Midnight Pretenders (BL)

Chapter 31

The email from Hudson came sooner than I had expected right after we had talked, though I haven’t really tried to check and see what it really was about yet. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to know everything at this point. I tried to let it remain unopened for this night as I fought my thoughts off and forced my eyes to get some sleep first.

To be honest, I was not completely confident of how I would feel once I have finally read the whole thing. My father has always been very secretive and cryptic when it’s about his business and I used to tread on the safe matters whenever I managed the company after he had resigned from his post. Though he was still handling a few matters that I was still not given the authority to work on, I am actually already aware that there could still be a few things that I don’t know about the company. Hudson might be really right about the whole fiasco. There is probably a very troubling truth beneath the existence of this town. Our family had been very persistent to remain low-key all this time. But I knew one thing was definitely true…

This whole town was taboo.

I may have already thought about that possibility after Henry mentioned something about the town not being openly welcoming to any outsiders. But I just didn’t expect that it could be somehow really kind of true. And as these musings continued on inside my head, I did not even realize I had finally slept through all that. Next thing I knew, I was waking up the next morning and still was completely hung up from the conversation I had with Hudson the night before.

The telephone on the bedside table rung just when I had opened my eyes and it continued for a few more seconds. Grunting to myself, I lazily moved off from where I was lying on my bed and reached for it. The moment I picked the receiver up and held it against my ear, Henry’s baritone voice greeted me in a breathy sound.

“Someone’s looking for you down here.”

I almost laugh at how incredulous it had sounded. Then, I suddenly paused. I didn’t really know what to think of what he just told me. For a long moment, I was contemplating to myself whether it was actually a dream or did I really hear him right. I squinted my eyes and frowned towards the telephone placed on the bedside table. Someone’s looking for me? Why?

“Who?”

“Miss Nari.”

It felt like time stopped for a second and not even long after hearing that, I was already jumping out of the bed. I did not even bother to check how I looked from the mirror with my loose shirt and a pair of pants I had hastily pulled out of the luggage by the side of the bathroom door on my way out. I just rushed to fasten the buttons as I ran down the stairs as if my life depended on it and immediately stumbled my way into the lobby of the motel. Nari was standing in front of the receptionist’s counter when I got there, and her eyes met mine when she turned to the noisy entrance I just made.

“H-hey,” I hesitantly said, abruptly stopping a few meters away from her as I tried to catch my breath.

For a few seconds, Nari only blinked back at me with her face completely unreadable as her eyes skimmed slowly at my whole appearance. Maybe my entire hasty get-up had overwhelmed her too suddenly and she needed a moment to process everything. I felt completely lame as I waited for her to speak and I could almost feel Henry laughing inwardly at my expense from behind his counter.

Then after a long pause, Nari finally spoke.

“Can we talk?”

Did she just ask that? It took me a while to process that but the instant I did, my eyes lit up immediately and I could not even stop myself from grinning like a complete i***t.

“Right now?” I reaffirmed back, almost squeaking out the words.

“Yeah, if you’re free…”

“I am,” I immediately nodded and rushed a hasty addition of, “Just give me a few minutes.”

To even think that she wanted to talk, this must really be a dream. I was even tempted to slap myself just to make sure. But then, I didn’t want to make a fool out of myself again. Luckily, I stopped just before I got too impulsive.

 “I’ll be right back. Just wait here.” I quickly told her as I immediately ran back up to my room to fix myself. It was a great day, indeed. Rushing myself to groom and brush my teeth then choosing what to wear for this sudden invitation, I was starting to forget everything else. I went down feeling even much better in a casual attire, completely relieved of the stress that had haunted me the past week. I briefly escorted Nari on the way out of the place and Henry had only watched us with amusement behind the counter as we left, not even minding to acknowledge his presence. I was too occupied to greet him to be honest. And before I knew it, Nari and I was already sitting inside my car.

We somehow ended up deciding to have the talk at the nearest diner we will see outside the town. We did not really want to risk ever being seen by any locals for now. I was actually anticipating my company with her but somehow, the entire drive we had was completely basked in a discomforting silence until we had finally reached a suitable place for brunch.

We were sitting across each other on a table, when Nari finally made an attempt to start talking.

“I want to make this quick.” She said, turning her face away as she looked out to the empty view of the road through the glass walls of the place beside the spot where we had just seated.

“This is new…” I soundly commented, trying to ignore the apparent gloom sounding from her voice. She did not even try to look back at me and the complete good mood shifted down to uneasiness as I tried to mask my anxiety with a smile. “I did not really expect you to approach me like this just to talk.”

The food was soon served just a moment after I spoke, interrupting the heavy tension at our table and we silently watched the waitress set everything on the table between us. When she left, Nari didn’t even spare any more minute to get to her point.

