Maki hobbled her way back into the living room. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a hoodie, and her hair was pulled up on top of her head in a messy bun. She flopped onto the couch and groaned.
"Okay," Hinawa said, coming into the room. He had swapped his soggy clothes for a pair of warm sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and a towel was draped around his shoulders. "I'm going to put this wrap around your ankle, and then shove a bunch of pillows under it."
"And painkillers?"
"I found some ibuprofen in the bathroom cabinet."
Maki listened as he made her a glass of water to take the pills with. Her ankle throbbed in time with her heartbeat; she peeked over the back of the couch as the lieutenant made his way back to her with a glass of water and a small bottle of painkillers.
"I need to head into town if I'm going to make dinner," he told her.
"Okay."
"Will you be okay by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
Hinawa pulled the towel away from his neck and laid it on the far end of the couch. He picked up a faded raincoat and draped it over his arm. He rubbed the back of his head.
"Try not to move too much while I'm gone," he said.
"Toss me a blanket and I just might be asleep when you come back," Maki told him.
He put his coat down and went off in search of a blanket for her. Maki curled back up into her cozy nook; a home redecorating magazine she had picked up was a few months old and addressed to him.
"Here's a throw blanket," Hinawa said, reappearing with a faded plaid blanket wrapped in his arms. "Please be gentle with it."
"I will."
He handed the throw to her and sighed. "Anything else?"
Maki smiled slightly. "Maybe pick up a magazine?"
"Maki."
"This one is a few months old, that's all."
"If I see a gardening one, I'll get it."
"Thank you."
"Now rest."
Hinawa grabbed his jacket and walked out of the door. Maki snuggled under the throw he had brought her and stared at the magazine in her hands. The throbbing in her ankle was just a dull ache now thanks to the painkillers Hinawa had found.
Maki tossed the magazine down to the other end of the couch and pulled the blanket up to her chin. She nestled into the corner and sighed, a wave of drowsiness washing over her.
So warm.
She remembered how she felt in the lieutenant's arms as he easily carried her back into the beach house with her sore ankle. Her heart had pounded a drummer's beat, and only the cold rain had been able to cool her blazing face.
What are we going to do now? I can't walk at a festival. And now I'm not really in the mood for a visit to a hot spring either.
Maki yawned and rolled over. She couldn't get comfortable with her foot propped up on a half dozen pillows. She grabbed the throw blanket and carefully stood up, wanting to head back to her bed to sleep.
She slowly limped down the hall to her room. The door was open and her bed warm and inviting. But to the left…
The room on her left had been locked since her arrival. She didn't even think the lieutenant had been inside since they arrived. She walked over and jiggled the handle.
"Why does he have this room locked?" she muttered to herself.
She went into her bathroom and searched around for a metal nail file in a drawer. She pulled one out and went back to try and pick the lock.
"I'm too invested in this now."
She wiggled the nail file and heard a small click. Maki tried the door handle and smiled to herself when the door opened.
"I didn't even think that'd work."
She pushed the door open and squeezed inside, careful not to damage anything. She looked around her and smiled.
Hinawa had carefully preserved every inch of his old bedroom — from the multiple frames of academia on the walls to the trophies of team sportsmanship on his shelves. She walked over and looked at a framed photo of a grinning teenage Hinawa with his… father? They look so much alike. She picked up the frame and smiled.
Next to it was a photo of Hinawa as a child holding up a fish as long as he was, missing a few teeth. She giggled — even the stoic lieutenant had his cheesy moments.
She looked at the third photo and felt her chest tighten. It was of him as a toddler with his mother, a wide smile on both of their faces as she read to him from a book about trains.
She looked at his father, and then at his mother. He'd inherited most of his good looks from his father, but he had gotten a few things — his hair color, eye color, and love for life, wherever it may be — from his mother.
"What are you doing in here?" Hinawa asked, his voice surprising her.
Maki jumped. "When did you come back?"
"A few minutes ago. You weren't in the living room so I went to check on you in your room and you weren't there." Hinawa was standing in the doorway behind her, furious. She felt the heat from his glare all the way across the room.
"I-I'm sorry."
"Maki, I keep this room locked for a reason. Even I don't come in here."
"I was just curious. I'm sorry."
"'Sorry' doesn't cut it. You betrayed my trust."
A large lump formed in Maki's chest as she fought back the tears that threatened to spill over. She pushed past him and walked into her room, shutting the door behind her before she began crying.
Seeing the photos of the lieutenant as a vibrant, happy young kid was hard on her. He was so different now than he was then.
Maki sat down on the bed and rolled over, her back to the door. A soft knock came from the other side of her door.
"Maki."
"Yeah."
"Can you open the door, please?"
"I'm laying down. Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"
Yeah, it was. Hinawa twisted the doorknob and opened the door. "I'm coming in."
"Okay."
Hinawa walked over and sat down on the side of her bed. He couldn't look at her; he was too upset about her breaking into his old bedroom.
"Maki, I can explain about the whole bedroom thing," he said.
"It's fine," she said.
"No, it's not."
Hinawa shook her shoulder, trying to get her to roll over and look at him. He needed to see her face. Explain his idiotic actions.
Tell her why his room was preserved so.
"Fine, fine. You got me."
Hinawa laced his fingers with hers. A streak of lightning lit up the sky through the window as his heart pounded. He had to push through the moment and explain everything to her.
"I keep my old room locked up so that nothing would happen to my things. My photos, trophies, all of that are locked up in my old room."
"What, so you don't even look at them? At all?"
Hinawa shook his head. "I have them committed to memory."
"That's stupid."
Hinawa pinched the bridge of his nose. He thought explaining would help Maki understand everything better, but maybe not.
"Your mother was really pretty, you know."
Hinawa sighed and stared at the floor. He hadn't seen that picture of him and his mother in over a decade. When he came back home as a young Hinawa, he slept in the guest room.
The same guest room Maki was sleeping in.
"Yeah, I know. I guess that's why my dad loved her."
"Your dad wasn't bad looking, either."
"Really?"
"You look just like him."
"Shut up."
"But if I had to guess… you take after your mom."
Hinawa smiled. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Maki glanced at their hands, interlocked with one another. She didn't want to say anything to destroy the moment. But she really had to pee.
"Lieutenant, um… can you let go of my hand, please?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah, sure." He quickly released her hand and jumped up. His face turned a bright shade of red.
Maki eased herself off of the bed. She stood there with him awkwardly before hurriedly excusing herself to the bathroom.
If you ever do get this girl, just don't have another disastrous repeat of tonight, he thought angrily, flopping back on the bed as he groaned.
Maki stared at her reflection in the mirror as she washed her hands. She poked at her cheeks, tinged pink from embarrassment.
I don't know him anymore, she thought.
