Sweet Burden (6 page)

As school ended, Hitomi decided to walk home in the hopes of the boy possibly getting off at the bus stop. She didn’t divulge anything to Kerry, because that would mean going into the story of her…incident. She wasn’t ready to share that yet. Kerry would turn it into some sort of
Lifetime
movie when she retold the story. Hitomi wasn’t ready to be the center of some dramatic incident.

She walked home quickly with anticipation. She rounded the corner by the flower shop to cut through the park, but decided to take the long way around to purposely get a good look at the bus stop. Hitomi paced herself as the bench came into sight. Instantly she recognized his utterly relaxed body. The black haired boy sat there just as he had that morning.

Hitomi’s eyes widened and she stopped abruptly. Her pulse had quickened and suddenly she wanted to turn around and go through the park.

“
He was the only reason you came this way. You better walk past him and get a good look,”
she told herself. She tried to compose herself, wiping her sweaty palms on the hips of her jeans and taking a deep breath. Her feet shuffled forward and she rounded the corner to walk
right past him
. She kept her eyes down, moving closer to him. She was about six feet away from him when his position instantly shifted. His body went rigid and he sat up. She couldn’t bring herself to look directly at him, instead settling on a sideways glance as she hurriedly walked past him.

She rushed across the street and into her house. Shutting the door behind her, she leaned back against it and gasped for air. She hadn’t realized she had been holding her breath. Her body shuddered and Hitomi raced up the stairs to her room.

****

Obsidian sat on the bench eagerly awaiting the girl to come home. He knew she had seen him that morning while in the car. A slight bit of recognition had glinted in her eyes and then she hid. It had taken all his effort not to smile as he thought about it. His body was still stiff from the position he had slept in. Luckily the girl had started to stir very early in the morning waking him and he was able to slip out of the house before she awoke. He couldn’t even imagine how she would have reacted to waking and seeing his face inches from hers. He sighed at the thought.

He needed to know more about this girl. He needed to know why she suddenly had a pull on him. Obsidian found himself wanting to know everything about her. His thoughts were far away from the council and the punishment that would eventually be handed down to him. Right now, he needed answers. He needed to know this girl.
Hitomi.

And just as if he had beckoned her, Hitomi’s scent wafted through the air. Every muscle in his body tensed and he sat up. He turned his head to view the girl that was becoming his undoing. She was quite beautiful. Her long honey hair trailed down her back bouncing with every step. She had her eyes turned down, like she was refusing to look at him. Obsidian’s mouth went dry as his eyes followed her. Then she looked at him. It was only a brief glance, but she had definitely looked at him. That small peek confirmed that she was as interested in him as he was with her.

Obsidian watched as she rushed to her house and disappeared inside the white building. He quickly took a deep breath as his insides unclenched. He stared at the house wondering what the girl was thinking. Did she feel the connection between them as he did? Was she scared of him? Because he was scared of her. He was frightened of the way she was making him suddenly
feel
.

“Who are you, Hitomi?” he whispered into the wind, his gazed locked on the window to her room.

****

Hitomi pointed the lens out the window zooming in as much as possible. The lens focused and she realized that he was looking right at her. She ducked down under the windowsill and shook her head at herself.

“He’s the one sitting outside
my
house,” she told herself, quickly perching herself back up and pointing the lens. He was no longer looking in her direction, but instead looking up at the sky. She took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of him. He was tall and sculpted, from what she could tell, but this was the first time she was getting a decent view of his face. His eyebrows were as dark as his hair with a slight arch. His perfectly symmetrical nose led down to a full set of lips. He had cheek bones and a jaw line that actors and models would have killed for and a slight cleft in his chin.

However, she still could not get a good look at his eyes. She snapped a few more pictures and then suddenly his gaze returned to her. There was a small twinkle of red and then his gaze was gone again. She ducked down under the windowsill again, her mouth gaping open.

“Red. His eyes were red,” Hitomi muttered to herself. She wasn’t sure she had snapped a photo at that moment. She needed confirmation of what she saw. Scanning through her photos, she stopped at the last one. The red sparkle was emanating from his eyes.

Hitomi gasped and dropped all the way to the floor. She stared at the photo. The boy had glowing red eyes.

“
It’s HIM!”
exploded in her head and repeated over and over. Her hands shook and she laid the camera down. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if she should go thank him or hide in her room. He was obviously following her. She shook her head. He was protecting her.

Hitomi squeezed her eyes shut and chewed on her bottom lip. She fought with herself over what to do, and then she pulled herself back up to the window. Her pulse quickened as she opened her eyes. A sudden intake of breath filled her lungs and she desperately fumbled with the window locks. She threw the window open and stuck her head out peering up and down the street. He was gone!

She pulled her head back inside, but not before knocking the back of it on the window.

