CHAPTER THREE
Yumi woke up to the sound of an engine start, back out of the driveway and drive off down the road. She sat up and looked around the room, confused about her location but then remembered she was at Odd's but she didn't remember how she got in his room.
The walls were a light blue swirled with a darker blue that looked bumpy and rough but extremely smooth when you ran your hands across it. There was one larger window and on either side of it were two smaller windows, all with a painted black window frame and sill. Across the room was a dresser that was a dark color and came up to Yumi's waist. There was picture frames with old pictures behind the glass and a revolver lying on top of black velvet. A mirror hung on the wall directly above the dresser. To the left of the bed there was a light brown closet door that led into a big walk-in closet. To the right of the bed was another light brown door, but sanded and polished, that lead into the master bathroom.
Yumi brought her legs down over the edge of the king size bed and let her feet tough light blue plush carpet. She realized she was still wearing Odd's clothes and decided that they were more comfortable to wear now than last night when she was wet from the rain.
Yumi was fully awake now though she didn't want to leave the comfort of the warm, soft quilt and blankets. She did anyways because she really had to go to the bathroom and it couldn't wait any longer.
The bathroom was almost all white.
The tiles were a white color with swirls of gold here and there. There was a whirlpool tub in the back right corner with a step going up towards it. In the left corner closest to her was a light golden colored shower that looked like a tub as well. It was rounded and there was a step going into the bottom layer of it and another step in the bottom going up to the top most section. The silver shower head loomed over that layer and as she could see, the bottom layer had three silver drain covers covering up the drains and the walls of the top section had another three silver drains but they went through the wall of the top layer and drained into the bottom layer. To finish up the details of the beauty of the shower, there were plated glass doors that clicked open and close at the push of a button but when inside the shower you had to manually open and close it yourself.
The counter tops were white with many specks of gray and black and the counter itself was a creamy colored stained wood, the handles and knobs an offset and fake gold. The toilet was white, but shined in the crystal-like lighting that was illuminating the entire bathroom. The last detail in the room was the fake gold towel rack. It was simple but held that soft elegance that made the bathroom look and feel complete; whole.
When Yumi had done her business, she returned to Odd's room and took a look around to see if there were other things that she couldn't see from the bed. She first searched the closet and found nothing in there besides for police officer uniforms, several white shirts like the one she was wearing, dress shirts, two tuxedos, and about twenty comical t-shirts. One of the shelves above the bars contained empty boxes and a few stowed away holiday decorations.
When she didn't find anything more of interest within the large closet, she walked out, saw the motion light go out and closed the door behind her.
Yumi then walked to the bed again and got down on her stomach, quickly scanning under the bed before deciding nothing else was interesting under there besides a few balls of fuzz. She made her way across the room to the dresser but didn't take into recognition the many pictures at first. The dresser was wider than what she saw from the bed so there were many more pictures then what she could see.
She began to open the drawers slowly, feeling how they slid in and out with ease. All she found was many pairs of blue jeans, black jeans, black cotton pants which must be his police uniform pants. Her curiosity was settled with what was inside the drawers so she focused her attention on the pictures.
She felt like a little kid just seeing all this stuff for the very first time.
Yumi picked up a few of them and felt the beautifully designed black-dyed framework. Many of the pictures were of their graduation; one was of Yumi from the year she graduated in and of course the many pictures of Odd and Ulrich teasing Sissy. Her attention mainly came around three pictures.
The first picture was of them, the entire gang. It was of her, Odd, Ulrich, Aelita, and Jeremy.
Yumi could remember when the picture was taken and by who. Emily had taken that picture for them on the day that Jeremy had left to go to another private school. Aelita had been heartbroken and Yumi had no idea if they found one another again or not.
The second picture was of Odd holding Kiwi.
That struck her because the day Kiwi had died she was the only one there with Odd.
Kiwi had gotten out of the room again and ran for it. Yumi had seen him first and took after him but couldn't catch him on time before he hit the road and got hit by a mail truck. All Yumi could do was pick up Kiwi and bring him to Odd so he could say goodbye to Kiwi one last time.
Kiwi had died in Odd's arms and Yumi had done what no one else did; keep his dog alive until Odd could let him go himself. That same day they had buried him in the dog park where Odd had always brought him on weekends.
