Chapter 7
Today's Saturday. The day Ryouta is supposed to go out with Sakura, and probably the last day of my life...
I brought this upon myself, though. I rarely lose my temper, and seeing Sakura's number on that piece of paper just set me off, so I got rid of it. This is technically my fault.
Anyway, I took Hiromi's advice and at 1:00, I went over to her and Ryouta's house. I brought my Ayumi Hamasaki CD with the song I'm gonna sing on it, and a packed lunch of salmon onigiri, one of my favorite snacks. I walked up to the front door and knocked and sure enough, Hiromi answered.
"Ayumu-chan! It's nice to see you! Come on in, make yourself at home!" she said enthusiastically. No girl has ever been this happy to see me since I became friends with Motoko back in 5th grade! I was really happy.
"Thanks, Hiromi-san!" I responded.
She showed me upstairs to her room and motioned for me to put in the CD.
"Ok! Give it your all, Ayu-chan!" Ayu-chan? Well it's better than the other nickname I received from Sakura...
I shyly began singing, missing a few words along the way. I kept myself focused on Hiromi's expression while I sang. It didn't change much; she seemed content with my voice the whole way through. As the song ended I saw her nod her head and she clapped her hands softly.
"Very good, Ayu-chan! You missed a few words along the way though."
"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that. Sorry." I said.
"It's no problem. You have a few days to work on it. You've got a copy of the lyrics, right?" she asked. I nodded.
"Well, if you look them over once or twice a day and practice, I'm sure you'll do fine!" she said.
"Oh, good." I sighed with relief. Then I remembered that I hadn't seen Ryouta in the house. I thought about asking Hiromi where he was, but I didn't want to pry. Or maybe just a little bit...
"Hey, Hiromi. Do you know where Ryouta is?" I asked quietly, blushing a little when I said his name.
"Yup. He's out with Sakura. Why?" Out with Sakura? How on Earth is this possible? Hiromi doesn't know about Ryouta losing Sakura's number...I'll figure it out.
"No reason. Just curious." I lied. Then I remembered something else. At lunch yesterday, Hiromi got mad at Ryouta for saying he was born a few minutes before her.
"Hey, Hiromi. I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you have some sort of complex about being younger than Ryouta?"
I saw her turn around from her desk and give me a blank stare. Expressionless. Uh oh...
"Well. I...should I tell you this...um.." she struggled.
"Oh! You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable, I guess I'm just prying." I apologized.
"No. I'm not mad. I figured that I'd tell you someday anyway." she said. She step away from her desk and sat down next to me on her bed.
"You know how Ryouta and I are twins, right?" Hiromi asked. I nodded. "Well, when my mom found out she was pregnant, the doctors thought that she was carrying only one child, a boy. Turns out they read the sonogram wrong. When her due date came around, Ryouta was born, and she was left with barely any strength. She was so weak already, that when the doctors found out that she still had another baby inside of her, they feared that she and I wouldn't make it. Well, I did. My mother didn't."
When she finished her story, I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "My dad says it's not my fault, but I'm hated by my mother's side of the family. They say that I'm selfish and I took her life." she said, beginning to cry. "But I don't see how they came to that conclusion!" she broke down. She put her face in her hands, and began crying. I couldn't help but start crying too. I moved closer to her and wrapped her in a hug.
"You're right. That's just a ridiculous conclusion. It's not like you wanted that to happen. You were so innocent, just being born into the world. It isn't your fault. And I'm sure that everyone knows that. Especially your mom. Your mother's side of the family blaming you for her death is just their way of dealing with the pain. Definitely the wrong way to deal with it though. You didn't do anything wrong, Hiromi." I told her, sobbing.
She remained silent, her crying being reduced to sniffled. She still hugged me. After a few minutes, she said I could go home.
As I walked out of her house, I saw Ryouta walk in the door. We stood in front of each other for a few seconds, when I smiled and broke the silence.
"You have great sister, Ryouta-kun."
I left.