Necklace In The Path

Chapter 7: The Yakuza Revelation

It hurt to open my eyes the next morning. They felt swollen shut, and it didn't help that I had the worst migraine. I didn't even want to know what time it was, but I could tell it was late in the day. How did I get home last night? I vaguely remember lying down in the grass somewhere... Oh, that's right. Someone picked me up, but who was it again? Trying to conjure up these memories felt like a wild night of partying from the night before, and trying to remember what you had done. It's like I blacked out. Instantly, I heard my phone vibrating on the floor, I rolled over to look at who was calling me. It was Hinata. I didn't really want to talk to him, or anyone for that matter, but I'm sure I worried him enough already.

I picked up the call, "Hey..."

"Jesus Tabitha! Are you okay? You had me freaking out last night!"

"I-I know... I'm really sorry." I said this as if I was a dog being lectured by their owner.

It was silent on the other end. I took the phone away from my face just to make sure he didn't hang up, but he was still on the line.

Hinata finally spoke up, "I don't want you going into work today. I already told Todo."

"What? It's fine! I can go in."

"No-no, you can't go in. I'm going to come over to your place and make you food, okay?"

"Yeah, but what about the girls? Who's going to do their hair an-"

"I'm sure they'll manage. I'll be over in about an hour." Before I could protest, Hinata hung up on me. Fuck, that means I'm going to have to explain everything. Everything that Cho said to me. Him being part of the Yakuza and my dead husband. I sat there in bed with my hands covering my face and let out a big sigh. Fuck, I guess I should get ready.

• • •

After I was done taking a shower, I quickly tried to clean up my apartment, however I gave up halfway through. I realized if Hinata was the one that dropped me off last night then he's already seen what a mess the place is. As I sat there at the kitchen table, pondering on how I was going to talk to him about everything, I heard a knock at the door. The knock sounded like a cop knock, which alarmed me for a second. I rushed over to the front door and opened it. Hinata was standing there, looking even more handsome than usual. I never paid much attention to what Hinata was wearing, he normally just wore suits all the time, which always made me feel super underdressed, except today he looked really casual. He was wearing a black oversized button down with cuffed black jeans, and a pair of black Birkenstocks on.

I nodded my head gently, gesturing for him to come inside. He had two bags, one in each hand, full of what looked like meat, vegetables, and beer. I started helping him take out the contents of the bag, but he stopped me.

"Don't worry about helping. Just chill out and I'll let you know when dinner is ready."

"... But you're the guest. I should help."

He cupped his right hand onto my face and looked me in the eyes, "Just chill out, okay?" He gave me what looked like a pity smile. I nodded and sat down on my bed. The thing about my apartment is that my bedroom is also a part of the kitchen, so I just sat there watching him prepare dinner.

It was mesmerizing watching him prepare everything. I had never been much of a cook, nor did I ever plan on learning how to. Obviously I know how to make the basics, but for the most part I usually just order take-out, which I always got lectured for from my mom. Even Hinata made a comment to himself at one point saying, "Who doesn't have sesame seed oil?" He was right, I wasn't a very responsible adult.

I started to lie down as I still kept my gaze on Hinata. I wasn't sure how long this was going to take, but I still felt tired from the night before. Maybe if I just rest my eyes for a few minutes, I'll appear a little more awake. I closed my eyes, trying not to focus on the different food smells in the air.