"BREAKING NEWS!"
"We are just now receiving a report from the local hospital. Police and investigators are saying that a murder has just taken place within the area of the hospital. The victim is one Sebastian Woo, a 28 year old surgeon. The suspect has also been identified to be one Marcus Pendleton, a 31 year old maintenance hand. Both seemed to have worked at the very same hospital. Authorities have yet to find the killer's motive, but the police suggest that it all points to one woman. A nurse by the name of-"
Kiara switched radio channels to one broadcasting lofi soundtracks. She's trying to help me forget about the incident.
It's as if the murder was playing on repeat inside my head. It was the first time I saw someone die, and it happened right in front of me. Although, there was something wrong. I wasn't sure why, but something didn't feel right. I was surprised by the whole incident and angry at myself for not being able to do anything, but it all seemed too familiar. The smell of blood, the anxiety of whether or not the killer would come for me next, and the feeling of helplessness were all things that felt strange.
"Hey, hey Blyth, are you doing okay back there?"
Kiara peeks at me through the rear-view mirror. She probably noticed how lost in thought I was ever since we left the hospital. She was always the careful driver so it was easy for me to space out.
"She's been asking you that for a while now, Blyth. You've been staring into space with those sharp eyes of yours. If I didn't know what you were thinking I would have pegged you for a pervert daydreaming some nasty fantasies."
An annoying wave of laughter came from Blight. He's teasing me now of all times, after what just happened. Part of me wanted to strangle him then and there while the other part thought about how Kiara would see me flailing my hands in the air. We'd be heading straight back to the hospital.
"Oh? You can't honestly be blaming me for what happened? Because if I remember correctly, it was you who stood back and watched as the poor man was stabbed over and over again. It's true, I amped up your fear a little bit, but in the end it was you who decided not to move. It was you who let the doctor and Marcus die. You're a helpless coward, Blyth. You just forgot!" He makes a proud smirk across his face.
"Hey Blyth, I'm really worried-"
"SHUT UP!"
I shout without thinking. I looked at Kiara's face and she was obviously hurt by my sudden outburst. Blight got to me, he struck a deep nerve I didn't know I had.
"NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID TOUGH GUY! You just turned this into the most uncomfortable car ride ever!" Blight continues his laughing fit as the rest of the trip back to my apartment is filled with silence.
Kiara parked the car in the lot opposite the apartment complex. She helps me up by handing me my crutches and carries my stuff from the hospital. We crossed the street and took the elevator up to my floor. She was still affected by what I said earlier.
I opened my apartment door and we both entered. She takes her shoes off which surprised me at first because she never did that, until I looked around and saw that my entire unit was spotless. Did she do all this cleaning?
Geez, way to go Blyth. Hurting such a wonderful friend, what the hell is wrong with you?
Kiara then sets the boxes I had with me at the table
"Oh it's okay, I can put all those away later."
She answered with a slight nod and headed towards the door. She put her shoes back on then exited the unit.
"Hey, Kiara."
She turned, I noticed her eyes were on the verge of tears.
"Uhm… I think I had some leftover ingredients in the fridge. Do you maybe wanna whip something up with me? It's the least I can do for now, after all you've done to help me."
Her face suddenly turned red, and then she lowered her head enough that I couldn't see her eyes anymore.
"You're so stupid." She muttered under her voice then closed the door behind her as she left.
"You probably deserve that, Blyth." There he goes again, but this time he was right.
"Yeah, no. I definitely deserved that. I've been taking advantage of her kindness for days now, it's only natural that she would get angry."
"So what now? Gonna cry and mope about it in your room?"
Man, I really hate this guy.
"Nope, I'm gonna make her a lunchbox for tomorrow. I'll hand it to her tomorrow in class."
I head back into the kitchen when my phone suddenly vibrates.
"A message? From Kiara?!"
I smiled to myself while thinking of all the dishes I could cook for her.
"She always told me she liked Italian cuisine, maybe I'll make some pasta and add some local spices to it. Oh, and got to get the bread just right. Better preheat the oven right away then."
I prepare the necessary ingredients and materials over by the kitchen.
"Wow, so much effort. You really do like this girl, don't you Blyth? Or maybe this apology dinner is your ticket to something naughty?"
I knew Blight was teasing me, but I tried my best to block him out. I was determined to serve Kiara the best dish ever.
"Hey, Blight. Go set the table."
He looks at me with a confused gaze and pretends to do what I asked.
