I Need You
by Phantasy Star
- - - - -
Chapter Two
"You two know each other?" the old woman asked.
"I guess you could say that," Serena said defiantly.
"Hmph," Darien responded.
"Anyhow, please come in," the hostess said as she let them step into the huge
house.
"Oh, I've been so rude," Serena said, taking off her shoes, "I haven't even
introduced myself. My name's Serena."
"Oh dear me," the old lady said, "I've forgotten as well. You can call me Mrs.
Muriel."
"I'm Darien."
Mrs. Muriel smiled and led them to the large living room, with the longest and
most beautiful table Serena had ever seen. She gasped when she saw the the
huge turkey, pies, casseroles, and chicken stew in front of her.
"So, you met Darien only this morning as well?" Serena asked, trying to
distract herself from all the food.
"Why yes," she said, "He stopped and fixed my car when I was having some
trouble, you see."
Serena raised an eyebrow at Darien's direction, "That's not like him."
Darien ignored her, "Where are the two children, Mrs. Muriel?"
"Four," the old woman corrected him, "They'll be coming downstairs shortly.
Meanwhile, please have a seat."
Serena and Darien made sure to sit as far from each other as possible, both of
them refusing to catch the other's eye.
"Come, children!" Mrs. Muriel suddenly yelled, making Serena and Darien jump,
"Dinner's ready!"
Almost immediately, four girls tumbled excitedly down a staircase in the next
room and ran into the living room.
"Hi hi!" the blonde one shouted.
"Introduce yourselves," Mrs. Muriel said proudly.
"I'm Ray Ray," the one with dark hair said with a smile. "I'm the oldest."
"Amy..." the shy one with the glasses said, hiding behind the others.
"I'm Li Li," the tall one said confidently. Serena remembered that she was
the mischevious one hiding in the tree trunk.
"And I'm Mina!" the one with the red bow announced.
Mrs. Muriel grinned and nodded, "Now then, let's have dinner!"
- - -
Throughout the night, Serena and Darien talked to the girls about their school
work and their friends. Serena couldn't help enjoying herself, and she stole
a look at Darien once in a while to see that even he was laughing often,
obviously enjoying the children's company.
After dinner, the girls disappeared back upstairs, asking Serena and Darien to
go up to play with them later.
"Wonderful girls, aren't they?" Mrs. Muriel murmured.
"Oh yes," Darien said, "Very energetic."
"And well-behaved too," Serena commented.
"It's truly unfair how they ended up here," Mrs. Muriel said, "I found them in
a little basket at my doorsteps five years ago. No note or anything - except
a piece of paper with their names. How could any parents not want these
little ones?"
"That's terrible," Serena said sadly.
"Of course, with all the money my husband left me when he went to Heaven many
years ago... I didn't have any trouble taking care of the girls. If it were some
other strangers, the children may not have such a comfortable home right now."
Darien nodded his agreement, "I guess things worked out after all."
Mrs. Muriel stood up, "Well, it's late, and I'm sure you young people have
things to do, people to see. So I'll let you go."
"Should we say goodbye to the girls?" Serena asked, glancing at the staircase.
"It's all right," Mrs. Muriel said with a twinkle in her eye, "Just remember
to visit often."
Darien smiled, "We will."
- - -
"Poor girls," Serena sighed as they stepped out into the cool night air, "It
must be awful to grow up without parents."
Darien flinched visibly. "I... I suppose."
"If I could have one wish, it would be that everybody be able to grow up with
a mother and father."
Darien looked away. "Well, Meatball Head, sometimes things don't always work
that way."
Serena glanced at him curiously, "I guess so..."
He stared straight ahead and didn't say anything for a moment. Then he
turned and looked down at her almost affectionately, "You've got a good heart,
Serena, you know that?"
Serena blushed.
They came to an intersection, both of them stopping.
"Well, I'm going that way," Darien said.
"I guess this is where we part ways," Serena giggled, "I'll see you around."
"'Bye," Darien replied.
Serena walked off, then heard Darien call after her.
"When do you want to visit Mrs. Muriel again?" he asked.
"I don't know," Serena yelled back, "Next Friday?"
He grinned, and shouted, "Okay. I'll give her a call."
- - -
Serena sat on her bed and smiled. He could be sweet sometimes.
He had a good heart too, she realized. She imagined him stopping and helping
Mrs. Muriel with her car, like some big hero.
