Ch. 32 Get Ready
"How is he?" Willis asked me.
"He's alive…I didn't really ask," I smiled.
"At least he's not too hurt," Willis said.
"Just his arms, his lower body is fine," I shivered.
"Are you cold?" he questioned.
"It's just, the thought of Tai being hurt really scares me," I replied.
"You said yourself that he'd be ok," Willis reminded me.
"Yeah, so did Tai, but for some reason, I'm still scared!" I started to cry again.
"Oh, Kari, shh…There's no reason to cry," Willis tried to comfort me.
"I-I'm just n-not strong e-enough," I stuttered.
"Cry all you want Kari," Willis took me in his arms and held me.
"Thank you Willis," I whispered in his ear.
"It's nothing," he whispered back.
"This means a lot to me Willis. You are being really caring. You're being careful about what you say. I just don't know how to thank you for helping me through," I looked at him.
"It's just Kari, when you said that Tai was in the hospital…I was really scared, I wanted to cry myself. It's hard to keep them from coming," I could see the tears forming in his eyes.
"You don't need to hold them back," I told him.
"You're so nice and caring," Willis started to cry.
"See, doesn't it feel better now?" I questioned.
"Yeah, it does," he smiled a little.
I walked over to the couch and sat down, Willis followed me.
"This wasn't what I thought it was going to be like," Willis said to me.
"What did you think it would be like?" I questioned.
"I thought I was going to get to know you better tonight," he explained.
"Well, I'm 13, and I have short brown hair. My eyes are a brown-red color. My brother is Tai Kamiya. My full name is Hikari Kamiya. I have some messed up outfits. I go to this place I call the Dark World; I think Ken and I created it. I suffer from depression, and I would once hide my secrets. I have many caring friends. I even have a boyfriend now. I almost died when I was six. I get involved with other people's problems. I try hard and never give up. Oh, and I'm never afraid to show my feelings," I smiled.
"You're great," Willis laughed.
"Are you tired?" I questioned.
"I'm getting there," he told me.
"Is it ok if I just rest my head on your shoulder?" I asked.
"If that's what you want," Willis said.
I put my head on his shoulder and started to cry.
"Just close your eyes, you have nothing to worry about," Willis put his hand on my cheek.
I didn't say anything.
"You don't have to say anything. Just sleep, I'll wake you up when he gets home," he pulled his fingers through my hair.
"Thank you, Willis," I faintly said.
"No problem," Willis slightly kissed me on my head.
I quickly sat up in shock. Willis jumped up.
"I-I'm sorry…I d-didn't mean t-to!" Willis told me.
"It's ok Willis, it's ok," I smiled.
He looked at me confused.
"Let's just sit on the couch and go to bed," I deicded.
"I c-can't believe I-I did th-that," Willis stuttered.
"I promise you, it's ok," I told him.
"I just feel like it wasn't ok," he looked away from me.
"Here, it was," I turned his head to face me.
Willis looked at the ground.
"We're just friends," I quickly kissed him softly on the lips.
He turned bright red and put his hand on his lips.
"It's as easy as that," I smiled as I sat back down.
"I don't understand," Willis was confused.
"Sit down," I said.
Willis slowly sat back on the couch.
I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. "It will always be ok."
I fell asleep on the couch. The next thing I knew, I felt something touching my cheek.
"Willis?" I whispered as I slowly opened my eyes.
To my surprise, I saw Davis smiling at me.
"Hey Kari, Tai's home," he smiled.
"Tai," I softly said.
Willis was still sleeping on the other side. My head rested on his shoulder all night.
"He's in your room, want to see him?" Davis asked me.
"Yeah," I whispered.
Davis reached out and took my hand.
We slowly walked into my room.
"Kari," Tai smiled when he saw me come in.
"How are you doing Tai?" I asked.
"I've been worse," he said.
"What hurts?"
"My arms, legs, stomache…I'm starving!" Tai laughed.
"I'll get you some pizza," Davis decided as he walked out.
"Kari, how are you? I know this whole thing scared you," Tai wondered.
"I can say I've had better days," I said.
"It must have been hard on you. This was the first time I've ever been in the hospital. I guess you know how I feel every time you've been in the hospital," Tai told me.
