Reader Believes

Chapter 12

            Rika pulled the door closed behind her as she strode into her room. She stopped in the middle, facing her peach coloured bed, and took several deep breaths. Her hands opened and closed as she fought down the mix of anger, sadness, and pain that burned in her stomach. Every time she thought she was finally okay with it, that she’d come to terms with her parents’ indifference to them, her emotions came to prove her wrong. Part of her wanted to scream and throw a tantrum as she had when she’d been younger, but besides wanting to keep up at least the appearance of maturity, she also knew she’d just end up worrying Connor.

            So she took another few breaths and tried to force herself calm. The sound of her door opening had her jerking around. Air caught in her lungs for a moment as she stared at Ahisu. He shut the door and she heard a faint click as he locked it behind him. Only then did he approach her.

            Rika finally remembered to breathe when he stopped in front of her, gasping before tilting her head up so she could meet his eyes. He met her gaze, his face blank of even the little cues she’d come to rely on, for a long moment. “Talk,” he finally said.

            She blinked. “Talk? About what?”

            He flicked the head of his staff towards the door. Rika looked and realized what he meant. She turned away, eyes on where the pale yellow of her walls met the wood of the floor. “I already explained. My parents suck. There’s not any more to it than that.”

            For a few seconds, there was no sound. Then, “Tell me.”

            His quiet voice shattered the veneer of calm she’d built around herself. Rika spun, glaring, hands balled up. “What do you want me to tell you? About the number of holidays we spent alone or with the nannies who didn’t care? About all the times our calls to our parents were ignored? Or how the only time our parents show up is when they want to trot us out for the press to see? Or did you want to know how we were abandoned by the two people who were supposed to care about us the most? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

            Rika panted, voice feeling raw from her shouts, as she continued to glare at Ahisu. He met her gaze before his expression flickered briefly. She straightened as he closed the distance between them. She froze when she felt his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. All she could see was the black expanse of his chest, her own arms hanging uselessly at her sides, her brain acting like it had fossilized.

            The feeling of his arms holding her close, like he was protecting her, broke through the wall she’d built. She felt her throat begin to catch, her nose begin to tickle, and before she could stop it, the tears began to fall. In moments, she had her hands clenched around the back of his robes as she sobbed into his chest.

            She didn’t hear the knocking over the sound of her own sadness, nor did she see Ahisu’s head snap up to stare at the door. All she could do was continue to cry, not being able to stop, even if she had wanted to. But the longer she sobbed, the better she felt, the tears acting as a catharsis, purging her of the worst of her feelings.

            Even emotions that had festered for years could only last so long, and on minutes, Rika could feel her tears slowing to a trickle then stopping entirely. She slowly pulled away from Ahisu, eyes locked on the ground, wondering how she was going to be able to look at him.

            He solved it for her by grabbing her chin and tilting it upwards until he could study her face. He said nothing, only reached into one sleeve and pulled out a handkerchief which he handed to her. She took it, then just looked at the white square. “Thank you,” she whispered.

            Ahisu snorted. “Whole and healthy,” he said, eyebrows going up the tiniest bit as his head inclined towards her.

            Rika’s eyes went to his face, puzzling out what he meant. “You want me whole and healthy?”

            He snorted again and turned towards the door. For a moment, Rika was torn between happiness, worry, and confusion. Then she heard banging on her door, followed by the sound of Connor shouting “I don’t care about what you or your damn demon says! Open this door right now!”

            Ahisu unlocked the door and opened it, surprising Connor, Damek, and Elthia. He moved past them and settled himself onto the couch, his eyes on Shetton. The other three turned almost as one to stare at Rika. Connor recovered first, taking a step towards her. “Are you alright? Did he-”

            “I’m fine,” she said, cutting him off. She swiped her tears away with her free hand, ignoring the handkerchief she still held. “I’m fine.”

            “What-”

            “Nothing. I was just…I was a bit upset is all. I’m fine now. Can we drop it?”

            Damek and Elthia exchanged a glance before the former coughed. When he was sure he had their attention, Damek said “Didn’t get a chance to tell you yet, stranger-girl, but I found a job.”

            Rika smiled as she crossed the room to join them. “That’s great! What kind of job is it?”

            “I’m teaching martial arts at something called a karate dojo. Not too sure what that means, but they do have a different and interesting form. They have me working with their beginners until I’m more comfortable with the style. The leader was impressed with my skills after our practice bout and asked me if I wanted the job.”

            “It’s near where we’re staying as well,” Elthia added, gently towing Damek behind her, until they were seated together.

            Rika joined Ahisu on the couch and tucked her feet under herself. “Why don’t we celebrate and order pizza then? It’s awesome, and something you definitely have to try, if you haven’t already,” she said, ignoring the frown Connor was casting her way. If he questioned her later, and his expression promised exactly that, she wasn’t going to tell him anything. It was private. And it was a memory she wanted to keep to herself. It gave her hope that maybe, just maybe, Ahisu liked her a little. And at the very least, she again had proof that he needed her, and that was enough.