Sweet Burden

by K L Ogden

  “Obi, please wake up,” Hitomi reached over and moved his hair away from his face. “C’mon you have to open your eyes,” her voice pleaded. She shook his body harder as the tears started trailing down her face. “Please Obi.”

  Her chest tightened and she started uncontrollably sobbing. She rested his head on her lap as her tears dripped from her chin onto his face. “You have to open your eyes…you have to open your eyes,” she repeated stroking the side of his face. She squeezed her eyes shut as she leaned over him. She didn’t know what to do, her mind overrun with hysterical thoughts and emotions. He couldn’t be dead. They had such a limited time together. There was so much she didn’t know about him and so much she wanted to learn.

  “Obi,” she whispered as her lips trembled. “You can’t leave me.”

  ****

  Hitomi’s tears slid down her face turning into bright illuminated drops. The drops twinkled as if made of liquid gold and dripped onto Obi’s face. One single tear shimmered across his cheek and trailed down to his lips disappearing between them. Obi’s face began to flush as the tears’ glow faded.

  ****

  She held his face between her hands and leaned down pressing her forehead to his. His skin was warming.

  Suddenly Obi’s body shook and he started coughing. Hitomi pulled back and opened her eyes. His skin was becoming flushed with color again and he let out another cough.

  “Obi?” Hitomi whispered hopeful. His body shivered and he let out a groan. “Obi, stay still. You’re injured.”

  His eyes fluttered open and he focused on her face. “Hitomi…” he mumbled and then his back arched and he grimaced.

  “You’re alive.”

  Obi winced again and then reached his hand up to her face, resting his palm against her cheek. “Why are you crying?”

  “I thought you were dead.” Hitomi sniffled.

  “You were crying for me?” Obi questioned.

  Hitomi didn’t say anything and she took his hand from her face, squeezing it in between her hands. “We should get you inside. Can you get up?”

  Obi pulled his hand away and braced himself sitting up. He gritted his teeth together withholding any screech of pain. His hands closed into angry fists. “How did I get here?”

  “I don’t know,” she shrugged and wiped her face. “Let me help you.” She took a hold of his arm, but he immediately pulled it away.

  “I’ll be fine,” he huffed and slowly struggled up to his feet as she stood too. His feet staggered and he fell against the house. He leaned his shoulder against the house by the front door as he tried to catch his breath. His nostrils flared with anger.

  Hitomi wanted to reach out and help him. “What can I do?” she asked somewhat helplessly.

  “Go inside and stay there.”

  “What about you? Your back…”

  “My back will heal. I can’t stay here.”

  “Don’t even think you’re leaving. You are hurt and you need to rest,” Hitomi stated.

  “Hitomi…”

  “No Obi. I am not going to let you go back out there so don’t argue with me.” She moved next to him and put his arm around her neck so she could help support him. She could see Obi’s irritation on his face, but she ignored it and they slowly moved into the house. Hitomi slammed the door with her foot and they shuffled over to the bottom of the stairs.

  “Where are we going?” Obi mumbled.

  “Up to my room. You can lay down on the bed and rest.”

  She felt Obi’s body tense, but ignored it and started moving up the stairs. He pulled himself up the stairs with the handrail, trying not to put much weight on her. She knew that he was in terrible pain but was trying to put on a brave face. They stumbled down the hall and then stopped outside her bedroom. Obi seemed apprehensive to go any further and he leaned against the door frame.

  “This is my room,” she said as she looked up at him. He didn’t look at her but gave a nod surveying the room. Seeing him looking so weak made her insides ache. “Let’s get you over to the bed.”

  “I can do it myself.” He removed his arm from around her and took a deep breath.

  “Let me help you.”

  “I don’t need your help!” he snapped.

  Hitomi moved away from him and stepped behind him. She stared at his back. She couldn’t even begin to count the lashes. She turned away from him. “I should call my mom. You need to go the hospital.”

  “No hospitals.” He pushed himself from the door frame and started across the room. She walked behind him over to the bed and he sat down. She pulled the covers back.

  “What can I do?” She bit at her bottom lip as there was a car horn outside.

  He lowered his head into his hands. “Nothing,” he mumbled.

  She let out a sigh. “I’ll be right back.” Hitomi rushed out of the room and downstairs. Bradley was waiting in the driveway. She grabbed her coat and went outside, quickly getting into the passenger side.

  “Good morning,” Bradley smiled.

  “Hi. Um, I’m sorry you came all the way over here. I’m not feeling well so I’m going to stay home today.”

  “Is everything alright?” he asked concerned.

