Chisato: "Here we go, this is your room." she said, opening the door to a beautiful bedroom.
Layla: "Wow, it's beautiful." I said, taken back by how big it was.
Chisato: " I know right. Your bathroom is over there." she said, after pointing to an ensuite bathroom adjacent from a king-size bed that sat between two large windows providing the room with natural light. "My room is right across the hall. I'll give you a bit of time to settle in. I'll be in the living room ordering lunch if you need me." she said, before leaving.
I stood where Chisato left me, deep in thought. I fought back and forth with myself for several minutes. I was between two minds: on the one hand, I wanted to get settled in, but on the other hand, I wanted to talk to Naoto. I felt uncomfortable staying in his house without straightening a few things out. I left my luggage at the bedroom door and went to find Naoto.
I enter the living room hoping to see Naoto still working but instead, I found Chisato sitting on the couch, scrolling on her phone.
Chisato: "Hey! All done unpacking?" she said, once she noticed me.
Layla: "Not exactly. Where's Naoto? I asked.
Chisato: "He left." she replied.
Layla: "Oh." I paused for a bit. "Do you know when he'll be back?" I inquired.
Chisato: "I don't know. I'm not my uncle's keeper." She chuckled to herself. "Oh, by the way, I meant to ask. How do you know my uncle?" she said, hurrying over to me. " I feel like there's some history between you two. How did you guys meet?" she asked, cross-examining me.
Layla: "Uh, that's a really, good question, umm, you know," I said, trying to buy myself some time. "Well, you see..." I said, two seconds before literally being saved by the bell when the doorbell rang, distracting Chisato.
Chisato: "Oh, yay! The food's here!" she said, heading to the door. "I hope you like Italian," she said, singing as she walked away.
After helping Chisato dish out the food, we both sat down to eat. As we ate, Chisato chastised me until I broke down and told her how I knew her uncle. I explained to her that he was one of the people I was writing a piece on for BAZAAR and tried to stress that we know each other on a professional bases only. I conveniently left out our kiss and my attraction to her uncle. I figured it would only intensify the questions. Chisato seemed satisfied with the answer.
Chisato: "So what are you going to do for the rest of the day?" she asked, putting our plates in the sink.
Layla: "I was planning on working on my articles today. If I plan on keeping my job, I should at least get started on them. That was the reason I chose to stay at the internet cafe. I was going to pull an all-nighter, but I don't have a computer anymore." I said, clearing off the table.
Chisato: "Oh, you need a computer? Here, you can use my uncle's laptop." she said, taking up an already opened laptop from the edge of the table where Naoto was working.
Layla: "Are you sure?" I said worriedly.
Chisato: " Yeah, I'm sure. You need to write your articles for work, right?" she said, sitting me down in front of the laptop she placed on the table.
Layla: "Yeah, I do, but..." I worried.
Chisato: "Ok then, use it. Uncle won't mind," she cut me off.
Even though I felt hesitant to use it, I inevitably gave in, knowing that if I didn't start writing something, I'd be on the chopping block. I quickly double-tapped the space bar to wake up the laptop. After the screen turned on, a message to save popped up momentarily before disappearing.
Layla: "Oh, what was that?" I said, startled when the program that was left up closed.
Chisato: "I don't know." She said with a hint of worry in her voice.
Layla: "Was that something important?" I asked worriedly.
Chisato shrugged, before Chisato and I could worry too much, Naoto walked in.
Naoto: "What are you both doing?" Naoto said, walking towards us.
Chisato: "Oh, nothing much. I just lent Layla your laptop so she could work on her articles." She said, turning to face him.
Naoto: "Oh, ok. Wait, was there a program still up?" he said, panicked. "Please tell me you didn't close it?" He said, turning the laptop to himself.
Layla: "I didn't close it. The program immediately shut down as soon as the screen turned on." I explained.
After looking through his files, he deeply sighed.
Naoto: "Damnit, it didn't even autosave," he said, distressed.
Layla: "Was it really important?" I asked, scared to know the answer.
