Timeless

Forgiving

Kaoru POV
"I need to go with Joe." I muttered as Adam clutched my neck. His fingers tightened.
"We talked about this, my sweet Cherry. There is nothing that muscle bound gorilla can do for you." He snarled. His friends chuckled. My eyes swam with unshed tears. Not because of them, but because Kojiro's back was disappearing and I didn't know what to do.
Many people saw me as brave. How I could verbally cut down anyone. The truth was, I could only be that person because Kojiro was beside me. Adam dragged me back on to my board. He didn't let go as he pulled me away from my best friend.
"What did they mean, one of his moms?" Tadashi asked. He had skated up close to me. Of all of Ainosuke's friends, I liked him the best. He was kind, when he wasn't doing exactly what Adam wanted.
"Joe is raised by a lesbian couple." I told him. There was laughter.
"That muscle bound freak. Surprised he isn't gay!" The others snickered. Adam spun around, catching one of them around the waist. He pushed him so that the other guy was practically smashing his head off of the pavement.
"What is wrong with being gay?" He demanded. When he let the guy go, it wasn't in a safe place. The kid couldn't catch himself. He went flying off of the turn. We could hear his screams as he fell down the side of the cliff. His friend stopped. He yelled at Adam for being a jerk. Adam just laughed.
Tadashi and I continued onto the park with Adam. I kept checking my phone hoping for an update from Kojiro. After several hours I hadn't received one text. We were sitting in a late night dinner. My phone was snatched from my hands.
"Cherry, stop with the phone. You have me to look at." Adam leaned into me. He forced his mouth against mine. It hurt to the point where I gasped. His thick slimy tongue shoved its way into my mouth. I gaged slightly as he forced it down my throat. I tried pulling away from him. He held the back of my head, forcing the kiss deeper.
When he finally let me go, I gasped for air. "Now, wasn't that better than looking at a phone?" He cooed.
"Joe." I panted. "He hasn't told me what was going on." I continued when I could breathe better. Adam looked annoyed.
"You need to stop panting after Joe! Cherry you are with me!" He scolded. "I tolerate your silly Thursday nights, but if you can't make it clear that you are with me, then I am going to have to stop them!" He warned. No! If he did that, Joe would go away.
"No, please, Adam. I'm sorry." I whispered. He smiled.
"Much better." He didn't give me my phone back until he took me home an hour later. There still wasn't a message from Joe. I waited forty minutes. Not seeing Adam or Tadashi outside my house, I slipped out the basement door. This lined up with a small grove of trees. Walking through them, I reached the next road over.
Dropping my skateboard I debated about going to he hospital, or to Joe's house. Deciding that if he had gone home, he would have texted me, I headed to the hospital. When I got there, I walked in.
The waiting room was well lit. Only one person sat there. Hands clasped between his knees; he was bent over. His green hair hanging in his face. I would have known that bulky form anywhere. The perfect way his hands interlaced, how his shoulders molded into his neck. The way he would tilt his head to give me that cheeky smile of his. I loved it all. But I knew one thing that idiot friend of Adam's didn't know. Kojiro was straight. He would never fall in love with a guy, especially one like me.
Picking up my board, I made my way towards him. It was just after midnight. He had been here for nearly six hours. I placed my hand on his shoulder as I sat down beside him. He never looked up. I felt his shoulder bunch up, tense under my touch. Right, Kojiro hated looking weak. Why would he take even the tiniest of tenderness from me? All I did was argue with him. It was the only way I knew I could keep him coming back.
"How is she?" I asked letting my hand drop to my lap. His larger one reached over to take it. He pulled it to him, holding it between both of his. The shock of his touch radiated up my arm. I fought the tears as I watched his bent head. His voice sounded so lost.
"They don't know if she will make it through the night. Something about a stroke." His voice caught. "Kaoru, she is only forty three...." His voice trailed off. He let go of my hand, but with only one of his. He wiped at his face. My heart ached seeing him like this.
It was like that time when I passed out after seeing my own blood. Kojiro was there when I woke up. He was looking up into the sky and singing. He sounded so good. It was then that I understood what a voice of an angel meant. Then he sang my favorite song while staring me in the eye. It was the first and only time, I had seen the tender side of him.
Without thinking, I reached around him. My free hand caught his huge shoulder. I bit back a gasp as I realized how powerful he was becoming. I pulled him into me. He put his heavy head in my lap, and cried. I had never seen him emotionally like this. Angry, sure, but not this gut-wrenching sadness. I stroked his hair. It was soft. The light scent of cherry blossoms floated up to me as I combed my fingers through his perfect locks.
I wish I could sing for him. Maybe it would make him feel better. I was never good at singing. It was so bad my relatives told me to never sing happy birthday with them. I sighed as I bent over him, holding him to me. I kissed his temple. Let him think me as strange, I was thrilled at the touch of his skin. Sitting up, I glanced towards the entrance.
I don't know what made me look that way. I stifled another gasp. Ainosuke stood there. His red eyes flamed as they met mine. He wore pressed trousers and a button up shirt with a hoodie over it. The anger that radiated from him I could feel across the room. He smiled.
It was cold. Like ice cracking. It felt like a shot to my heart. He didn't say anything. Instead, he simply walked out. I got the message. Something very bad was going to happen. I tightened my hold on Kojiro. I didn't care what Adam did to me, I vowed then and there, he wouldn't hurt Kojiro, not because of me.
