Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura belongs to the wonderful CLAMP, not me. (How I wish...)
Sensei, I Love You
Chapter 18
Sakura was surprised when Eriol brought her back to Syaoran's house. He stopped his car outside the gates and looked at the beautiful house for a few seconds before turning his gaze to her. She almost shrank against the passenger door but she forced herself to remain calm. She didn't want to show her weakness in front of him.
She watched as he slid his seatbelt off and she did the same thing with jerky hands. "Pack your things. We have to leave as soon as we can," he ordered, reaching over to the passenger door to open the door for her. She sucked in a breath at their closeness and scrambled out of the car when she got the chance.
"Why?" She shouted her question while she bent low so that she could see him.
"I said I'll explain it but now is not the best time. You need to hurry," he urged.
"But why should I pack my things? Sensei said that it is all right for me to live with him!" Sakura was close to hysterics. Where would she go if she couldn't live with Syaoran? She couldn't just waltz into Tomoyo's house and request for lodgings. She just couldn't trouble Tomoyo again. She mentally counted the little money she had saved from working over the weekends. Still, it wasn't enough for her to rent a small room for a few days. "Why?"
"I will only be able to explain a little. Syaoran will be the best person to explain it to you but as you know, he is held back by the meeting. So could you please believe me—us—when I say that this is the best choice for the moment?"
"Meeting? What meeting?"
"And she asks even more questions…" Eriol muttered and shut his eyes briefly to control his temper. They didn't have much time to waste bantering over little things. "Just pack!" he bellowed and that sent Sakura skittering into the house.
Since she didn't have many things to begin with, she packed easily. The room was cleared within as little as ten minutes. With the two big bags in her hands and her precious picture frame secured safely in one of the bags, she trudged down the stairs and flew out of the door. Eriol was waiting at the boot of the car and he motioned for Sakura to quicken her steps.
"We'll be heading to the hotel," Eriol explained after both of them got into the car. "You'll probably be staying there for a few days until everything dies down a little."
"What thing?" Sakura urged, hoping he would divulge more information.
"I'm wondering if you are dense. Do you really think a teacher's salary would allow Syaoran to buy a house as grand as that?"
Sakura blinked. She knew she thought about that before but she never brought the subject up. If Syaoran wanted to say, he would say it on his own without her prodding. "I'm not stupid."
"Well, I'm glad you're not," Eriol replied with a slight grin. It was just a twitch on the corner of his mouth but she spotted it nevertheless.
"So? What has it got to do with me having to stay in a hotel which I cannot afford?"
"I'll leave that to Syaoran to explain," Eriol said. He didn't want to mess with Syaoran's plans if things didn't work out the way they should.
Being alone with Eriol was unnerving, especially when he was still considered as a total stranger to her. Even though he had taken care of her while she was sick, it was due to Syaoran's pressure that Eriol did it. Besides, she hasn't seen him since that time.
Sakura took a peek at Eriol and found him totally absorbed in the news being broadcasted on the TV screen. Other than the melodious voice of the newscaster, the room was quiet—so quiet even the whirling of air-condition seemed so loud to her.
"And she stares as if I didn't have an inkling of what she's doing," Eriol muttered suddenly. He turned his gaze from the TV to her, and watched as her face brightened before turning her eyes away hastily. "What do you want from me?"
"Nothing!" Sakura blurted out, shifting further to the other end of the sofa and away from Eriol.
Eriol switched off the TV and turned to face her. She knew he was watching her from the prolonged silence between them. "You have been staring at me for the past hour and you say there's nothing? Or perhaps you have fallen for my charms?"
"W-what? No!" Sakura cried out.
Digging out his cell phone from his suit pocket, he punched some numbers into it. "I should gloat about this to Syaoran. It would be fun to watch his expression."
"No!" Sakura lunged forward to snatch Eriol's phone away but he kept it out of reach easily.
"If you don't want me to let him know, tell me."
Sakura crossed her arms in defiance and sat back on the sofa. "I didn't know you are such a mean person!"
Eriol rolled his eyes. "There're lots of things you don't know about me. Lots."
A vein ticked on Sakura's forehead upon hearing Eriol's sarcastic remark. Sakura picked up the remote control and turned on the TV, totally ignoring Eriol as she selected a movie channel. She heard Eriol sighed and then felt the sofa shift a little as he got up and headed to the bar counter. He returned with two glasses of drink and handed one glass filled with pinkish liquid to Sakura.
"What's this?" Sakura asked, not wanting to accept anything from the annoying man.
"Just sparkling juice," Eriol replied. "I can't give alcoholic drink to minors."
"Thanks," Sakura murmured and waited until Eriol sat on the other end of the sofa before sipping her drink. Her lips froze on the rim of the glass as the scene in the movie caught her attention. Her grip on her wineglass tightened, threatening to break the fragile glass into millions of tiny pieces. She suddenly felt very cold and she was trembling. She heard Eriol call her but she couldn't turn her attention away. She couldn't hear anything except the screeching of tires, the shattering of the wind shield and windows and the screams of her family members.
No… It can't happen!
Otou-san!
Oka-san!
'Nii-chan!
Sakura screamed.