"The scary thing was Davis calling me up telling me to go to the hospital," I decided.
"When I went after that soccer ball, I was having so much fun, I didn't think anything could ruin that night. I bent down to grab the ball, I saw these bright lights. I turned and looked. For some reason, I didn't want to move, I could have, but I didn't. I held on to the ball and let the car hit me. When it hit me, my first thought was of you Kari, a picture of you flashed in my head. The soccer ball flew out of my hands as I fell to the ground. Kari, I want you to know this…It could have happened to Davis, I don't know if he would of moved, but it could have been him. Davis said that he'll get the ball, I decided that I kicked it that far, so I would get it. I asked the doctors what would have happened if Davis got hit. They said that an impact that hard, he would have never survived," Tai explained.
"Y-you mean D-Davis could h-have died if he w-went a-after the s-soccer ball" I was getting shaky.
"Yeah, but that isn't what went down, I got hit and I survived," Tai stood up and put his hand on my shoulder.
"I better get Willis up," I softly said.
"What did you guys do anyways?" Tai wondered.
"Well, before Davis called, we ordered the pizza and Willis asked me what I did when I was home alone. We rushed to the hospital, I was in tears, Willis comforted me. I called Sora when we got home, and Willis got the pizza. We ate some pizza. I think you called after that. After I got off the phone, we both started to cry. We sat on the couch. I rested my head on his shoulder and started to cry. Then, he…Um…Kissed me on the top of my head. I jumped up, so did he. Willis was all sorry, and I said it was ok. I kissed him on the lips. We sat back down, I rested my head back on his shoulder. After that, I fell asleep, I don't know how long he was up for," I told him.
"How many boys is that now?" he smiled.
I didn't answer.
"There's Davis and Willis, anyone else?" Tai laughed.
"T.K.," I frowned.
"Are you just not sure who you like?" he questioned.
"I'm never sure anymore," I softly replied.
There was knocking on the door.
"Come in!" Tai yelled in a weak way.
The door opened.
Davis walked in, Willis walked in slowly afterwards and closed the door.
"Here's that pizza Tai," Davis smiled.
"Thanks Davis. Willis, Kari said you had an interesting night," Tai turned to Willis.
"It was different," Willis started to blush.
"Did you have fun?" he started to laugh.
"Um…Sure? If having Kari scared to death is fun, then yeah," Willis was confused.
"Kari said you were helping her through, thanks," Tai smiled.
"Isn't Willis a great friend? I wanted to go with Kari, but I just couldn't leave the hospital. He was doing my job when I'm not there!" Davis explained.
"Yes, he did a rather good job," I agreed.
"Well, I'm going to leave you guys alone, I have to call Sora and tell her that I'm home. I have other calls I need to make too," Tai left the room.
"I have something I need to tell you," I looked at Davis.
"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" he questioned.
"My mom doesn't even know about us…She wouldn't have offered you to come over if she did. I guess I should tell her," I said.
Davis sat on the bed, Willis did the same.
"And, I'm scared to tell you this," I frowned.
Davis started to blink a lot.
"I-I…I k-" I started.
"I kissed Kari!" Willis yelled.
Davis looked shocked.
"Then I kissed him," I looked at the ground.
"And your point is?" Davis wondered.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
"For what? One innocent kiss can't hurt anyone!" he started to laugh.
"You mean you don't hate me? But this is the second time I did it," Willis remembered.
"Kari is my girlfriend by her own will, I can't control what she or other people do," Davis smiled.
"B-But, this makes me s-such a bad f-friend," he stuttered.
"I'm fine with it…I think it even helps Kari. She doesn't seem so sure of herself. With every kiss another guy gives her, the more she knows that she likes me. That's what I think anyways," Davis explained.
"That is the exact reason I told Willis it was ok," I jumped in.
"I do have one suggestion Kari," Willis looked at me.
"Um…What?" I was scared to know.
"I think you should tell your mom about you and Davis," he smiled.
"But, she'll never let him come over anymore…And, all that other stuff Davis and I have already been through. I don't think she'd understand," I frowned.
"I didn't mean for you to go up to her and say, 'Mom, Davis and I kiss a lot. Oh, by the way, he's my boyfriend now. I just haven't tol you and it's already been so many days'," Willis joked.
