She did more laundry and cleaned his bathroom. When she walked back into the kitchen Ryo was eating a sandwich with mayonnaise plopping out of it. Another one was smashed onto a plate. She was sure he smashed it on purpose, but was kind of happy he still did it. Honestly she expected him to not make one at all. He was trying, that was all that mattered. As the mayo fell from his sandwich to the plate she cringed.
"I can make you another sandwich," Shin said at the look on her face.
"That's okay, I'll eat it," she said forcing a smile at Shin. She sat down next to Ryo and shook the mayo off a little.
"Something wrong?" Ryo asked taking another bite.
"No, not at all. Thank you for making me such a wonderful sandwich, I appreciate it," she replied taking a bite out of it. Shin winced as the mayo fell to the plate. She squeezed some more mayo out, trying to do it so Ryo didn't hear.
"I hate you," Ryo said taking another bite, mayonnaise running down his chin.
"I love you, too," she replied sarcastically, with a smile and Shin laughed.
"I'm still making dinner, right?" Shin said jokingly, "You couldn't pay me to eat that."
Laina stifled a laugh. Ryo threw his sandwich to the floor, and then tossed his plate down with it.
"Hey! I just cleaned that," Laina said frowning. Luckily the plate didn't break.
"Well you shouldn't have made me make that disgusting thing!" Ryo yelled. He felt for the wall and then punched it, his hand breaking the wood. Shin looked at him with pity and Laina winced.
"Are you happy now? You broke the wall. What did it do to you?" Laina asked sitting back, "Pick up your plate."
"You pick it up! That's your job," Ryo said, his brow furrowed in anger.
"Listen Ryo," she said softly, "I can see that you're mad. I don't know how you lost your sight, but you are going to have to learn to live with it eventually. Your friends have put up with you moping for months. It's time to pick yourself up off the floor and learn to do things differently. You obviously want to be more independent. What's stopping you?"
A sigh escaped him as he walked over and felt along the floor for the plate. He put the sandwich back on it and set it on the counter.
"I was hit in the head with a soccer ball," he replied, "Of all things. I loved soccer. I could watch it over and over again. Now I can't see the grass, or the players running down the field. I'm worthless to my team, worthless to my friends, worthless to everyone."
Laina glanced at Shin. He put his sandwich down and bit his bottom lip. His blue-green eyes turned to her and she looked back at Ryo. It was obvious they tell him he's not worthless, but Ryo couldn't get it through his thick skull that he can still do things for himself.
"Ry-," Shin said in his sweet voice.
"Don't even start! We all know it's true! I'm as good as dead without my sight," Ryo said clenching his jaw.
"No you're not," Laina replied.
"You don't understand. Why do you care, anyway? You're not my friend. All you care about is learning to fight, and making me keep my house clean so you don't have to do as much work. Shin can teach you to fight," he said turning angrily and leaving. Laina looked guiltily at Shin.
Shin shrugged pushing his sandwich aside and said, "Let's go outside, then. I could use a break."
Nodding, she followed Shin out, her mind still mulling over what Ryo said. Hit with a soccer ball… Then it flashed through her mind where she knew him from. It happened months ago. The incident was all over the news. His opponent was mad and kicked a ball in his direction when he was talking to a reporter, but it wasn't the hit that caused it. It was a tumor they found when they x-rayed him. He lost his sight when they removed it. She froze on the porch. He was that famous soccer player. Her ex-boyfriend loved his team and was angry when it happened. She absently ran a finger over the scar on her arm. Her ex was so mad he punched through the wall and then sliced her with the knife she was using to make their dinner. She had fifteen stitches that day.
"You okay?" Shin asked. Laina blinked a few times and then nodded.
"He was that great soccer player… Sanada, right?" she asked. Shin smiled sadly and nodded. He pulled his t-shirt off over his head and put it on the banister. Now… that should be illegal. He should not be allowed to have a sweet/sexy voice, good looks, kindness, and the body of a Greek God. It was a good thing she wasn't looking for a relationship. She looked at his muscled back and was surprised to see a tattoo. He had "Mouri" written elegantly across his back. It was actually pretty sexy on him.
He turned to her looking expectantly. Laina hopped down the steps and ran over to join him, feeling a bit like a gawker.
"Who's Mouri?" she asked. He's gay and that's his boyfriend, right? No one that good looking and nice could be straight and not taken.
