Hikaru
I picked up the phone as soon as I got to it. "Hello? Sohma residence, may I ask who is speaking?" I said into the phone, waiting for a response.
"Hikaru?" asked a familiar voice. "Hikaru, is that you?"
"Mama?" I whispered.
"Yes, Hikaru," my mother said, sounding annoyed. "Don't you know your own mother's voice?"
"Yes, Mama." My voice came out small.
My mother sighed. "Hikaru, I heard from Satsuki-san that you have a piano recital next week. Are you finally good enough for that? If so, don't mess up. Your father and I will be flying in to visit you and your brother. I don't want to be embarrassed in front of strangers. And why didn't you tell me before? I had to hear from your caretaker. All you could've done was pick up the phone and tell me. Sometimes I wonder about you. Now give the phone to your brother since you're giving me the silent treatment. Unlike you, he's actually promising."
"Yes, Mama," I whispered. I clutched the phone, trying hard not to cry and walked over to Ryuto and handed it to him. They had paused the movie to wait for my but I didn't feel like watching anymore. Once Ryuto took the phone from me, I climbed upstairs and shut myself in my room.
I leaned against the wall and curled into a fetal position. In my head, my mother's words repeated themselves over and over again until I wanted to cry my eyes out. Her words were the bane of my existence, along with my father's. They decided what I should do, where I go to school, and if they wanted, who I would marry. My life was set just by a decision they made and there was no way anyone, not even me, could change it. My brother's life was like that, too, but it seemed like he was favored more I was.
Someone knock on my door. Standing up, I wiped my eyes to make sure I wasn't crying and said, "You can come in."
Unexpectedly, Ludwig came in. "This is your room?" he said, looking around. "It's very neat and organized."
"Thank you," I sniffed.
"Um, are you coming down to watch with us? Everyone's waiting."
I shook my head. "I don't feel like watching anymore," I said. "Sorry."
Ludwig looked at me, his expression full of concern. "Is something wrong? Ryuto said…"
"It's my mother," I blurted. "She's so...she's…I don't know what to do about it…about her." Before I knew it, I started crying in front of him. "She's …they're so controlling…I can't stand it…I have to…"
Suddenly, he pulled me into him. "It's okay," he said into my hair. "You don't have to stand it. Listen, they're still your parents but you can…you can come to me, okay? When you're feeling frustrated, I'll be there for you."
I looked up at him and he smiled, making me blush. Then he reached for my shelf and pulled a tissue from a tissue box and wiped my face with it.
"Ack, hey!" I said as he wiped my tears. "Come on, you're too rough."
"Sorry," Ludwig apologized, smiling at me as I pushed his hands to his face.
I smiled back at him. Abruptly, he leaned down towards me and we kissed. I let go of his hands and wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my face against his chest. For a moment, we stayed like that in peace until Feliciano showed up.
"Do I get a kiss?" he asked us as I pulled away.
I hugged Feliciano and kissed his cheek.
He smiled. "Ve, Hikaru makes me feel so warm," Feliciano said. "She's like my mama. Ah, Ludwig can be like my papa!"
Ludwig and I blushed at the same time.
"Why don't we go downstairs?" Ludwig suggested. "Everyone's probably tired of waiting." He held out his hand to me and I took it. The two of then followed Feliciano downstairs to finish movie night.
A Note from your Author:
You guys are amazing! *laughs* Truly, you are. You make my day soo much! So anyway, in this chapter, we learn a little more about the Sohma twins. They have controlling parents, they live with their caretaker, and Ryuto seems to be favored more than Hikaru. This tends to happen in Japanese families with the boy being more favored than the girl especially if he's the first born. In the case of the twins, Ryuto was born a few minutes before Hikaru. And about the little romantic scene...I'm sorry. I don't write a lot of romance so I'm just breaking it out *laughs* Please enjoy!