  “Yah. I just need a day in bed.” She immediately thought about Obi lying in her bed.

  “Okay. Are you still going to come to the dance?”

  She wanted to roll her eyes, but she just gave him a slight nod. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She practically jumped out of the car and hurried back inside.

  She wanted to immediately go upstairs, but she figured she’d give him a few minutes to get settled and she needed a few minutes to compose herself. She was thrilled that Obi had returned, but scared about what had happened to him.

  Hitomi made some tea and carried two mugs upstairs. She stopped outside her room and peeked around the doorway. Obi had lain down on the bed on his stomach. She stared at his muscular body completely torn apart.

  “Obi?” she whispered as she walked into the room.

  “Hmm?”

  “I brought you some tea.” She moved over to the bed having to turn her eyes to the floor unable to tolerate looking at his skin anymore. Placing the mug on the nightstand, she knelt down on the floor beside his face. “What happened to you?”

  “I told you I was in some trouble.” He stared at her for a minute and then turned his head away pushing his arms under the pillows.

  “Who did this?”

  “Hitomi, just leave me alone.”

  “Obi, why won’t you just tell me what happened? Your back…”

  “It’ll heal. Just go away.”

  “I want to help you,” she muttered unwilling to leave him. “Why won’t you let me help you? Because I’m not going to leave you…”

  “I don’t want you to see me like this!” Obi barked.

  She was taken aback by his outburst. She pursed her lips determined not to take his tone personally. “It’s too late for that.” She sipped her tea and then set it next to the other mug. Hitomi’s pulse continued to race as she reached up resting her hand on his shoulder. “Will you look at me?” she asked needing to see his face.

  He let out a deep breath and slowly turned his head back towards her. “What?”

  “Tell me what I can do to help you.”

  “I just need time to heal.”

  “Let me at least clean up your back for you. You’re covered in blood.”

  “Sorry about your sheets.” He lowered his eyes from her.

  “I’m not concerned about my sheets,” she rolled her eyes and got up from the floor. “I’ll be right back.” She left the room and returned minutes later with a bowl of warm water, a cloth, bandages and ointment. She pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down next to him. Placing the bowl down on the chair, she wet the cloth in the water. Hitomi rung out the cloth and held her hand over his back.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” she whispered.

  “Just do it. I can handle it.” He rested h
is arms under his chin and buried his head.

  She wanted to run her fingers through his hair and assure him that everything would be alright. But she squeezed her fingers around the cloth as her lips mashed together. She carefully lowered her hand towards his back. Just as she touched his skin, his body instantly tensed. Although he made no sound, Hitomi pulled her hand back.

  “You really should go to the hospital.”

  “I can’t go to the hospital. You said you wanted to help.”

  Hitomi took a deep breath as tears again formed in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and cautiously started wiping away the blood from his skin. Hitomi moved her hand gently and slowly. The gashes were deep and some were still bleeding. She couldn’t imagine how much pain she was causing him, but he barely flinched after the initial contact. If he did flinch, she would stop and give him a few moments until she resumed.

  They were silent the entire time. It took her over an hour to get his back cleaned up. By the end, the bowl of water was completely red. Most of the bleeding had stopped. She put the cloth in the bowl and uncapped the ointment. She was nervous about touching him, but tried not to think about it as she spread the ointment across each gash. Some were partially healed already and then there were two gashes along each shoulder blade that weren’t red at all. They looked like slits permanently in his back. She wanted to run her finger over them to see if the skin felt as rough as it looked around the two areas.

  “Obi, what are these other gashes? The healed ones?” she asked breaking the silence.

  “They’re nothing.”

  She pulled the sheet up over him and stood up. Finally she saw his body relax. Hitomi muffled a yawn and picked up the bowl. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

  “Hitomi?”

  “Yes?”

  “I’m sorry I yelled at you. I just don’t like you seeing me like this.”

  Hitomi wasn’t sure what to say. She clutched the bowl and started out of the room.

  “Please don’t leave.”

  She turned back to him. “You need to get some sleep.”

  “I’ll sleep better if you’re here.”

  Her body trembled as she moved back over. “Okay.” She set the bowl down and moved the chair back over to her desk. She sat down and opened her laptop as she heard him moving around in the bed. She listened to it creak as he got comfortable and then it was silent. Hitomi stopped herself from peering over her shoulder to look at him.

  “Come here,” he mumbled after a few minutes.

  “Obi, go to sleep.”

  “Not until you come here.”

