Chapter 6
Tsume and Hamona got out of the vehicle when they reached the Hidden Hollow apartments. They hadn't talked much during the ride, except for when Hamona had mentioned that her parents could pay for the damage of Tsume's car. Apparently she didn't work, and her parents were paying for her college education. Tsume had been disgusted right away, and had decided to tune her out. He hated rich, spoiled adults. She was 2 years older than him, and probably wouldn't survive a day in his shoes.
"It's on the third floor" He muttered, already annoyed by her footwear. She was in a pretty white dress, and floral high heels. He was sure she'd complain the entire way. To his surprise, she just smiled, and hurried along the stairs, she was breathing heavily by the time they got to the third floor, but no complaints.
Hamona looked around the apartment quietly as he went to his bedroom to get the phone charger, she tried hard not to judge in these situations, but the truth was that she loved snooping around other people's homes. It was where they were vulnerable, it was where things that truly mattered to them were kept. It was surprisingly clean, and she wondered if he lived alone. He had told her that he was 19, almost 20, but it didn't seem like he went to school. He had told her she could sit down in the living room couch, but she had opted for taking off her shoes, and looking around. The living room was small, two gray couches were facing a medium sized television, and small brown table sat in the middle. There were no pictures! She immediately groaned at that, and continued her way to the kitchen.
The even small kitchen was right next to the living room, the table, with 4 chairs was in a corner, and on the opposite side was a refrigerator, the stove and sink, with a small counter attached. She doubted two people could fit in there!
'He must live here alone.' She assumed, noticing that there was no pictures on the kitchen either, no decorations. She briefly considered going down the hall, where she could see he had gone in to the bedroom at the end, but there was two more doors on one side, bedroom probably, and two doors on the opposite side, she could tell one was a laundry room, by the washing machine noises that was coming out of the room. She was completely prepared to keeping snooping, but the bedroom door at the end of the hall opened, and Tsume walked out, with charger in hand. She quickly ran to sit on a couch, though he had clearly seen her.
"Um...did you want water, or something?" He asked, as she had been in the kitchen. He plugged his charger into an outlet by the window, and hoped his phone would charge soon. He was worried that this stranger was insane, and wanted her to leave as soon as possible.
"Oh, I just needed to use the bathroom...sorry."
"It's fine, It's the second door on the left." He answered, and she quickly got up with a smile. He sighed and checked his phone. 2% charged. He could see Hamona really didn't have a purse or a phone, and she had told him her boyfriend had just left her in the parking lot, but he still wondered if she was dangerous. He wanted her to leave before anybody else got home.
Hamona didn't really have to use the bathroom, but she figured she could snoop a bit more, in her mind, Tsume was a serial killer and he probably had 5 girls locked up somewhere in the apartment. Of course, she was known to have a wild imagination. The bathroom was clean, and she hurried and checked her reflection in the mirror. Her long blond hair had seen better days. As she came out of the bathroom, she noticed one of the bedrooms wasn't closed all the way, so she hurried and went inside.
"Aha!" She whispered to herself and pointed to the two beds on opposite sides of the room. One was neat, the bed nicely made, while the other had clothes, books, and a banana? on an unmade bed. There was a lamp table in the middle, and a dresser in from of the beds, by the door, and finally she saw a picture frame. The picture was of 4 young boys, and she quickly recognized Tsume. He was the one wearing a black shirt and giving the baby he was holding a look she already knew quite well. His 'Behave' look. Next to him were two other young boys, all happy. It made her smile, and decide Tsume probably wasn't a serial killer.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah!"
Oh, the look. She sighed as he crossed his arms, and shook his head.
"I was looking for the bathroom?"
"I said the door on the left."
"Oh, I thought you meant...my left."
"What? Whatever. My phone is charged enough. You can try calling, just don't unplug it." She gave him a smile and her awkward laugh, and then rushed outside. She wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible, just in case he was crazy.
"Still no answer" Hamona groaned, after her third attempt. She was feeling restless, especially with Tsume looking at her expectantly.
"Isn't there another number you can try?" He asked, annoyed. His 'good deed of the day' was quickly becoming a big problem. This is exactly why he preferred to avoid people.
"Oh come on, Tsume, I have a cell phone! Nobody memorizes phone numbers anymore!" He rolled his eyes at that, but she had a point. He knew his, and Kiba's. Hamona didn't have a purse or jacket, it's not like she was lying about having no money or means to get back home. She also said she was from Black City, 3 hours away. Her boyfriend really was a prick, and if Tsume ever met him, he'd tell him so.
"Facebook?"
At that idea, she brightened. "You're right, I'll send my dad a message, he's usually fast at answering." At her obvious hope, he felt jealous. How nice to have a father that could make you smile and fix all your problems. He excused himself, to start making dinner, but also so he wouldn't have to see her happy face anymore.
As he quietly made dinner, he thought about what he would do if the young woman couldn't get a hold of anyone. She couldn't stay with them, no. No way. Maybe he could pay for her motel stay-for a night, it's not like they had money to spare, but she was well off, he could tell just by the way she radiated. She could probably pay him back. He sighed, he wasn't going to hold his breath. Still, as he prepared dinner, he made sure to add extra ingredients, for a fifth plate.
There was another bought of silence, as Hamonawaited for her father to send her a message back, or to answer his phone, or call back. This really was the worst day ever.
"You're not a vegan, are you?" The question interrupted her thoughts, as she looked up to see the young man that had asked her the question. He was...handsome. His caramel, gold eyes had softened, for whatever reason.
"No, I'm not. I used to be a vegetarian..."
"What happened?"
"I discovered tacos" She admitted, blushing. "Why do you ask?"
Tsume shrugged, as he went back to the stove. "My brother's girlfriend is a vegan. I try to be considerate."
At that, what seemed like a dinner invitation, Hamona walked over the small kitchen, and watched him.
"So you have a brother." She said, casually, sitting down. He continued to chop carrots, and not look at her. He didn't want to get to know the clearly troubled young woman.
"I have a sister" She offered, seeing as how he'd clammed up, yet again.
"Hm... I have 3 brothers, that I know of" He said, attempting to joke,but just then, his cell phone began to ring.
"It's for me!" Hamona squealed, as she ran to the living room, and answered the cellphone.
"Dad?!" She asked, and was quickly disappointed by the lack of response. She looked at the phone more carefully, and realized that the contact name read, 'Kiba'.
"Oh, sorry, Kiba? Are you looking for Tsume?"
At that, she heard a small scoff from the other end of the line.
"Yeah. Who are you?"
"Give me that!" Tsume groaned, as he took the phone before she could answer.
"Hey man, no, no it's not the neighbor\. It's a long story. Yeah, Oh? Are you sure? Okay...I'll see you tonight then. Bye"
To Be Continued...