Naoto: "Yeah, it was," he said, unpleased.
Layla: "Oh, I'm sorry," I said, feeling guilty for touching his laptop in the first place.
He just shook his head at a loss for words. I could feel how upset he was by how he clenched his jaw.
Naoto: "Chisato, a word, please." He sternly said, walking away from the table after closing the laptop.
Like a puppy with its tail between its legs, she walked behind him. They were out of earshot, but I could tell by his expression and her body language that they were quarrelling. I felt bad watching her being scolded by him. So I put myself in the line of fire.
Layla: "Naoto, please don't be upset at Chisato. It's not all her fault. I should've to decline her offer to use your laptop. I should have waited for you to get back," I said, hoping to pacify him.
Naoto: "You're right. You should have." he said plainly.
His quick response, tone, and austere look hurt.
Layla: "I'm sorry. Maybe I could try recovering the file," I said, trying to problem-solve.
Naoto: "You know how to?" He asked.
Layla: "No, but I could try," I said, eager to fix what happened. I didn't like seeing Naoto like this.
Naoto's phone rang, pulling his attention from me. He glanced down at it before he spoke again.
Naoto: "Just forget about it," he said, giving up. "Both of you, just stay still and try not to burn the house down," he said, dismissing us before he walked away.
It felt horrible watching him walk away, knowing how upset he was. With a slam of the door, he was gone. I stood there, dazed, feeling horrid. I guess my feelings showed all over my face because, seconds later, I felt Chisato arms around me, giving me a big hug.
Chisato: "Layla, everything's going to be okay. Uncle is just stressed. He's not upset at you, so don't take his frustration personal, okay?" Chisato said, trying to cheer me up. "Come on, let's go watch a movie to take your minds off of it. She said, rubbing my back as she hugged me.
Chisato chose the movie, popped some popcorn, and brought out a few pillows and a big fleece blanket with which to cuddle. I guess this was a perfect remedy for sleep because she was out cold in minutes. I was kind of glad she dozed off because now she wasn't able to see how the incident with Naoto affected me. The movie played in the background like ambiance as my mind drifted a million miles away. I couldn't get over the way Naoto looked at me when he was talking to Chisato. The image replayed over and over in my mind. Each time, making me feel more unsettled and down. 'He really must hate me now.' I thought, sadden by the thought of him. 'First, you kiss the man, ghost him, then you mess up all his hard work. Damn Layla, you are something else. What's wrong with me.' I thought, feeling myself sink deeper into the couch. "Come on, Layla, stop getting down on yourself, it's okay," I said, trying to perk myself back up. "It makes no sense getting down and hurt when I can try to fix it," I said before walking towards the table where his laptop was still resting. "Where there's a will, there's away. There has to be some way to fix this," I said, opening his laptop.
After working tirelessly on recovering Naoto's unsaved file, I finally did it. I quickly saved it then took a deep sigh of relief.
Layla: "Oh, thank the lord. I did it," I said, pushing the laptop away, giving myself some space to rest my head. 'I did it, I actually, did it.' I thought proud of myself.
Chisato: "What did you do?" Chisato groggily asked.
Layla: "I restore the file that didn't save," I said, looking over at her as she stretched.
Chisato: "Have you been doing that the whole time I was sleeping?" she asked, walking over to me from the couch.
Layla: "Yeah." I said tiredly.
Chisato: "It has been 4 hours," she said, looking at the time.
Layla: "Yeah, I know," I said, feeling every last minute of those 4 hours as soon as I admitted it.
Chisato: "Wow, I'm impressed."
Layla: "Thanks," I said, face down on the table.
Chisato: "You deserve a cookie," she said, walking to the kitchen.
I chuckled.
Chisato: "Oh, better yet, you deserve a drink. I'm going out with some friends in an hour or so. You should come out with us," she said, taking a pack of Oreos out of the cabinet.
Layla: "Oh, no no no ixnay on the drink ay. I'm good," I said, seriously considering giving up alcohol forever. I can't risk getting drunk, especially not in this house. "Thanks for the invite, though. I'm just going to stay in for the night," I smiled.