  Hitomi turned to him. He was lying on his side facing her and he had scooted back towards the wall. Her heart began racing as she stood up. She wasn’t sure what she saw in his gaze, but his eyes looked different. They looked warmer. They were no longer the blood red. They were almost an amber color. She walked over to the bed.

  “Do you need something?” she asked stupidly.

  He quietly sighed and closed his eyes. Obi’s hand lazily lay on the empty side of the bed. He lightly patted the mattress. Hitomi’s body stiffened. She had barely kissed a boy let alone hopped into bed with one. She told herself that Obi was in no shape to try anything, not that she really would have minded. She felt something for Obi. Something she didn’t understand.

  As she pulled back the sheet, it felt as though sparks were hitting all of her nerves. She slowly climbed into bed and brought the sheet up over her. She shifted onto her side facing him.

  “Are you warm enough?” she asked.

  He nodded his head as his eyes opened. Obi moved his free hand up to where Hitomi had hers tucked under the pillow. Reaching under the pillow, he laid his hand on top of hers. Hitomi wondered if he felt the wave of warmness move over his body when they touched as she did. He watched her as if he was waiting for her to pull away. But she didn’t. She welcomed his touch. He let out a little hum and his eyes closed again. Hitomi couldn’t take her gaze from him. She couldn’t believe he was in her bed and she was with him. It had been four long days without him and then she realized that the pains in her chest had completely disappeared. She studied him wondering if the pains had something to do with him. The lashes across his back reminded her of her dream. She was starting to realize there was a link between them that she didn’t understand when her eyelids got heavy and she fell asleep.

  Chapter 7

  The phone was ringing. It was barely audible from downstairs, but it continued to ring. It was starting to get irritating and Hitomi groaned. She opened her eyes and glanced at the clock taking in that it was almost two o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly she remembered everything from this morning and became aware of the body behind her. She could practically feel the heat coming from his body. While she slept, she had shifted from her left side to her right. She glanced over her shoulder at Obi still sleeping when she realized that his left hand was resting on her waist.

  Finally the phone stopped ringing, but Hitomi was preoccupied with the intimacy of their position. Her body felt tingly especially where his thumb was tucked under her shirt on bare skin. She didn’t want to wake him, but she wanted to see him. She slowly twisted her body around, his hand moving around her waist and resting on her stomach as she moved onto her back. Her stomach fluttered and she twisted more ending up facing him. His fingers left a trail of heat across her midsection.

  She stared at the beauty of his face, but then noticed he was profusely sweating. Hitomi reached up and placed her hand on his forehead. Obi was burning up, almost stinging her hand. Before she could pull her hand away, Obi groaned and his facial expression turned to anguish.

  Rapidly his hand moved from her waist and grabbed her wrist. He pushed her onto her back grabbing her other wrist and pinning them over her head as he hovered over her. His grip tightened as a growl escaped his throat.

  “Obi, what are you doing?” Hitomi said shocked.

  His eyes blinked open and his expression changed to surprise. “Hitomi?” His chest was rising and falling deeply.

  “What are you doing?” she repeated.

  “Oh god.” He let go of her wrists and put his hand on his forehead as he slid off of her. He leaned his shoulder against the wall and covered his face. Hitomi sat up and rubbed her wrists. “I…I could have hurt you.” His body shook.

  “Were you having a bad dream?” She tucked her legs up and reached over touching his shoulder.

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged her hand away. “Are you okay?”

  “You didn’t hurt me.” She rested her hands in her lap. “You should lie back down. You have a terrible fever.”

  He let out a deep breath and lay back down on his side. “The poison is just working its way out of my system.” He rested his hand on her knee. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “I’m fine. What do you mean ‘the poison’?” She looked down at him trying not to focus on his hand.

  “Um, it’s nothing.”

  “Will you stop saying that? It’s not nothing. Your back is torn to shreds and now you’re telling me you were poisoned? What are you in trouble for? Did you kill someone?” Hitomi replied frustrated.

  “I just…I did something I wasn’t supposed to do. I was given a poison to basically enhance my nerve endings so that I felt more pain.”

  “What? You say that so nonchalantly. Someone did this to you. Why?”

  “Hitomi, I can’t go into it. You wouldn’t understand.”

  “No, you’re right. I wouldn’t understand why someone would torture you and poison you. That’s beyond my comprehension.” She shook her head. “Nor would I ever want to understand.”

  “I don’t want you to understand it.”

  Hitomi lowered her head and turned away from him.

  “But it’s not because of why you think.”

  “And what do I think?” she turned back to him.

  “You think I don’t trust you.”

  She swallowed hard an
d got up from the bed. “I’m going to make us some lunch. Are you hungry?”