Chapter 4
It's a sunny day today—a contrast to the cold weather last night. I am greeted again with a horrible headache that reminds me of my past; but not completely. I must have fallen asleep on the couch again, I think. My throw pillows are a mess on the floor and all my books are right where I've tossed them two days ago.
I groan as I get up. Suddenly, my phone breaks the silence in the room. I look at the caller ID and see Suzuna's name on the screen.
"Suzuna." I say with a hoarse voice.
"Misaki."
That was all it took for me to catch my breath. My hands feel cold as I hear her voice again.
"Honey, it's me."
I know. I almost answer back. I fight the sob threatening to come out of my throat. She sounds just like her old self. Soft and serene but tired. As if the world had worn her out.
"Hi, mom." I muster a reply.
I hear her sigh of relief and I know she is smiling. I can almost picture her weary smile as the sides of her eyes wrinkle.
"How are you?" She asks.
"I should be asking you that."
She laughs a little before responding. "Well, we wouldn't have to ask each other if you visited me often."
I know she is joking but I can feel a sense of longing in her voice. I clear my throat a little.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to go see you without bringing you good news." I answer. My feet are still planted on the same spot after waking up.
"Misaki, the only good news I need is knowing you are well." She says.
My heart sinks again. She has always been so good to me. No matter how many mistakes I've made, she's still so good to me.
My tears spill as I sink to the floor. I put the phone away to cover my silent sobs.
I remember when I frequently got in trouble in school for arguing with the other students. People have always regarded me as the troublemaker in the family. I pick fights with other boys. I'm loud. I'm untamed. Teachers and other parents would come to my mother and scold her for whatever I did and she would constantly bow apologetically.
'This is what happens when you don't have a father. There's no one to discipline these children. So embarrassing.' They would say.
My mother did her best to raise two daughters alone without the help of any man. I only ever picked fights with those who belittled me for being a woman in a male-dominated school. I got told what to do and what not to do because of who I am and my family background. Mom understood what I was standing up for which is why she was so tolerant of me and forgave my troublesome self.
She paid the cost.
"Honey? Are you still there?" My phone goes.
I sniff a little and answer, "Yep, I'm here." I say with a shaky voice. "I'll visit you soon mom."
"That's great. I miss you terribly, dear. What have you been up to?" She starts. I know she is trying to make small talks with me to lighten the mood and I let her. It has been a while since we talked. I mostly just avoid any calls from her because I hate the feeling of not being able to do anything. But now, it seems like a good time for a small conversation.
We talk for a while before I realize I have to prepare for work.
"Hey mom, I'll just call you back tomorrow okay? I need to go to work." I tell her.
She giggles softly.
"It's been a long time since you said you'll call me back. Last time you said it, you never did." She says.
I frown and my head dunks a little.
"I'm sorry," I whisper.
"No need to be upset. Mom just misses you. Now get to work, dear." She reassures me.
We say our goodbyes and I promise again that I'll call back and this time, I mean it.
Heading to work with a headache is not the best mood to have in this beautiful weather but I push through despite the pounding in my temples. I come in an hour before my shift as I need to make up for the little stunt I pulled yesterday to avoid Usui Takumi only to see him back home and enter his apartment.
I sigh as I put on my maid uniform and take a pain reliever to soothe the pain in my head. Manager Satsuki sees me massaging my temples and pats my back.
"Are you alright, Misaki? Are you still feeling unwell?" she says over my shoulder.
I put on a smile and assure her that I'm okay. I can't be sick especially since I just started working.
"The headache just comes and goes. Happens all the time but it's nothing to worry about manager." I say as I hide the medicine in my locker.
"Well, you can't be slacking off. We have an event today so we're expecting the place to be packed." Honoka emerges from the back door and heads over to her locker.
"Now, now, Honoka. Don't be too hard on our newbie." Erika follows her.
Manager Satsuki smiles apologetically at me and I smile back. "We're going to be very busy but feel free to tell us if your headache comes back again, alright?" she says.
I nod but I have no intention of slacking off. I manage a quick bow to Honoka before going to the kitchen.
The place was indeed packed with customers both regular and new ones. It's Maid Latte Card day and the customers get to play with the maids. If they win, they get to choose a prize from our pool of prizes. It's no surprise that the regular customers do the challenging. Every week, it's a different event and they look forward to it all the time.
One customer has requested a game with me and I oblige. It was a quick one and I finish it without breaking a sweat.
"Wow, Misa-chan is really good at this. I was hoping to get a picture with you as a prize but I guess that's not happening today." The customer smiles shyly.
"I'm sure you'll get another chance next time, Master." I smile my signature Maid Latte smile and leave their table. Heading back to the kitchen, I see Erika taking her 5-minute break.
"You're relentless, Misaki. I don't think any of the customers who've challenged you have won a single game." She chuckles.
"I can't help it. These things really bring out the competitiveness in me." I scratch my head ruefully.