"That would go well!" Davis laughed.
"I guess I should tell her…I'll do it," I decided.
"She's out there waiting for you," Davis smiled.
"Yeah, it's now or never," Willis agreed.
"Ok," I opened the door and left them.
I looked around. Tai was on the couch staring at the phone that he held in his hands.
"Hey Kari," he said not taking his eyes off the phone.
"Tai, what are you doing?" I asked.
"Staring at the phone," Tai still didn't look at me.
"Why?" I wondered.
"I was hoping the doctors would call sooner if I did," he gave me a quick glance.
"The doctors? Why would they call?" I was puzzled.
"They're going to tell me if I'll be able to perform tonight. If I can't, I have to call Matt and tell him to cancel my song," Tai looked worried.
"You never listen to doctors…You always say they lie," I reminded him.
"That was with you, that was because I didn't want to admit you were hurt," Tai explained.
"Just like T.K. said," I remembered.
"Do you want the phone?" he questioned.
"No, I came out here to talk to Mom," I said.
"She went shopping. Why? Can't you talk to me?" Tai wondered.
"Mom needs to know," I looked away.
"Needs to know what?" Tai was questioning me now.
"About Davis and me," I closed my eyes.
"She does," he agreed.
"And she needs to know about you and Sora," I decided.
Tai got tense and looked away.
"Are you scared to tell her?" I asked.
"Uh…Does she really need to know about us? No, she doesn't. It's are lives, and we should live it the way we want to!" Tai smiled.
"She does need to know Tai, she's our mother!" I said.
"You're going first," he was acting like a baby.
"Only if you do me a favor," I decided.
"Um…What's the favor?" he questioned.
"You have to keep something a secret for me," I softly said.
"I can try."
"Promise me you'll keep it a secret."
"I'll only say it if it's for the better."
"Remember how I told you that Willis kissed me, and I kissed him on the lips? Well, I told Davis, and he was cool with it. Of course, I didn't tell him the whole truth, not even Willis knows this. I-I…Um," I stopped.
"What is it?" Tai wondered.
"I kind of liked it," I whispered.
Tai was shocked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I liked it, it felt good. It calmed me down," I tried to explain.
"What about Davis?" he questioned.
"I don't know! That's the problem! I mean, I really, really like Davis. I just don't know. All of these emotions were filling my head. I might have been vulnerable, with you in the hospital, and what Davis said to me, I was mixed up," I frowned.
"What did Davis tell you?" Tai wanted to know.
"I started to leave, then I walked back over to Davis. I kissed him good night. He was going to say something, but instead, he said, I, um, nothing. I knew what he wanted to say, so I told him I, um, nothing him too," I looked away.
"Kari," Tai stood up.
"I know, I shouldn't have, you wanted me to take it slow," I stared at the ground.
He reached out his arm. "Uh!"
"What is it Tai!" I was getting scared.
Tai held his left wrist. "Nothing."
I scanned him. Tai was frowning and he didn't look so good.
"It's just my wrist…I'll be fine," Tai weakly said.
"Is there anything I can get you?" I asked.
"Kari, I can't make you do what I want you too. If you love Davis, I can't make you not. They're your feelings and I can't change them. It hurts to see my little sister growing so fast. You seem to know what you want, I'm never going to stand in your way, not anymore! I want you to live your life to the fullest. I think that's what Sora has been trying to tell me. I never got to thank you and Davis for helping me realize what I need to do. I need to get involved with Sora. I love her so much, I'm just scared to jump in, you know? I want what you and Davis have, but I don't know how to get it," Tai smiled.
"All you need is trust," I folded my arms.
"Mom should be home in a couple of minutes. Are you going to be ready?" Tai questioned.
"I will always be ready," I was expressionless.
The front door opened.
"Here's your chance," he smiled.
I walked over to where my mom was.
"You look like something's bothering you," my mom pointed out.
"I need to tell you something," I said.
"What?" she asked.
"It's about me…And Davis," I told her.
"What about you and Davis?" she sounded annoyed.
"Well, you know that we spend a lot of time together, and we are real good friends, right?"
"Yes, I know."
"Um…Well…We aren't friends."
