A Firefly's Glow

Chapter Fifteen: Part One

I felt his hand lift off of my eyes. “Are you alive?” he whispered, nudging my head that was just covering my eyes. “You probably dislocated my shoulder.”

I inched open my eyes and squinted against the brightness that I had just adapted away from. When I noticed that my vision was available, I immediately whipped my head towards Keita.

My eyes widened to see that his face was still morphed in its mask form. He wasn’t smiling or frowning or laughing. His face was just blank.

How did he speak in such a comforting voice with such a blank face?

“What’s wrong?” Keita’s voice apparently returned into it’s emotionless mode. “Are you dizzy. Are you going to vomit?”

“No,” I answered in a faint whisper. “No, I’m just . . .”

I peered out the window that sat beside Keita to see that the limousine had pulled over right in front of the café.

“We’re here,” Keita informed as he noticed what I was looking at. “Do you want me to walk you in?”

“N-No,” I stuttered, rapidly shaking my head. “I can go in alone. The door is probably locked though, but it’s okay—.”

“Locked? Doesn’t that mean it’s closed?”

“N-No . . . I mean, yes, it does mean it’s closed, but Mikan didn’t say that my shift would be cancelled, so maybe the door isn’t locked—“

“People can forget to say little details like that.”

“I know, but I’d rather come just in case.” I felt my voice begin to rush. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

“But what if no one shows up to unlock the door? It’s three o’clock. Are you seriously willing to stand outside for the next five hours?”

“N-No, I just know I have a shift today—“

“Look, if this is about last night’s dinner, I—“

My eyes widened at the mention of how Keita was aware of last night’s dinner. He didn’t forget about it.

I hurried to interrupt him.

“It’s not—it’s not—it’s not,” I assured, reaching for the handle of the door. “I just know Mikan will kill me if I’m not at this shift. And this way, you won’t have to worry about cooking me food or anything else that I might screw up, right?”

Keita responded with silence. He simply eyed me with his blunt gaze, with his mouth in a thin, straight line.

I pulled the limousine door open and I slid towards the open door. I grabbed the packet of Script 13 and clutched it between my arms as I reached for my briefcase. “I’ll see you at home.”

And within the next second, I was out of the limousine and hurrying towards the café.

“Wait!” a stern voice called from the limousine. I swerved my gaze towards the call to see that Keita’s window was rolled down and his gaze once again met mine.

“What is it?” I paused in place, standing on the concrete that the café sat on.

“Do you want to be picked up after your shift is done?”

I shook my head. “It’s alright—don’t go through all that trouble.”

“You’re going to walk through the beltway again?”

“Yeah,” I quickly nodded my head. “It’s going to be fine. I’ve already walked through it before, remember?”

“I don’t want you walking through that beltway.”