“Ouch,” she rubbed her head, but the pain seemed fleeting as she rapidly pulled her memory card from her camera and shoved it into her laptop. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk and waited for the memory card to open. She clicked to open the photos and scrolled down to the last ones.

There he sat in all his perfection, staring off into the sky and then staring at her. His eyes were even brighter on the computer screen. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. Something inside her quivered.

Hitomi fell asleep that night on her side still gazing at the beautiful boy that had saved her and made her insides tremble.

****

Obsidian slipped into Hitomi’s room that night through the window. He shook his head, upset that she had left it open for anyone to enter. He glanced at her intertwined in her sheets and blankets. He half hoped that she would open her eyes and scream. She should have been afraid of him. He had never met anyone that didn’t instantly feel fear in his presence. If she were afraid of him, she would stay away from him. But he felt it every time she looked at him; she was drawn to him as he was to her.

He pulled his eyes away from her dreamy face, flushed skin, plump mouth, and turned to her computer. His finger barely grazed it when the photo popped up on the screen. Obsidian rubbed his hand over his face and then took the memory card from the machine. He turned back to her saying a silent apology and then damaged the flimsy piece of plastic. He slipped it back in to ensure that it was unreadable. Satisfied with his work, Obsidian moved over to the bed. He sat down on the floor and studied her face.

He knew the situation was not good. He had killed two ‘innocents’ and had not completed his list. As drawn to Hitomi as he was, he knew he should stay away. Not convinced he could stay away from her, he needed to instill fear of him into her. He sat there pondering while relishing her soft features. Obsidian wanted so badly to touch her. He wanted to run his fingers along her silken hair and smooth jaw.

He argued with himself all night; between wanting to keep her away from him and wanting to pull her into his arms.

By the morning, he had decided to try at least one time to make her fearful of him. If it didn’t work, if she still was drawn to him, then he would take things from there.

The blue sedan pulled into the driveway and honked. Obsidian sat on the bench after leaving her room, relaxed and focused. He watched as the girl got into the car after a quick glance his direction. She had a noticeable scowl on her face. She had obviously discovered her memory card damaged, erasing the photos of him. He watched as the car passed him and Hitomi stealing a look at him. He narrowed his eyes at her and sighed as the car continued down the street. He knew a menacing look was not going to be enough to deter the girl.

Groaning, he leaned his head back as the stench of death filled his nose. A figure appeared behind Obsidian.

“Hello Guri,” Obsidian sighed.

“Hey Obi. What’cha doin’?” Guri hopped over the back of the bench and landed perfectly seated next to him.

Obi closed his eyes as his nostrils twitched at the smell he was beginning to loathe. He desperately wanted the smell of vanilla bean and honey playing about his tongue. “Sitting,” Obi replied with irritation.

“Yah. I see that. Why?” Guri inquired. 

“Because there is no need to stand.”

“That’s not what I mean. Why are you hanging out here?”

Obi cleared his throat and turned his head to Guri. He was an unkempt mess. His silver hair protruded from his head in every direction and he noticed a few buttons missing from his shirt. “Guri, why are you here?”

“Who was the girl?” Guri asked, completely ignoring Obsidian’s question.

“No one,” he shook his head.

“Didn’t look like no one. And why was she looking back at you?”

“She can see me,” Obi groaned.

A simple ‘o’ formed on Guri’s lips and Obi turned away from him. That wasn’t exactly the response that he had expected. They sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity until Obi leaned back against the bench. “What do you think they will do to me?” he whispered.

“Nothing good,” Guri shrugged. “I actually came down here because I need to talk to you about something.” Obi did not say anything so Guri continued. “There is something going on. There have been whispers and rumors that the God of Light has returned and possible dissension among the council and judges. Now is not the best time to be going against them Obi.”

“I’m not going against them,” Obsidian protested, then rolled his eyes at himself. “Who am I kidding?”

“Who is that girl?”

“I don’t know. Shouldn’t you know something about her? You’re the one who marked her.”

“I just do what I’m told,” Guri shrugged. “Unlike some of us.” He gave Obi a nudge. “So, what’s the deal?”

Obsidian tried to pick words wisely. He wasn’t sure how much he could trust Guri, even though he had been one of the few to actually accept Obsidian. He wasn’t even sure he could explain it for Guri to understand. Hell, he hardly understood it himself. Obi shrugged figuring he was already in a heap of trouble.

He started at the beginning. He told Guri about the first time he saw Hitomi. He told how he had touched her and that was when Guri had found him in his cavern shaking with pain. He whispered the story of her being attacked and how he saved her and held her hand. From that day he had not left her; following her to school, sleeping next to her at night, and watching her from a distance. Obi started trying to explain the connection he felt with her and how he felt he couldn’t stay away from her and being around her just simply wasn’t enough. At the end of everything Obi turned to Guri.