"My family name. Shin Mouri," Shin replied giving her a dazzling smile. Damn! If he were gay that would have been a good excuse to not be attracted to him. Wait, maybe he was…
"So… Do you have a girlfriend, Shin?"
Shin shook his head as his eyes gazed into hers. She felt like she could just melt right there.
"Amaya was kind of a girlfriend, but it turns out she was just using me until something better came along," he said.
"What could possibly be better than you?" she blurted out and then slapped her hand over her mouth. Shin laughed and blushed, which only made him look even cuter. Laina quickly looked away and ran her toes through the blades of grass.
"Someone with money, I really know how to pick 'em," Shin replied. Laina nodded, still feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Maybe it's more that you're too nice? Some girls take advantage of nice guys," Laina said. He looked up at her from under his hair and she really felt like she was going to melt.
"Do you?" he asked, and she nearly fell to her knees. His eyes moved from her eyes to her lips and she felt herself absentmindedly lick them.
"Uhm… well…," her mind had turned to mush as she gazed at him; his strong arms, muscular abs, gorgeous eyes, and a smile to die for. FOR CORN'S SAKE PUT ON A SHIRT! I can't stop staring! She must have looked like a fish out of water with her mouth opening and closing but nothing coming out.
"Will you stop talking and teach her to fight already!" a grumbling Ryo shouted from the porch, snapping Laina back from her daydream. She looked back and saw Ryo leaning against the banister with a bottle of water in hand.
"Right," Shin said smirking at her and glancing at Ryo. He must have known where her thoughts were, and they were definitely in the gutter. He raised his hands into fists and started teaching her boxing moves. With her muscles pre-sore she had to push herself through this training. Shin took it easy on her, she could tell. His warm hands guiding her arms to the right positions, the closeness and feel of his hands made her want to throw him down in the grass and have her way with him. She shook her head, bringing her concentration back. Her hormones were out of control today. Sex was not going to help her live when Wyatt came after her.
"Good," Shin murmured in her ear as she moved to the right spot. The thought of Wyatt made her work harder in her training. They spent a couple of hours in the sun, practicing moves without a sword. Shin taught her how to knock someone down and she practiced on him.
"That's great," Shin said smiling up at her after she was finally successful. It was doubtful that she could possibly knock him down. He must have gone down on purpose. He put his hands behind his head, reminding her of Ryo earlier. She glanced up to see Ryo sitting on the front porch with an empty water bottle. He looked sad as he sat there with his arms on his knees.
"Are you tired yet?" Shin asked, following her gaze to Ryo.
"Are you kidding? I'm exhausted," she said plopping down next to him.
"Good, it's not just me then," Shin said with a laugh. She liked his laugh. He was pretty easy going.
"Hey Ry, can you get us some water?" Shin asked sweetly. Ryo got up grumbling and went inside.
"He never used to be like that. Ryo's the guy you could always turn to when you needed help. There were times when he was a bit headstrong and would rush into danger, but when it comes down to it he's the best person to talk to," Shin said, "This isn't how he used to be. Give him a break, okay?"
"You're sweet, but he doesn't need a break right now. I may not be his friend, yet, but he'll see that I'm helping him," she said, "He doesn't need to be babied right now, he needs to learn to do things himself."
The door opened and Ryo walked out carrying two bottles of water.
"Throw it here," Laina called out and was surprised when the water bottle came straight at her, "You've got a good arm."
Ryo smiled in response and threw the other bottle in Shin's direction. She couldn't help but stare at him. Shin hadn't said anything… How did he do that?
"Thanks, man," Shin said opening the bottle. He seemed totally unfazed by Ryo's aim. Shin sat up leaning back on one arm and gulped the water down. Laina couldn't help but stare, he should definitely get into modeling. Ryo walked down the stairs and stood in the grass, his faced raised to the sun with his eyes closed. Laina was tempted to walk up to him and put her arms around his waist to see if he was really as warm as he looked, actually she just wanted a hug. She missed hugs, and her brother wasn't the hugging type, at least not with her anymore. He used to, before Wyatt came along. Now Matt was just frustrated with her. Wyatt was definitely not the hugging type.
She took a drink from her water bottle. It was a pretty hot day and although she had on a sports bra, with these models around she was not tempted to take anything off. She would look pathetic around these guys. The training was a great way to lose weight and gain muscle, but she wasn't sure if she would ever be comfortable showing her body to these guys. Maybe Ryo… after all he wouldn't be able to see how inadequate she was.