"All done, Blyth!"
He moves out of earshot and looks to be up to something, but I'm not having any of it now.
"Get a load of this guy, bossing me around all of the sudden. So how can I turn this dinner date into a horrible mess? Oh, I know! When their conversation turns serious and he gets all insecure, I'll have Blyth say something weird again out of nowhere! That'll definitely kill the mood."
"Hey, Blight, can I ask you to be in your best behavior for tonight."
"Don't worry Blyth. I know how these things go. Those hormones of yours must be acting up right?"
He started laughing to himself. I clench the knife I had been cleaning in the sink as he continued prodding my mind, trying to piss me off.
"I understand completely Blyth, you've been in the hospital for so long. Dozens of hot nurses and doctors coming in and out of your room to check on you. And don't think I didn't notice how you looked at that Elizabeth girl."
My hands twitch, I cut myself a little with the knife I was cleaning.
Don't let him get to you, bear with it just for tonight.
"And DAMN that Kiara. I mean *whistles,* if I had some alone time with a girl like that. God, the things I would do. And seeing as we are alone for tonight, maybe I'll hijack that body of yours and-"
Without a second later I find myself motioning a throw towards Blight. The knife I had been cleaning flew towards his head and passed through it, sticking to the wall behind him. Blight's face gave a startled, yet irritated expression. He seemed to have lost his composure for a second, but now he looks just about ready to rip my head off my shoulders.
He's… surprised? Couldn't he have just read my mind and acted beforehand?
I go back to the sink and while polishing the knife again, I turn to Blight with a smile on my face.
"I hope we can get along, at least for tonight. Besides, I learned something new about you today. There are times where you can't read my mind, right?"
"Don't get cocky, Blyth."
I felt an immense pressure from him, and yet I refused to look away. The room grew dimmer, it was only Blight in front of me. With his head turned and his jet black clothes blending in the darkness, all I could see were his blood red eyes. I felt sweat barreling down my back. My legs wanted to collapse, but I had to stand up to him. The illusion fades and Blight returns to normal and leaves, but for a moment his left eye was twitching. If he really is me, then that meant that I was right.
It was silent for a while, Blight completely disappeared after the conversation we just had. After a while, Kiara comes back with two bags of groceries and sets them on the kitchen table.
"So when you said you had SOME groceries, what did you mean by that?" I ask while pointing at the two bags that seemed like it could feed every tenant on my current floor.
"Don't worry, I was already planning to cook something for you when you got home so I did some shopping before picking you up today." She always worried about me like that. It felt like I had a big sister making sure I was eating enough veggies and slept at the right time.
"And if there is any food left over, we could have them for lunch tomorrow. Or better yet, we could give them to your neighbors! I've been coming and going to your unit ever since you were admitted and they've been a lot of help. And come to think of it, I never really apologized to them after making a ruckus last time."
A bright smile appears on her face as she continues to talk. I know the incident from earlier affected her too, so it's nice to see her happy like this.
"Hey, why are you looking at me like that, Blyth?" Crap, I was lost in thought.
"Oh, uhh… nothing at all. I'm just really glad you're back to your usual self, Kiara. And thanks, again. I feel like I've been saying that a lot today. But I really am thankful, Kiara." I smile at her. She seemed flustered at the sight of my pathetic excuse for a smile and turned away.
"Nevermind that, it's all good! HAHAHAHAHA!" She continued her weird laugh for quite some time.
"And there's an even bigger issue here!" She points at the food I'm cooking.
"YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU COULD COOK! And judging from the smell, it seems like you're a good one at that! You even seem as tidy as a professional chef." Kiara motions to the spotless countertops, the organized utensils, and my rolled up sleeves.
"Yet, there seems to be something missing." She holds her fingers up to me, as if trying to frame an image of me.
"What is it?" Did my attempt to play MasterChef come up short?
Kiara scrounges the cabinets of the kitchen but doesn't seem to find what she's looking for.
"No way, you got to have it somewhere lying around here." She gives up on the kitchen and searches the cabinets in the living room and then my bedroom.
"Hey, I told you there's nothing in there worth hiding." Just then I hear a shout from my room.
"Found it!" She peeks out from my room with a devious smile. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out just what she had planned.
"Heeeeeeeeey, Lyth. I got something for you!" Kiara steps out of the room, still with that smile. She's holding something behind her, wait, that couldn't possibly be…
"BEHOLD!" Kiara presents me the object in question, and it really is it.
