Aunt Cass welcomed them both in with a warm embrace. "Oh god, Hiro. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" She gazed into his eyes with a motherly warmth.
"Yeah. I'm okay. And no, I'm not hurt. Just really cold." Hiro answered. He tried to show a smile, but couldn't bring himself to.
"Oh thank god. Then what were you thinking, Hiro Hamada?" she swatted Hiro's shoulder with a magazine. "No note? You know you can't go out after curfew! What if you had been arrested again? You could have at least called when you needed help. It rained for hours! But I can see you knew that." She motioned to his soaked body. Then she huffed and turned to the doughnut display. She took one out and bit into it. Stress eating, Hiro knew.
"Aunt Cass?" He said, sniffling.
"What?" she huffed.
"Can we pretend I already feel really bad. Like, really bad about this. And you don't have to rub it in.." Hiro stared at the floor, willing himself not to cry again. Aunt Cass' look softened.
"Well, I'm just glad you're okay. Go upstairs and take a hot shower and change. Oh, and you're grounded."
"Yes, ma'am. How long?"
"Hmm," she considered it for a moment. "Three days. No computer, no going out. And you have to help me in the cafe."
"Will do," Hiro said as he went up the stairs. He couldn't believe it! He would have gotten a longer sentence for sneaking food out of the cafe! He stopped and listened for a moment. He could hear Aunt Cass and Honey-Lemon speaking in hushed tones.
"Cass, there's something you should know.. About Hiro," Honey-Lemon said. Oh no, Hiro thought.
"What is it dear?" Aunt Cass responded. She sounded worried.
"Hiro... I think... I mean, I know. He's been hurting himself. His arm is full of cuts." Hiro heard his Aunt Cass gasp. A bomb went off in his chest. That was it. Aunt Cass was going to eat everything in the whole damned cafe. The thought made Hiro giggle, then silence himself. That is not a laughing matter, he told himself. He could hear his aunt climbing the stairs. Hiro rushed to the bathroom and locked the door. He turned the shower on and sat on the toilet while he listened. Aunt Cass' footsteps stopped in front of the door.
"Hiro?" she said softly. Hiro didn't respond. "Hiro, we need to talk..." her voice cracked. So did he. He tried to bite his thumb. Scratch his arm. Do anything. But the tears came spilling down his face. It was over. He had destroyed everything in his wake of self destruction.
I think this is where I'm going to establish how much I really loved Aunt Cass. And I hope you all do too. Love as always.
