I'm a quiet person and don't bother with many people so I write in my journal as a way to relax and let my mind roam.
What awaits...(4)
"I'm fine." I said opening the door and looking up a Kenji. "You seemed a little shaken..." he said tilting his head and looking down at me worried. I forced a smile and walked past him downstairs to help Mrs. Suzuki clean up the dishes in the kitchen. She smiled at me and looked over her shoulder at Mr. Yukimura with a grin. "Tell me Aiko...do you like Kenji?" she asked looking at me again with the same smile from when she saw us holding hands. "Yes, Kenji is my best friend." I nodded drying the dishes she handed me. She laughed and bent down by my ear her voice a bell like whisper, "You can tell me Aiko. I know for a fact he likes you." she said. I blushed looking up at her then over at the door where Kenji stood talking to his father. She laughed as she turned off the water and handed me the last wet dish. "He'll come around soon." she winked at me and went to watch TV with Leiko in the living room.
I put the last dish away and went to the rec-room to use the computer. I froze in the doorway when I saw Haruko at the computer, I heard his fingers on the keyboard the tapping made me nervous every time his typing slowed. "Aiko-chan...do you need something?" Haruko asked. I stiffened in the door and turned to leave but decided to stand my ground, I couldn't fear him forever...I took a deep breath and stepped into the room. "No, I was just coming to use the computer but I see your using it so I'll go." I said turning for the door. "You can stay if you want...I'd love to talk to you again." he said turning in the chair to face me, he looked like an arch angel, his eyes smokey grey and his hair as dark as a ravens feather. "I don't want to bother you..." I said quietly. "You are doing no such thing. I love having you around." he smirked. I thought of what would happen if I stayed and what would happen if I left, how he would react. I was afraid of what he would do to me...no one could hear me. What if I ended up like Hana? "Aiko, love..?" a familiar voice questioned. My eyes shot to a corner of the room then back to Haruko who was watching me. "We'll be seeing you tomorrow. I just can't wait!" I took a deep breath and Haruko chuckled bringing my attention back to him. "I won't bite you...even if you look good enough to eat." he laughed. "Yea. I don't think I'm going to let Kenji dress me ever again..." I growled coming to sit beside Haruko at the computer. I didn't feel too much at risk next to him, I actually felt calm and safe, and it felt like the old times when he, Kenji and I use to hang out in the afternoon. "Aiko...you know I'm not going to hurt you, right..?" he asked. "What?" I gasped looking him in the eyes. He looked hurt somehow, like he was going to cry. I didn't think about it but before I noticed it I was hugging him. The memories of him being the one hugging me when I had a bad day or the night he stayed up holding me after my mothers death...all the good times we had together, Haruko wouldn't hurt me. "I noticed how you acted at dinner...I hope your not afraid of me because of what I did to Hana." he said pulling away and looking me in the eyes. "I would never do that to you,Aiko-chan, you are family to me." he smiled and reached for my hand. I looked down at his hands, looking at our laced fingers and I noticed something that caught me by surprise. "Haruko-kun! Your nails!" I gasped holding his hand up and examining his fingernails. They were black and I noticed the cuts on his wrist when he flinched at the feel of my fingers on his wrist. "A lot of things have changed...I guess we'll have to sit down and talk sometime." he said quietly taking his hand back and getting up. "Wait! Where are you going?" I asked. "To bed...I've been up since 4 a.m." he yawned and went upstairs to his room. I sat at the computer thinking of how the same Haruko seemed. I frowned and searched the internet for some answers on where Haruko went over the years after Hana's murder. 'St. Elizabeth Hospital...' I thought as I typed the name and clicked search.