Erika shakes her head a bit. "Well, they do seem to adore that side of you."
The day goes by like a blur and before I know it, it's closing time.
"Wow, I'm beat! The customers just don't stop coming in." Honoka slides down on a chair and gulps a glass of water.
"Certainly. It's the most we've had this month." Erika sits beside her.
Manager Satsuki comes in the staff room beaming. "Today was a success! You girls did amazing! And I've had a couple of good comments about our Misa-chan over here. It's seems you're going to be a new favorite." She winks at me and I feel slightly embarrassed.
"Keep that up and you'll be Maid Latte's top Maid in no time." Erika adds.
I hear Honoka's loud scoff. "I haven't retired yet, you know."
"I don't think so Erika-san." I try to butter up to the blond woman beside her. "Besides, Honoka has way more experience than me. I have much to learn."
I can feel Honoka smile proudly. "Maybe I should teach you some tips then?"
"That would be much appreciated." I reply.
We talk as we clean up the shop and prepare to head home. Manager hands me the keys I left yesterday due to my rather lack of level-headedness. I offer to be the last one to leave so I can lock up and as I turn off the last lights, I feel a presence behind me.
I quickly shove the key in between my fingers and form a fist as I prepare my body for defense until—
"Ayuzawa?"
My movements are immediately halted. That deep voice that drowns my thoughts – all too familiar but strange at the same time. I turn around and see him with wide eyes, hands on his pockets.
"Usui…" my voice comes off as a whisper.
"You're just going home? It's pretty late." He says as he nears me.
I take in his handsome features under the moonlight. His eyes twinkle a bit as he closes the distance between us. It takes me a minute before I could process his words.
"I-I was just about to leave. We had a busy day and I offered to lock up the shop." I manage to say.
This may sound cliché but he does look like a prince charming, straight out of a fairytale book. He's wearing a navy blue sweater and faded jeans. On his right hand, three thin silver bracelets are layered and a watch on the other.
He scratches the back of his head rather timidly. "Do you want to go home together? I was just on my way."
I'm stunned again. My heart races and I try to suppress the heat creeping up my face.
"Sure, I guess." I say.
The walk was fairly quiet. A part of me wants to speak to him but a part of me loves the silence of the moment. A few minutes go by until he clears his throat to start a conversation.
"Do you always come home this late?" he says.
I look at my watch and realize it's already past 9 o'clock.
"Not really. We had an event today and got a bunch of customers coming in. I mean, it was fun but everyone was exhausted by the end of it." My hands cling to my bag as I try to match his steps.
Silence again. My insides are battling whether I should keep the quiet mood or the conversation going. The urge to hear his voice again won and so I speak.
"I didn't see you today." I blink and realize what I had just said a little too late.
"Oh? I didn't know you were expecting me." I can hear the smugness in his voice and I warm up from embarrassment.
"N-no, I just—well, the other staff members were saying you're a regular customer and I just thought you'd be there but I wasn't really expecting you at all." I say in one breath.
He chuckles a bit louder than what I'm used to hearing from him and he smiles at me. "I went to see my mother."
I whisper a silent "oh."
"Why does she not live with you?" I pry.
"My mother doesn't like high places." He simply answers.
Our apartment complex isn't even a high-rise building. It only has eight floors and we live on the fifth floor.
"Is she scared of heights?" I push my luck and ask more. I can't help it. I want to know more about him.
He inhales deeply and shrugs his shoulders. "Something like that."
The sky is a painting of only dark blue. The stars are barely visible in the city and only the moon and streetlights illuminate our path. It's a quiet walk again. I take a quick peek at him. He's walking rather cautiously beside me but he doesn't lessen his strides. Even though we're only an arm's length from each other, I suddenly want to remove the distance.
His hands are still in his pockets. He has a habit of looking down at his feet as he walks.
"You're going to bump into something if you keep walking with your head down." I warn him.
He looks a bit surprised and then suddenly give me a smile so genuine that I almost stopped in my tracks.
"W-what?" I stammer in embarrassment.
He breathes in deeply and exhales. "I don't know. I just remembered something." He says with a hint of sadness.
I blink a couple times. I was about to ask him what he remembered when he stopped walking.
"We're here." He says. I look ahead and see that we've reached our apartment. Have we really reached home? How did we arrive so quickly? "You go on ahead. I have to drop by at the store."
I feel disappointed as I was looking forward to the maybe three more minutes of riding the elevator with him but I decide not to dwell on it. I'm lucky enough to live in front of his apartment.
We say our goodbyes and I head on first but not before stealing a glance at his back as he walks away. Suddenly an image appears on my mind of a man walking away as I lay on the pavement. It's a hazy picture almost dreamlike and unreal.
I clench my temples as pain shoots through making my knees weak. Black spots appear in my vision and I brace myself for the impact.
A/N: Here we are exactly two years after the last update. Forgive me! I was in a bad place for a while but I'm trying my best to really finish this one. Please leave reviews! xoxo