“Leave the town, please.”

I almost dropped the fork I was holding and was caught off guard by her sudden insistence. Though I was already had been expecting this to be brought up anyway, I still felt irritated hearing it out loud from her. The request had just came out too soon than I have anticipated. Just when everything was finally going much better for me, she had to start it with those words. Feeling rebellious, I instinctively chose to ignore her remark instead and made a quick counterfeit to brush it off.

“I ordered their steak here a few days ago, it was really good. Now, I wanted to try their burrito and see if it can actually bested the steak.”

“Taiyo.”

I tried not to look up, gritting my teeth to keep me from responding back harshly because she does not seem to get the gist of my reaction.

“Did you just hear what I’ve said?”

 “You might wanna start digging in before that meal gets cold.”

The chattering of a few people from the other tables just kept on as it gradually filled in the awkward silence that had befallen over us. I was not yet ready to hear the rest of what she wanted to say and I wanted her to stop for a moment. I could almost feel the weight of anxiety getting heavier inside my stomach and it made me feel really annoyed and somewhat disappointed all of a sudden. I really don’t like where this was all heading to.

“I said—“

“What?”

My interruption somewhat ceased her from speaking and I stared up to her, my eyes slightly glaring. She was looking at me with that kind of expression I did not really quite understand but it somehow bothered me intensely. I lost my appetite immediately and I put down the fork on the side of my plate, barely interested to listen to any of her requests anymore.

“I don’t want to repeat it again. But you don’t seem to listen. You have to go away, Takagi.”

I briefly sighed upon her statement and chose to look outwards to the view shown from the glass walls. I then suddenly wanted to find some kind of distraction. Seeing the complete peacefulness of the horizons cascading from the scene outside in contrast to what was actually happening here inside to us as I tried to busy myself with the entire picture, had me loosening up a little bit. I did not want to keep on with the conversation we were having now and I was no longer interested to let it continue. For a quick moment, I just wanted everything to disappear. But it seemed like things weren’t really going to play on my side.

“Taiyo… Please.” Her slight emphasis on that last word had me frowning in frustration.

“Where?” I mumbled back annoyingly.

“What?”

“Go where, exactly?” I replied with a tone of indifference, sighing again. “The day is too good to leave.”

“This is not a joke.” She sounded triggered all of sudden that it actually made me feel quite smug and pleased for no reason.

“What joke? I don’t get it.” I teased her back and she responded to me with a scowl as I looked her way.

“Why can’t you just go? You can do what you want. You’re not reliable to stay here for any reason anyway. Just leave this town, Taiyo. I’m begging you.”

Begging me? How many times have I already heard those kinds of words? ‘Taiyo, please’, ‘Taiyo, I’m begging you…’, ‘We’re begging you, Taiyo.’ Almost everyone I knew had already told me that. For the past ten years, I have been aimlessly following everyone’s pleas and tried so hard to selflessly satisfy their commands. I never really tried to question it. Not even once. But where did it all led me? Was I even happy to do it all? Was I ever really consciously pleased to make their requests be heard?

Before I knew it, I felt something warm touching me on my hand that was resting on top of the table, my eyes flitted down to where the sensation was summoned and I was instantly surprised to see Nari’s small palm placed over it. To be honest, it actually softened me a little bit and I almost felt like saying yes to her plea. But the stubbornness inside of me—the rebellious feeling—still won all of my hesitations over and I decided to play this all around again.

“So you’re touching me now?” I smugly remarked, smirking as my attention had been all drawn towards the contact she had initiated. I was truthfully flattered but then I knew it was just meant to make me succumb to her request—to which I was not really going to obey now no matter how hard she tried to force me to. “I just have to say, this is kinda giving me an advantage here, you know.”

“I’m serious.” Her grip tightened on me and her face went hard with pure determination. I was amused as I watched her with enthusiasm. So, she can actually look like this?

But then, I have already decided what I was going to do this time. Even if she tells me to go away, I don’t really think I could ever leave now. But at this point, I just selfishly want to keep this moment I had with her to last longer, even if that meant I will have to keep up and endure her incessant requests and attempts to drive me away from their town.

“Can we just try to finish this lunch first before anything else? I think I deserve that atleast.”

I could literally feel her getting more frustrated at me the more I try to dodge her words. And as I met her eyes that were filled with displeasure and severe annoyance, she suddenly softened and her grip loosened as she pulled her hand away from mine. I almost regretted letting it go but I just silently watched her as I waited for her to say anything more. Knowing that she has nothing else to do, she just nodded and went back to silence.

We ate quietly after that, no more words uttered for a long while. Even when I already had lost the appetite to do so, I still shoved the entire burrito into my mouth trying to make it feel like I was really enjoying it even though I could not even taste anything right anymore.