Time passed for so long I thought maybe he’d forgotten about me. I turned on my side to face the wall, trying to will myself to relax and just get up and face whatever was downstairs. I was just getting myself to sit up when the sound of a door opening broke the silence, followed by thudding at the stairs.
I fell back onto the bed, trying to feign sleep. I pulled the blanket over my head to cover my face. I wasn’t sure why I did that, but it seemed like a safe thing to do to pretend to wake up while he was nearby.
After the thudding ended on the stairs, there was only silence. What happened? I held my breath while underneath the blanket. My ears strained to hear any sound. Was he being quiet to me sleep? My heart thudded against my chest, loud and I wondered if I would hear him at all. Should I get up now? Was he doing something? I was tempted to take a peek only I wasn’t sure if he’d notice.
“Hey Kota!” A male voice called out, clearly trying to be loud on purpose. There was something striking in the voice though. Smooth. The baritone was like a familiar singer but I couldn’t remember the name. “Still sleeping? What’s wrong with you?”
A body landed hard on top of me that I felt the air in my lungs escape, not giving me enough oxygen to cry out. Legs fell over mine, someone’s frame sat on top of me and hands sought out my wrists under the blanket. I managed to let a muffled grunt escape but with the way he held my arms, my face was stuffed with blanket and I couldn’t twist myself free.
“Are you getting up or what?” The voice said, the baritone playful. “The world is spinning on without you.”
“Victor.” Kota’s voice came from the other side of the room. I hadn’t heard him come up.
The person on top of me froze and then let go of my arms. The blanket was yanked away. My arm jerked in quick reaction, shielding myself from the sudden onslaught of light and from the stranger sitting on top of me.
“Who...” Victor never finished his statement. His mouth hung open.
His brown eyes were wide, big and it was the first time I’d ever thought the term “fire in his eyes” ever actually fit a face. The intensity would have made me blush in any normal situation but as I was in a bed and he had just landed on me, I was glowing with heat. His head flinched back in confusion and I was just as dumbstruck. His body was slighter than Kota’s and he looked like he was the same age we were. His hair was a softer brown, reaching to the nape of his neck in gentle waves, brushed back away from his eyes.
“Victor, this is Sang.”
Victor blinked at me repeatedly. “Uh...” He moved off the bed and stood up. He wore a crisp white long sleeved shirt, the top button undone to reveal the start of his collarbone. He wore neat black slacks. His near formal attire surprised me but he appeared comfortable in what he was wearing, like he wore it nearly every day. At his neck hung a silver chain with a round silver medallion with some symbol I didn’t recognize. His face was angular. His hips were slimmer than Kota’s and his fingers were long and lean. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I mean in his bed?”
“She slept here.” Kota held a smile on his face and wore a calming expression as if this was perfectly normal. He was wearing Levi jeans and a light blue Polo shirt with a collar, the buttons done up all the way to the top.
Victor spun on him, his hands shooting out, palms up. “Are you kidding me?”
“Don’t get weird. And don’t tell my mom. I don’t think she’ll understand.”
“But why is she...”
Suddenly a voice called up from the base of the stairs. “Kota? Do I hear Victor up there?”
Before Kota could reply, there were footsteps coming up. I panicked, wondering if I should jump from the bed.
Kota took one look at Victor and they both reacted at the same time. Kota headed to the stairwell, standing at the top. Victor came to the bed, pushed me back so I was laying down and covered me with the blanket. He positioned himself in front of me, sprawled out. I couldn’t see him from under the blanket, but I could feel his body near mine and it caused me to blush.
I did my best to make myself as small as possible.
“Yes, we’re up here,” Kota said.
“Hi Victor.”
“Hi.”
“I thought you boys could come down for breakfast. It’s almost ready.”
“Mom,” Kota said. “Is it okay if I let Sang stay for breakfast, too?”
“Sure. Who’s Sang?”
“She’s the girl from next door. The family that just moved in.”
“Oh...” Pause. “Where is she?”