The third picture she took notice to was of Odd again maybe a couple years ago. He was kneeling in front of the police station in town here and he was holding a leash that was connected to the collar of a beautiful German Sheppard. Her fur was a magnificent golden brown with a shiny black fur overlapping the brown on her back. Odd's other hand was around the dog and he was smiling.
Yumi started to wonder about the dog and if she was still in Odd's possession.
When her curiosity of the room was settled, she walked out into the upstairs hallway and saw the spiral staircase leading downstairs. She descended and came to the downstairs hallway and walked to the front door, noticing that Odd's car wasn't there in the driveway and a note was taped to the glass going down the middle of the door. She read it carefully.
"I went to work. I'll be back later tonight around seven or seven-thirty. Help yourself to the food or watch a movie. See you then.
Odd"
Yumi took the note and found her way to the kitchen.
She noticed the granite counter tops first and the tiled floors last. In between those she noticed the stainless steel two-door refrigerator. The left door had an ice and water dispenser. In the back towards the middle of the kitchen was a two-sided stainless steel sink that was completely free of dishes. To the left stood the table and china cabinet. The table was a dark polished wood with two matching chairs that were pushed in. The cabinet was a lighter colored polished wood with two big glass doors and bronze knobs and handles. Inside the glass doors there were good china with flowered designs around the rims. At the bottom of the cabinet were three closed doors that held silverware and dish towels.
There were only four cupboards with a light colored polished wood that held paper plates, regular white colored clay plates, light blue plastic cups and white clay coffee cups like the one she had used the night before. To the right of her was a dishwasher and garbage disposal right next to one another.
To her left against the wall was a walk-in pantry filled with canned, boxed and bagged food. She looked in there and found a bag of chips and took those out. She left the bag clip on the counter and walked to the living room with them and sat down on the couch.
The remote was on the coffee table so she picked it up and turned on the TV. She flipped the channel until she found a channel she liked.
When the TV channel she wanted settled, she saw the time. It was already two-thirty so she had plenty of time to herself before Odd would get home.
Yumi got absorbed in her show and soon her head hit the pillow on the couch. Her eyes became victims of sleep again and soon she couldn't keep them open anymore.
Yumi was asleep in minutes.
When Yumi woke up the next, it was already seven at night. She got up off the couch and checked to see if Odd was home yet. She went to the front door and looked outside but she didn't see his car so she figured he wasn't home yet. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment and she turned away from the door and headed back to the kitchen.
When she got there she heard the phone ring. Since it wasn't her phone, she ignored it and went back into the living room.
She watched TV for the next ten minutes before she heard the front door open and close again.
Yumi got up and nearly ran out of the living room to go and see Odd. When she saw him, he had a solemn look on his face.
"Is everything OK Odd?" Yumi asked him questioningly.
"I found a home for you. It's for girls like you that just got out of an abusive relationship. They'll keep you safe and protected until you can be relocated to a secure home that they can provide for you," Odd answered her, walking past her.
"What?" she asked him, surprised. "Why can't I stay here with you?"
"Because it's not safe," he answered simply, turning to face her. "If Ulrich finds you here you'll be in more trouble. They have an open room and I already offered you to fill it up. It's too late to go back on it. You'll be leaving here next week."
Yumi stood in the hallway, shocked and stunned. Never did she think Odd would do this and send her away. He would always be the one to try and help her but now he was pushing her away. Did she comfort Odd all those times in the past for nothing? Just for this?
Yumi followed Odd into the kitchen and saw him standing by the phone. He was about ready to play the unread message on the answering machine but he noticed Yumi.
"I know you don't want to go. But trust me. You'll be safer there than here. It'll only be a matter of time before Ulrich finds out where you are. Then he'll come crashing through this door and kill you. Maybe even me," Odd said to her, seeing the disappointment flash through her eyes.
Yumi looked down at the floor as Odd's hand reached towards the play button. There was a crackling noise that played for a few seconds before they both heard Ulrich's voice.
"I know you know where Yumi is, Odd. You can block your number but you can't disguise your voice. When I find out where that bitch is, I'll kill her. If I find out you're hiding her, I'll kill you, too."
The message ended there with the hang-up of the phone. Odd looked at Yumi and she looked at him as well, him walking up to her and embracing her tightly.