She sighed and lay herself on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She almost
couldn't wait to Friday, when she could go see Mrs. Muriel and the girls again.
With Darien.
Boy she must be feeling lonely to want to see HIM.
- - -
"Mrs. Muriel!" Darien shouted as he pounded on the door, "Mrs. Muriel, are you
there?"
Serena stared at the closed door worriedly, "Relax, Darien. Don't break it
down."
"That's strange..." Darien said, "I called her yesterday and she said she'd
love to have us over."
"What should we do?" Serena asked.
"I don't know," Darien muttered, "I think we should make sure she's all right."
Serena nodded.
"I have an idea," Darien said.
- - -
"Boy, Meatball Head, you're heavy!" Darien exclaimed.
"Quiet, you!" Serena snapped at him.
He was holding her by the waist, boosting her up so she could see through a
window and inside the large house.
"Um, Serena," Darien said uncomfortably, "You're sliding."
"I can't see anything," Serena complained, then gasped.
"What, what's wrong?" Darien asked.
Serena suddenly let go of the window sill and crashed down on Darien.
Darien blushed bright red to find her on top of him, with his arms wrapped
around her waist tightly. He quickly let go.
"I don't think this is a good position we're in..." he began with an
embarrassed chuckle.
But she didn't hear him.
"Mrs. Muriel!" Serena whispered urgently, "She's fainted on the floor!"
- - -
"We'll be taking her to the hospital," the paramedic said, "Meanwhile, we need
you two to look after the four kids."
"Of course," Darien said, eyes filled with worry.
He stood with Serena at the front door, watching as the team of paramedics took
Mrs. Muriel out on a stretcher.
"What happened to her?" Serena whispered, staring as they hauled the old woman
into the ambulance and closed the door.
"A stroke," the paramedic answered, "It's pretty serious, but she'll live."
"Oh my gosh..." Serena said softly, and let Darien put a hand on her shoulder.
"She'll be okay," he said gently, "Haven't you noticed how strong she is?"
Serena nodded numbly.
"We should check on the girls then," Darien said.
- - -
"where's Grandma?" Lita asked, "Where is she? Is she okay?"
Amy and Mina were crying on the floor.
Raye put her arm around Lita, looking down on the floor worriedly.
"Sh, it's okay," Serena said, giving Amy and Mina a hug, "She'll be fine."
Then even tough Lita bursted into tears.
"Come on," Darien said, "Let's go upstairs. You said you wanted to show me
your kitchen play set."
Lita nodded through her tears, "Okay, let's go."
- - -
"Are they asleep?" Darien asked as Serena came out of the bedroom Amy and
Lita shared.
"Yeah," she said softly.
"Shouldn't you tell your parents that you're out here?" Darien asked.
"It's okay," Serena said, "Mom and Dad are in America. Dad got a major
business offer down there and he's going to try to make a job out of it.
Going to be gone half a year."
"Oh I see," Darien said.
"what about you? You need to call?"
Darien shook his head. "No. I... I live alone."
Serena stared at him. Then she realized why he had reacted so strangely when
they were talking about parents before - he was an orphan as well.
"Darien, I'm sorry," she said, wrapping her arms around him.
He smiled, "It's all right, Meatball Head. My parents died almost fifteen
years ago, when I was six. I've gotten over it."
"Still, you didn't deserve it," Serena said, "You must have been so strong to
get through it."
Darien looked at the top of her head, almost wanting to wrap his arms around
her.
RING! RING!
Serena gasped and detached herself from Darien.
"Hello?" he said as he grabbed the phone.
"Is there a Darien Chiba there?" the woman on the other end said.
"Yes, this is him."
"Hi, I'm a doctor at Tokyo Centre Hospital. Mrs. Muriel woke up a few
minutes ago and asked me to call you. She'd like you and a girl named
Serena to take care of her children until she's out of the hospital."
"O... Oh, I see," Darien said dumbly, "May I talk to her?"
"I'm afraid not. She fell unconscious shortly after giving me the message,
and hasn't woken up since. Oh, she also told me to tell you this: Look in
the back cupboard of the laundry room."
"All right, thank you."
He hung up, his hand grasping the receiver firmly as he looked down at it,
deep in thought.
"what is it?" Serena asked.
Darien turned to her.
"Mrs. Muriel wants us to take care of the girls until she recovers."
Serena stared back at him.
"Well..." Serena said, worry written on her face, "Okay."
