If I only had you – part 3

(Roughly a week after the Luke incident)

Business was booming for some reason tonight. It seemed as if almost everybody in the town was in here drinking and having a good time. This was especially weird because it was raining. We get very little customers when it's raining. I was serving Toby at the counter when I saw Hikari wander in. She waved hello and came up to the spot right next to Toby.

"Anybody sitting here?"

"You are now." Toby said, patting the seat. I always liked toby. He was always very calm and quiet, and never got on to me about serving him the wrong thing. Hikari thanked him and plopped down in the chair.

"Do you know why so many people are here tonight?"
"Beats me." I answered, fixing a cup of café au late. I brought it over and set it down on the counter right across from her.

"Actually, Luke was telling everyone to gather here tonight. I don't know why, he just came running by the docks saying to be at the bar by ten." Toby said, taking a bite of his flounder. At the mention of Luke's name, I tense up. I notice that Hikari does as well, although she seems a bit more relaxed than me.

"Luke, huh? I can only wonder what he has to say." I mutter, walking back towards the stove. The digital clock on the oven showed nine fifty-two, so he would be here any moment. And sure enough, when the clock turned to nine fifty-three, the doors swung open and Luke sauntered in. I was a bit surprised that he was early, just because he's such a klutz and is normally late to everything that's not a meal.

He made his way slowly to where Selena was dancing, saying hello to everyone on his way. I felt like I was about to throw up. I could already tell that this wasn't going to be good news, at least not for Hikari and me.

I looked over at her, to see if she noticed him yet. She was sipping her Café au late however, pretending not to notice him. Or maybe she hadn't seen him yet. I couldn't tell if her acting was outstanding, or if she truly was being oblivious to her surroundings.

I decided not to say anything though, and directed my gaze back at Luke. He had made his way to the stage where Selena dances, and had jumped up to join her. He took the karaoke mike and tapped on it, gathering everyone's attention.

"Can I have everybody's attention for a minute? Listen up!" he said obnoxiously into the mike. Everyone slowly stooped their idle chit-chat to turn to Luke and Selena. It made me sick, seeing the two of them together. Hikari had also averted her gaze from her drink to the stage. She looked somewhat annoyed, but that was about it.

"Alright everyone! I, I mean, Selena and I have a big announcement to make!" Whispers erupted from the crowd, people guessing as to what the big news is. I could only brace myself for what was next, for how the announcement would affect Hikari.

"Hush up people! Selena and I… Are going to be parents!" He beamed, pulling Selena into him. It took a moment to register with everyone before they started clapping and congratulating them. However, I could only stand there in shock. It had only been a week, and yet another blow had just been dealt to Hikari.

I came to my senses and turned to Hikari. She had looked so calm and collected just moments before, but now she looked mortified. The hand that was holding her Café au late was trembling, and she looked defeated. I whispered her name, but she didn't respond. I called her name again, a bit louder this time. She came to her senses as well, and dropped her cup.

The cup shattered on the floor, splattering the coffee everywhere. The room stopped the celebration and turned to Hikari. Her face tensed up upon looking at Luke. She looked furious, yet hurt at the same time. She jumped out of her seat and stormed out of the bar.

Nobody said anything. They didn't know what to say. I, however, had plenty to say. How could they celebrate Luke cheating? How could they celebrate him having a child out of marriage? I was furious now too, and Hikari wasn't here to calm me down like last week.

I ran up to the stage and punched Luke as hard as I could. The crowd gasped as he was sent flying across the stage and into a table. I think Selena tried to say something, but I couldn't hear her. I could only hear my unsteady breaths and the blood pulsing through my ears, I was seeing nothing but red and the pathetic excuse for a man that was Luke.

"Do you even know how much you meant to her? Do you know how heartbroken she was when she walked in on you and that whore sleeping together!" My voice was getting louder and louder, and my questions started turning into accusations. Luke was slowly sitting up, looking surprised. That made me even more pissed off. I pushed Selena out of the way. Storming over, I grabbed Luke by the collar of his short and lifted him off of the ground.

"How could you do that to Hikari? You never deserved such a beautiful woman such as her. After you apologize profusely to her, I never want to see you around her ever again, or I will fuck. You. Up." I seethed. He still had that pathetically dumb look on his face, so I shoved him into the table again.

I began to run out of the inn when Kathy grabbed my hand.

"Hold on shug! Just what on earth are you talkin' bout?" Kathy asked for everybody. I pulled my hand away, looking up into the confused faces of the whole town. Did they not know? How could they not notice when it was so painstakingly obvious. I pointed my finger at the scum who was attempting to stand up again.