"Then what are you Kari?"
"He's my…he's my-" I stopped.
"Your what?"
"Davis is my boyfriend!" I yelled.
"I thought you liked T.K.," my mom said.
"What is with people thinking I like T.K.? I don't like him, he just likes me, and anyways, he's with Yolei…And I'm with Davis," I told her.
"How long have you and Davis been going out behing my back?" my mom wondered.
"Since the sleepover I had at Yolei's, that's when I told him I liked him," I frowned.
"Kari, you should have told me. I don't like you keeping secrets."
"Fine! You want to know the truth? We've only had one date. I've kissed him several times on the cheek! Oh, and you can't forget the times we kissed on the lips. You almost saw one too! I love Davis, and he's the best thing that has ever happened to me!" I snapped.
"Do not give me an attitude!" she yelled.
"Oh, now that I'm in a bad mood, I'll do Tai a favor and tell you that Sora is his girlfriend! We're just a big happy girlfriend and boyfriend group!" I started to walk off.
"Stop Kari," Tai said.
"It's not fair!" I started to cry.
"Come on, we have to get ready," Tai took my hand and started to walk towards our room.
He opened the door and walked in still holding onto me.
"That took a long time; how did it go?" Davis asked.
"I snapped, I went crazy. I told her everything!" I frowned.
"Yeah, but now I don't have to tell Mom," Tai smiled.
"Is that a bad thing?" Davis wondered.
"Let's just say, she didn't look too happy," I said.
"At least you told her," Willis thought.
"I told her about T.K. and Yolei too. She thought I liked T.K.," I mumbled.
"Who hasn't?" Davis questioned.
"Um…Izzy! He always knew I liked you!" I smiled.
"But I did," Willis smiled.
"So did Davis…What about you Tai?" I asked.
"I never said that I thought she liked him, but from some of the things I said you can find out that I didn't. Kari would talk about Davis and then I would ask her something about T.K., I never said that I thought she liked him. She always told me that they were just friends," Tai remembered.
"I don't think Cody did, I think he knew about me liking Davis," I said.
"So, what is going to happen?" Davis asked.
"It depends on how my mom took it," I replied.
There was knocking on the door.
"We're about to find out…Come in!" Tai smiled.
"Hi Davis, Willis," my mom smiled.
"Hi Mrs. Kamiya!" Davis and Willis said.
"I was thinking about what Kari told me, and I guess I should talk to all of you guys about this whole thing," she decided.
"Um…Sure Mom, what is it?" Tai looked worried.
"Kari told me that you and her were going out now," she looked at Davis.
"That's right," Davis looked nervous.
"And she told me that you and Sora are going out," Mom looked at Tai now.
He tensed up. "Yeah…Sora and I are going out."
"When were you planning to tell me Tai?"
"R-right after K-Kari was f-finished."
"What about Willis? I have no clue who this boy is," my mom looked irritated.
"He's our friend from America. He came to visit for the week," I answered.
"During a school week! Which, you've missed Friday because you got locked in at the concert hall. Oh, just to tell you, you're not going to be staying out that late anymore," she was angry.
"But, what did we do? We haven't had time to tell you anything, we've been with our friends! We're trying to keep our team together, but you don't seem to care about our friendships! What did we do to deserve this treatment?" Tai yelled.
"Tai, you better behave, if you don't, you'll be staying home tonight. That goes for you to Kari. I have a cooking class to get to. Be home by 10PM," my mom walked out of the room.
"That went well," Davis sarcastically said.
"At least we can stay out until 10," Tai thought.
"Matt will be calling soon, we better get ready," I decided.
"I better get home myself. I don't want my parents to get anymore worried," Davis said.
"Ok, we'll meet you there," I agreed.
"See you later," he left the room.
"I have my clothes together, I'm going to change in the bathroom. You can change where ever. After I'm done, I'm going to call Izzy," I decided.
"Fine by me," Willis smiled.
"Ok Kari, the phone is still on the couch," Tai told me.
"Thanks," I walked out.
I walked into the bathroom and turned on the light.
"I hope Izzy and Mimi are ready," I smiled at myself.
I quickly changed and combed my hair.
"I'll finish at there," I told myself.
I slowly opened the door and walked out.