Rocking back and forth until the tears stopped. Even then I didn't let him go. Was it wrong for me to enjoy his closeness, even if it was because he was in so much pain? I continued to stroke his hair. When he spoke, it startled me.
"It happened while they were at work. Mom was working on her fall line up..." He was so quiet. His "mom" as he called her was the one who had carried him and birthed him. Her partner he called "Gi" I wasn't sure why. They were fashion designers. Some of the best, at that.
"Gi came in to check on her. She was slumped over her drawing board. Her eyes were open and she was drooling." His voice caught, filled with emotion. So, it was his mom who was the one hurt. I tightened my hold on his shoulders. Bending forward, I kissed his shoulder as I rocked him softly.
"She had a fever, hadn't been feeling well for a few days. We were happy she felt better today." He went on. Then he sat up slowly. For the first time since I arrived, he turned to look at me. His brown eyes shimmered in the florescent lights.
"What will we do if..." His mouthed moved but no sound came out. I slapped his cheek. Not hard, but in the silence, it made a nice sound. I could tell it stung a little by his reaction. Gripping his chin, I shook his head.
"You won't think like that!" I ordered. "You are this strong because she raised you. Do you honestly think she will give up?" I snarled at him. "Be a better son than that! You have to fight for her too!" I demanded. He gave me a quirky smile.
"Leave it to you, four eyes." He muttered. Not going to lie, his gentle teasing hurt. I was trying to be consoling. It sounded more like he took it as our usual arguing. I knew he did when he pulled away from me. He wouldn't even take my hand for comfort any more. I was left in a sea of my own doubt. What could I have done to make it better? Better for him, and for me. Where he wouldn't have pulled away, buried himself in his head? Was it bad that I didn't know?
"You fall today?" He asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" I hesitated. My mind still on the tingling sensation in my hands from holding him.
"The marks on your neck. They better be from a fall. If he did that to you..." the thrill of him sounding even a tiny bit caring for me shocked my heart. I reached up. I had forgotten about Adam nearly choking me.
"No, no he would never." It was the first time I lied to Kojiro. The first time I lied about Adam to anyone. "I was trying to get this new kick flip down. Fell a bunch of times..." I muttered looking away.
"Huh, but only on your neck." His eyes swung back to me. Could he see through my lie? I chuckled.
"Don't be a stupid gorilla, of course not. Why do you think I am wearing long sleeves in this heat?" I tugged my sleeves down. I didn't want him to see my flawless skin. He made a face but at that moment Gi came out of a double set of doors.
She looked between us. "Oh, hello Kaoru. I'm glad you could sit with him." She hugged her son.
"She's going to be ok. She had a small brain bleed. They operated and everything went really well." She smiled up at the huge teen beside her. Pulling her wallet out she shoved money into Kojiro's hand. "Call a car. I am going to stay the night. They won't let anyone in until she wakes. That won't be until morning. Go home and get some rest." She patted his arm. Then gave him another bone crushing hug. "She's fine Kojiro. I promise." Why did I feel a jolt of jealousy when he hugged her back? He hadn't done that to me. He only let me comfort him for a few moments.
"Call me if anything changes." He demanded.
"Of course." She patted his arm. Then turned her dark eyes to me. They swam with worry for her lover as well as her child. "Can you stay with him tonight, Kaoru?" she asked. I smiled, bowing politely to her.
"Yes. I was planning on it." She beamed. Coming to me she gave me a quick hug.
"Thank you. You are such a good friend for him." She patted my arm. After kissing her son on the cheek. We watched her head back through the doors. Kojiro put the money in his pocket. He kicked his board into his hands.
"You don't have to stay." He said as I followed him out the door. We placed our boards down. Mounting them we kicked off. "I'll be fine. Look at it this way, you have more time with Adam." He scoffed.
"Stupid gorilla, I told Gi I would stay, I am staying." I hissed at him.
"I am not in the mood to fight with you all night." He looked, drained. I moved over to him. Taking his hand, I whispered.
"Then how about we don't, just for tonight?" I offered. He turned his head away from me for a moment. Without looking back, I heard his soft voice state...
"I would like that. Just for tonight." I squeezed his hand. He returned the pressure. I didn't let him go until we were on his doorstep. We let ourselves in heading up to his room. He had posters of skaters all over his walls. It was gaudy.
I had only been in his room a handful of times. Although we had known each other all our lives. There was a framed photo of us on his dresser. It was taken by his mom for our middle school graduation. He was beaming, his arm around me holding me to his side. I wasn't even smiling. I glared at the camera. Why would he have that there?
"Mom framed it for me. Can't let her think I didn't like the gesture." He muttered. "I will be right back. Need to wash the hospital smell off of me." He went in to shower. I picked up my phone.
There was a message from Adam. Meet me at the downtown bridge. Midnight tomorrow. We will race. If you win, you can keep your Thursday nights with the gorilla. If not, you will do what I say." I glared down at the text. Why did he hate Kojiro so much? I just sent back an ok.
Kojiro came out a few minutes later in sweatpants and a tee shirt. He fixed a blow-up mattress on the floor. "You can sleep in the bed." He stated as he sank to the floor. "Your delicate ass would never survive down here." He covered up, turning his back to me. I got into his bed. The musky scent of him filled my nose. There was a slightly softer scent of flowers that reminded me of him as well. I fell asleep breathing in the comforting smells.