Chisato: "Okay, suit yourself. I'm going to start getting ready," she said, strolling over to me, handing me a cookie.
Layla: "Thanks," I said, taking a bite of the oreo. "Oh, by the way, thank you."
Chisato: "For what?" She asked.
Layla: "Everything. Being so nice, making sure I had somewhere safe to stay and trying to help me get my work done even though it kind of backfired." I said feeling regretful. "I'm sorry, I got you in trouble with your uncle."
Chisato: "I'm not in trouble. Uncle's just a little grumpy. I hope he didn't worry you too much." She said concern.
Layla: "He didn't." I shook my head knowing good and well he did.
Chisato: "Good." She smiled sincerely." You're welcome." She replied. "Anytime, aunty-in-law. She said before she turned heading to her bedroom. "Oops, did I say that?" She said playfully unapologetic. "Oh well." She said walking away.
Chisato's remake had me giggling like a schoolgirl as I made my way back to the room. I took my free time to, finally, get settled into the room. While unpacking, Chisato came in to check on me before she went out with her friends.
Chisato: "How do I look?" She gave me a quick twirl, showing off her outfit.
Layla: Beautiful. I smiled.
Chisato: "Thank you. Hopefully, the male strippers think so too," she said, searching through her clutch.
Layla:" Male, what?" I said, taken back.
Chisato: "Strippers Layla, strippers. Doesn't this dress scream, Bachelorette party!".
Layla: "Ummm. Not really," I said, looking at her in a form-fitting knee-high olive green backless silk wrap dress.
Chisato: "Really? Should it be tighter....shorter?" She questioned herself in a hushed tone. "No, it's cute," she said, giving herself the once over in a nearby mirror before she turned back to me. "Here's the key for the front door in case you want to leave the house," she said, handing me a key. "This is a list of some emergency contacts. My number, the police, fire department, and the ambulance." She passed me a paper with a list of numbers on it." I didn't write my uncle's number down, he is a very private person, and he rarely gives out his number. Even though I want to give it to you, he probably wouldn't be too please if I did, sorry." She apologized.
I just nodded. I didn't know how to tell her that I already had it. Somehow knowing this about him made me feel special. After making sure I was ok with being alone, Chisato left. I'd grown accustomed to being on my own, but something about this big place made the loneliness overwhelming. The echo of my footsteps down the hallway, combined with the stillness of everything, was unsettling. I didn't know how Naoto could live in a place this quiet, but I guess he's always so busy I'm sure he doesn't even have a chance to feel lonely. I wandered around the house, looking into the different rooms trying to suppress the boredom I felt. Excluding Naoto's, Chisato's, and the room I was staying in, there were two more lavish rooms closer to Naoto's office, opposite the storage room down a set of stairs was a dance studio. It was quite big, but somehow it felt comfortable. It may have been the familiarity of the mirrors cascading across the wall, or the chestnut floors that gave the room a warm feel, but out of all the rooms I had seen, this one was my favourite. I stayed in this room the longest, making a mental note to dance in it before I leave this house. Luckily, I didn't stumble upon any freaky as hell, '50 shades of Grey' red rooms, or anything like that. That book made me wary of really, rich guys. I wandered and wandered until I found myself back in the open concept dining room where I worked on Naoto's laptop. I sat down in front of the laptop, thinking about how it almost had my goose cooked and just stared at it, hoping Naoto would walk in. As I waited, I rested my head on the table, looking at the food Chisato put out for him before she left, wondering if he had eaten today. Slowly the bowl I had my eyes fixed on faded to black.
When I came to, I was in my bed. I sat up, wondering how I got here. The last thing I remembered was waiting for Naoto to come home. I paused when I thought about it then glanced at the time. 1:39 am. He should be home by now. I thought, getting up from the bed. As I exited the bedroom, I noticed a faint light coming from the far end of the hallway. It was coming from Naoto's office. 'He must still be working.' I thought, walking towards the light.