slid his arm under her pillow. The weight of her head rested on his arm as she shifted in the bed facing him. Obi reached up and moved a few strands of her hair from her face. He had never felt as tranquil as he did at that moment. Relaxing his head onto the pillow, he closed his eyes.

In the morning light crept through the curtains and hit Obi’s face. He opened his eyes and was immediately greeted with Hitomi’s face. During the night they had moved closer to each other. Her foot was pressed against his shin and their knees slightly touching. His fingertips were barely touching her abdomen and their faces were only inches apart.

Obi pulled his hand back and carefully maneuvered himself out of the bed so not to wake her. Someone was interrupting his constant waves of Hitomi’s scent. He left the room and went downstairs out to the front porch.

“I figured you’d be awake soon.” Guri sat in one of the porch chairs and glanced up at him. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m sorry. Did I interrupt you playing house?” he smirked.

“What do you want Guri?”

“I came to warn you.”

“Of?”

“They’re sending Domitori to make sure you complete your list. It has to be done by midnight tomorrow. Unless you want Domitori coming straight to her house, you better get away from here.”

Obi rubbed his face. “I don’t want to leave her.”

“I know.”

“Guri, what is going on? Why is Hitomi so important? All of this isn’t just because of one name left on a list.”

“No. You’re right. But I can’t get into everything now. I just wanted to let you know that Domitori will be here by tonight.”

“How are you finding out all this information?” Obi questioned. “And what the hell was Rediisu doing coming to see Hitomi?”

“I’ll eventually have the time to tell you everything. But first, you need to get rid of Domitori. Think you can handle that?” Guri stood up.

“If his plans are to hurt Hitomi then that won’t be an issue.”

“Good to hear. I gotta go. Places to see, people to mark.” Guri stepped off the porch out into the light mist of rain.

“Speaking of marking, how did you get the mark off of her?”

“Rediisu did. See ya.” Guri gave a wink and took off.

“Damn it Guri,” he mumbled and went back into the house. This new information definitely worried him. He hadn’t thought about what he was going to do concerning her and the deadline fast approaching. Kidnapping her and trying to hide was an option, but if Domitori could be eliminated then that would be one less he would have to fret over. After Domitori was no longer a threat then they could run and would have more time to figure out what to do.

He would have to make Domitori think that he was going to complete his sentence. Obi was going to have to leave Hitomi. Even though it would only be for a day, the thought made his chest clench. It was the only option though. At least he would have knowledge of where Domitori was until the last possible moment. Obi would take Domitori out at the dance. Hitomi would be safe surrounded by people and Domitori would not be able to cause a scene. From there he would take Hitomi and hide her somewhere.

Obsidian thought of the breathtaking girl asleep upstairs and he didn’t want to waste another second being away from her. He hurried upstairs and stopped in the doorway to her room. After watching her for a few moments, he walked over to the bed and moved in between her and the wall. Settling into his previous sleeping position, he pushed his arm back under her pillow when she started to stir.

Many nights he had watched her sleep and had fled the moment she began moving. Now he was going to be the first thing she saw and suddenly he became nervous.

Hitomi’s eyes fluttered open and she looked at him. A grin crept across her lips. “Good morning.” He didn’t say anything as she rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. “What time is it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Oh, school,” she quickly sat up and glanced back at her clock. “I have 20 minutes.” She relaxed back on the bed and turned to him.

“Do you have to go?”

“Well, I didn’t go yesterday. I’ve never missed two days in a row. And I am feeling better.”

Obi lowered his eyes and nodded.

“I guess I don’t
have
to go.”

“No, you should go.” Obi sat up and attempted to straighten out his hair with his fingers. As much as he wanted her to stay with him, she would be safer at school surrounded by people.

“What are you going to do?” she asked. “You’re not leaving are you?”

“Not if you don’t want me to.” He lowered his gaze back down to her.

She bit at her bottom lip as she watched him. “I don’t want you to,” she said quietly.

“Then I won’t. I’ll even come meet you after school.”

“Okay,” Hitomi nodded. “I should probably get up.”

Obi watched as she slid out of the bed and went across the hallway into the bathroom shutting the door. He fell back against the pillows and closed his eyes.

****

Hitomi couldn’t believe she had gone to school instead of spending the entire day with Obi. She had instantly regretted her decision when she got in Bradley’s car and looked up at her bedroom window. Obi was standing there watching her. As soon as she was in the car, he let the curtains fall back down and she immediately missed him.

School was agonizing. But she could not contain the happiness she felt when she thought about him waiting for her outside when the last bell rang. Kerry questioned her many times for the cause of the constant smile on Hitomi’s face. But Hitomi just shrugged it off as conversations continued centered around the dance. She couldn’t even think about the dance. She had a steady replay of waking up next to Obi this morning in her head.

Classes were a blur and when it was finally a few minutes until the last bell, she could hardly contain her excitement. She packed her stuff up and watched the clock. It felt like an eternity until the bell rang. She was up out of her seat in a flash and heading for the door. Rushing down the long hallway to the doors, she felt like she wasn’t moving fast enough. She practically burst through the doors. It took her a split second to find him sitting on the bench. His legs stretched out in front of him, he looked like an ad for coolness. She walked over to him as he saw her and stood up. He smoothed out his black v-neck sweater and pulled at the belt of his faded jeans.

“Hey.” She smiled as she stepped up in front of him.

“How was school?”

“Honestly, I don’t remember. What did you do today?”

“Nothing really. Hope you don’t mind I used your computer.” He shrugged looking around at everyone and everything except for her. 

“I don’t care. Is everything okay? How’s your back?”

“My back is fine. We should get going.” He started walking, not even waiting for her.

She immediately noticed he had avoided the first question and she hurried to catch up with him. Hitomi tried to keep up with his fast pace as they walked home. She observed his rigid posture and he wasn’t talking. He took two steps at a time up the porch and then walked off to the side.

“Obi, what’s going on?” she asked as she followed him.

He rubbed his forehead and turned his back to her. “Nothing.”

She tossed her bag down on the chair and moved closer to him. “Something is wrong. Don’t tell me there isn’t.”

“Hitomi, most times things are not as they seem. Something that might be good for you just isn’t. Someone who might seem good is truly evil. And as much as you want to believe that someone is good, you just can’t change the fact that they aren’t.”

“What are you talking about?” Her face flooded with confusion and she reached up resting her hand on his back. She felt his body tense and he took a step away from her, her hand falling back down to her side. “I’m sorry. Your back must still hurt.”

“I already said its fine.” He turned around and faced her. “You should go inside.”

“What about you?”