"That monster cheated on Hikari. She walked in on those two doing it on their one year anniversary. And don't even start with all the, 'ohhh I didn't know!' or, 'Luke and Hikari were dating?', because I won't stand for it. He broke her poor heart, and I don't care what their current relationship was at the time. He hurt her, and I'll never forgive him." I snapped. Kathy retracted her hand, a look of rage spreading over her face. She turned to Luke and began to yell as well. Pretty soon, the entire town began to realize what I had said and began to turn to Luke and Selena.

I didn't stay for any of it though. I bolted out the door and into the rain. I frantically looked all around for her. The only place that she would most likely be at would be home or with her animals, so off to her farm I ran.

My feet thundered against the ground as my legs pumped back and forth as fast as they could. Her farm quickly came into view, and I gave my legs a last burst of energy. I went straight to the door and began pounding on it. Her night-light was on, so I knew she was inside.

"Hikari! Hikari, please! It's me Chase! Please open up!" I yelled through the door. She wasn't answering, and I slowly began to calm my knocking. I stopped all together, and rested my head on her door.

"I'm so sorry… you never deserved him. I never thought you did. I've been jealous from the first time I heard you two were going out. Hikari… the truth is… I was jealous because… ughh! Damn it Hikari, I love you! Why couldn't you see that? Why couldn't you tell that I've been hopelessly in love with you ever since I met you? Why…" I lifted my now hot face and stared at her door. After another minute, I sighed and turned around to leave.

I had just made it off the porch when I heard the door swing wide open. I turned around and saw Hikari dashing out towards the pouring rain. She flung herself at me, throwing her arms around my shoulders and pressing her lips against mine. I quickly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to me, pressing my lips back onto hers.

"Chase… Why… Why couldn't I… Have chosen you… from the start…" She gasped, barely taking her lips away from mine to speak. Her hands wandered up into my hair and mine found their way into her shirt. It was freezing outside, but her skin was so warm. This felt so natural, so right. It felt like we were perfectly made for each other.

"Hikari… I love you so much. And I'm so sorry…" She cut me off my smashing her lips onto mine and lightly biting my lower lip. I quivered in ecstasy, pulling her even closer as a result. She stopped for just a moment, pulling back just a bit so she could look me in the eyes. She was drenched, but in this moment she had never looked so radiant.

"Don't apologize. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry I never noticed that you felt that way for me. The truth is… I felt myself growing away from Luke. I knew it was coming to an end, but I hadn't realized that it was because I was falling for you. I… Love you too Chase. And I'm sorry it took me so long to figure it out!" She whispered, tears slowly beginning to trickle down her cheeks. I leaned in and kissed them, gently licking the salty sadness off of her face.

"Don't apologize to me Hikari. You don't have to say anything, just stay here with me. Just stand here with me like this for a while longer… then we can deal with everything." I brought my hand up to the back of her head and pulled her in so that she was resting on my shoulder. Her walls finally broke down, and she began to sob.

We stayed like that for a while, Her crying out all of her emotions that she had been holding in and I standing there supporting her. She had balled her hands into fists and began to punch me while screaming out awful things about Luke, but I still continued to hold her. I held her until she could cry no more, until her body finally gave out and she fell asleep in my arms. I quietly scooped her off of her feet bridal style and carried her inside.

I laid her gently onto the bed and pulled the covers over her. I began to leave, but her hand reached out and lightly tugged on the hem of my shirt. I sighed as I climbed into the bed with her, wrapping my arms around her. We both fell asleep like that, both soaking wet and huddled close together to keep warm.

She was finally away from that monster, and I was right beside her. I finally had the one I loved.

One season later

It was a slow day at the bar, pretty much like any other day. Selena hadn't shown up since that night a season ago, either due to her being ashamed of her behavior or because of her inflated stomach. Either way, I was glad I didn't have to see her again.

"Welcome Shug!" Kathy sang as the door jingled open. It was Hikari, who looked happier and brighter than ever. She said her hellos to Kathy, but made a b-line for her usual seat at the bar. I already had her café au late ready, and brought it over to her.

"Hmmm…. Not too bad. But I think my boyfriend could be a little faster about bringing my daily drink out." She chuckled, taking a sip. I laughed as well, leaning over the table and giving her a quick peck on the lips. She giggled like a small child; a little quirk that I thought was absolutely adorable.

"I'll do better tomorrow, I promise." I chuckled as well, turning around to start getting the ingredients for her lunch. Kathy and Hayden both stared at us with such amusement, excited that they have a new piece of gossip to spread. I asked her out a week after the whole Luke incident cleared up, and of course she said yes. We just recently began showing affection in public though, so we were still the 'hot new couple' in town.

"You two are absolutely the cutest together! I just love yall'!" Kathy squealed, running over to Hikari and throwing her arms around her. They proceeded to talk about me as Hayden came behind the bar with me.

"You did really good Chase. You did well." He spoke, patting me on the shoulder.

"Thank you Hayden. And I know." I whispered, gazing over to her. She looked so happy, like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

"I know."