Her feet were unsteady as she stood up, her gaze still locked on the TV. The wineglass in her hand was forgotten and it clattered to the carpeted ground. The wineglass shattered despite the cushion. She clapped a hand to her mouth, feeling very sick out of a sudden. Without warning, she made a mad dash to the bathroom and retched.
"Hey, are you all right?"
No… I'm not…
I'm never going to be all right…
Sakura was too busy heaving her guts out to actually reply Eriol. Many gruesome images flashed across her mind and sent an onslaught of pain. She lay spent against the wall inside the small bathroom of the hotel room gasping for air. Sweat rolled down her face even though it was pretty cold inside the room.
She closed her eyes, shutting herself from the real world and tried not to think of the intense scene from the drama. After she tried so hard to forget, everything came back to her with just a few seconds of drama. She let out a little laugh at her pathetic plight. It's going to be a week or more of sleepless nights.
"Muffin?"
Sakura blinked open her eyes just as warm hands enveloped her cheeks. Her eyes collided with worried amber ones. "Sen-sei…?"
"I rushed here as soon as I received Eriol's call," Syaoran said, moving to scoop Sakura up into his arms. She was powerless to resist and just lay limp in his arms. "You scared the hell out of me."
"Hiiragizawa-san worried too much," Sakura said. "Nothing happened."
"Nothing? If nothing happened, why were you practically fainting in the bathroom?"
"I didn't faint."
"You almost did," Syaoran protested. "Now you need to rest. Do you want me to call a doctor over?"
The queasiness in her stomach hasn't settled down but it wasn't a big deal. "I don't need a doctor. I'll feel better after some rest."
"I'll be here when you wake up," Syaoran said. He leaned forward and pressed a lingering kiss on her forehead. "Sweet dreams, muffin."
Surprisingly, Sakura had a peaceful sleep. She thought that nightmares would plague her throughout the whole night just like the period after the crash. That was a difficult period and she lost so much weight over the nightmares and sleepless nights.
Stifling a yawn, she sat up on the bed and was caught off guard by the sight of the sleeping Syaoran beside her. A small smile turned up the corner of her lips. Was he the one who chased the nightmares away? She really hoped so.
Syaoran scrunched his nose in his sleep and rolled over onto his side facing Sakura. She was startled when Syaoran moved his arm to pull her close to him. She collapsed into his embrace and squealed in response when she felt his hand on her bottom. He didn't seem to know what he was doing and continued his slumber. Without thinking, she pinched his hand—hard—and scrambled away from him when he released his hold on her immediately.
"Ouch!" He exclaimed as he shot away, rubbing the reddening patch on the top of his hand. "What's that for?"
"Y-you… you were…" Sakura could form the words on her mouth.
"What?" Syaoran prompted, grinning slightly. That was when Sakura realized something.
"You were awake!" She grabbed the pillow from her side and flung it at Syaoran's head. "I can't believe you're a pervert!"
Syaoran dodged the flying pillow and chuckled. "I can't help it if my muffin is especially cute."
"Perverted homeroom teacher!"
"Handsome," Syaoran interjected. "You must mention handsome as well."
"I refuse!"
"Then I'll have to keep you locked in this room until you say that." Syaoran was grinning and it was clear that he was teasing her. Sakura pressed her lips together, refusing to comply. She'd rather stay in this room than compliment her idiotic homeroom teacher and a perverted one at that. "Your final decision?"
"No!"
Syaoran sighed dramatically. "Well… I guess I have no choice but to keep you under lock and key."
Sakura blew an exasperated breath as she watched Syaoran saunter into the bathroom. She wondered if Syaoran has ever been serious before. "Wait! You haven't told me why I have to stay here!" Sakura shouted loud enough for her voice to carry into the bathroom. She pouted when she got no reply.
"I need you to stay here for a few days. Skip school. I'll come up with excuse for you," Syaoran said as he got out. That earned him a raised brow from Sakura. Knowing that she would argue, he pressed on. "I know that sounds ridiculous but I really need you to stay here."
Sakura folded her arms across her chest. "Then you need to explain it to me. Skipping school is a big deal."
Syaoran had the gall to look amused. "A big deal? To you?"
"Well… I didn't have much choice in the past…"
"That's true though," he said and dropped onto the bed beside her.
"Tell me why."
He looked worried for a moment, so totally different from his idiotic demeanor that Sakura was used to. "Something happened within my family. That's all that I can say. Please don't ask me anymore questions."
"But—"
Syaoran pressed a finger to Sakura's soft lips, effectively silencing her. "Don't ask. I'll let you go to school if you agree to come back here straight after your classes. How's that?"
Sakura nodded in agreement but that didn't mean that she wouldn't pester him for answers. She'd have to wait till she got to school to start her mission.
To be continued
Anyone with questions out there? I think there's going to be many of you. The answer will be out in the next few chapters! :D Anyway, good news is that my writer's block seems to be over. I'm one-third into the new Chapter 24. (Yes, I re-wrote it...). The whole story should be ending at around Chapter 30. Want another good news? I'm re-writing Be My Valentine! Not sure if I'll be re-posting it on FFNet. We'll see how it goes then. :)
By the way, Sensei, I Love You is also available on Wattpad, where you can vote for the chapter! ;)