“In the bathroom.”
“She came in with me,” Victor added.
“Sounds good. Have her come down. I made eggs.”
The sound of footsteps on the stairs trailed away. In a flash, Victor hopped up and pulled the blanket away from me. When he did, he looked me over and tilted his head. “Are you wearing...”
“Yes,” Kota said, and then blew a breath of air from his lips. “I’ll explain later. She needs to hurry and get dressed.”
Victor got out of the way to allow me to stand. Victor was a half a head taller than me. When I stood, he didn’t hesitate at examining me again. I imagined with bed hair and my groggy face that I was pretty ugly.
Kota moved to the bathroom, opening the door and flicking the light on. “Does your bag have clean clothes?” he asked me.
I nodded to him.
“Get dressed and come down stairs when you’re ready.” He crossed the room and grabbed Victor by the arm. “Let’s go.”
“But...” Victor raked fingers through his hair, his fire eyes blazing with curiosity. When Kota yanked at his arm, he turned away. He looked back again when he was at the stairs going down but said nothing more and soon disappeared.
I jumped for my book bag and ran for the bathroom. My heart pounded. Victor was just as handsome as Kota. He moved quickly to cover for me. How strange that a complete stranger, who knew less about me than Kota, was helping me.
People were not all murderers.
I managed to do a quick job of washing my face and brushing my hair. I twisted my hair up, pulling it back into a clip that sat at the back of my head, the locks of dirty blond hair falling from it tickled at my neck. It was the way I always wore my hair to keep it out of my face. I changed into a gray pleated skirt that was a little short but was great for the warmer weather of the south. I had a soft button up blouse that matched it. I wanted to look nice if I was going to meet Kota’s mom. I was lucky I had packed a couple of extra things into my bag besides shorts.
I felt sore at my back and checked my hip. There was a dark purple bruise about the size of my palm at my side. I’d have to remember to adjust my top and not show it. I didn’t want Kota to feel bad again about what happened last night. Besides, it was pretty ugly. My shoes and clothes that I wore last night weren’t in the tub where I left them. I was barefoot. How would I explain that?
I sighed and hurried down stairs. If I stayed too long, his mom would think I was weird.
At the base of the stairs, the rich grease of fried eggs and bacon and buttered toast hit my nose. The dining room at the end of the hall had a small round table with five chairs near it, one was a mismatched office chair that Kota sat in. There was an empty space next to him and Victor on the other side. The other two chairs were occupied by a woman who looked to be in her late forties and a younger girl with glasses.
“Hello!” The older woman spotted me first and stood up, reaching out a hand. Her eyes were green like Kota’s. Her brown hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head. There were soft wrinkles at her eyes. She was almost my same height. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Erica.”
I smiled, blushing and reached to touch her hand delicately with my own.
I thought that would be it but she took a firm grasp of my hand and gave it a good squeeze. “I haven’t met your parents yet.”
“We’re still kind of settling in.” She seemed so nice and I was scared she’d actually stop by my parent
s’ house. I wanted to warn her that my mom probably wouldn’t want to talk to her. There was only the hope that maybe she would forget.
“This is my daughter and Dakota’s sister, Jessica.” She pointed to the girl next to her. The girl was almost exactly like her mother, except shorter and with much lighter hair. Her expression was placid and she wore pink rimmed glasses. She nodded to me, almost shyly.
“Hi,” I said. I blinked at the name Dakota and then realized she must have meant Kota. It struck me as funny but I like how he shortened it.
“Have a seat,” Erica said. She motioned to the chair next to Kota and Victor.
The whole time we were talking, the guys fixed their eyes on me. Was my outfit bad? Maybe it was too much. I couldn’t tell. The moment I sat down, Kota reached for the scrambled egg bowl and scooped a large spoonful in to my plate. Victor had the bacon platter and dropped a couple of slices next to the eggs.
“Orange juice?” Erica offered.
I smiled and nodded. I went to reach for it but Kota got to it before I did and held it above my cup.