"My old… chef's hat… and matching apron... that my mom made…" Defeated, I retreat into the kitchen and pretend that I didn't see anything.
"Hold up a minute there Lyth!" She pulls me back into the living room and makes me wear the homemade chef's hat and apron.
"I saw some of your pictures and I knew you must've kept the uniform somewhere here. And I also see how much effort your mom put into this! There's even glitter on the apron! Don't get it into the food though. And look at the hat! It even says WORLD'S BEST SON/CHEF!"
Kiara bursts into laughter and rolls around on the floor. I was a bit embarrassed at first, but seeing her like this made me a little happy too.
"Okay I'll wear these. And if you don't wanna have burnt pasta for dinner, I'll get back to cooking now."
I go back into the kitchen and Kiara follows a little later after her laughing fit. She lifted the lid on the pasta sauce I'd been cooking.
"You're making Italian?! "
I could tell how excited she was by her reaction. She regains her composure and puts the lid back Despite her incessant teasing of my chef's outfit, I managed to follow the recipe in my head perfectly. The shrimp pasta, freshly baked (grocery) bread, some vintage wine I never knew I had, and her favorite…
"CREAM CHEESE LASAGNA! You remembered my favorite dish, Lyth."
I sat at the table while Kiara was still standing there, completely awestruck by what was set on the table. A moment passed and she realized how long she's been gawking at the food and sits down to eat.
"Ehem. Okay, this IS a pretty tempting apology you have here. But don't think you're off the hook just yet mister!"
She cut a huge portion of the lasagna and took a spoonful as her first bite. Her eyes widened with her cheeks completely filled with food. She was trying to say something, but I couldn't understand what.
"Ho… ho… IT'S HOT! WATER! WATER!"
I rush to the fridge and fetch her some iced cold water. Luckily, the kitchen was pretty small so it didn't take that long and her mouth wasn't on fire yet by the time I came back. She downed half of the jug in one go and she seemed worn out, until…
'THAT TASTED AMAZING, LYTH!" She then continued to tear through the lasagna she had left. I look at her and smile.
I remembered our first year in college, the moment we first met. I was sitting in the front row of the lecture hall and she was at the back. Class had just finished and she had all the guys trying to get her number. After being pestered by what seemed like every single guy in the building, she went straight out of the room and forgot her bag. I took it upon myself to return her things.
I looked all around campus for her. The food stalls, hangout areas, library, and even the gymnasium, yet I couldn't seem to find her. After a good amount of searching, it got pretty dark. I almost gave up when I saw a figure in the middle of the field. There she was sitting all alone, gazing at the stars. All the lights from the posts seemed to center on her. The strong winds made her hair flow in the air. I approached her to give her the stuff she left behind.
"Hey, you left your stuff in the room earlier." I handed her the bag and she cautiously reached out and took it. She looked scared to say the least. I wanted to leave, but how could I?
"Hey listen…" with that she turns to me, and gives a startled look. Her eyes widened and her hair flowed once again. She was anxious to hear what I was about to say.
"It's about your hair."
She looks away in disgust. Does she think I'm trying to hit on her?
"Listen, do you mind tying your hair up? I'm sitting right behind you in class and with the fan aimed at you your hair keeps getting all up in my face, it's very annoying."
She looks at me again with a confused face which turns into an annoyed one shortly after.
"Huh? You have a problem with my hair?! Weren't you hitting on me just a moment ago?"
"Hitting on you? That's rich, I could barely see anything with all of your hair on my face! I mean seriously, is tying all that hair up too much trouble for you, RAPUNZEL?"
"Could you stop it with my hair!"
We were growling at each other as we had the most intense staring contest ever. Shortly after, the sprinkler system in the field turned on, and both of us were drenched. What followed was an awkward silence that ended with the both of us laughing. I handed her the spare jacket I had in my bag and she quickly put it on.
"You better not be getting any strange ideas."
How dare she assume I was like that!
"Hey, my name's Kiara. Kiara Valentine."
She reaches out her hand to me. I took it, and a beautiful friendship was born.
"I'm Blyth, nice to meet you, Kiara."
"Nice to meet you too, Lyth."
~
"Hey, are you okay, Lyth?"
She looks at me with a worried expression. I was lost in thought again. I noticed how dirty her mouth had gotten from all the food we've been eating. I couldn't help but laugh. She notices the lasagna traces on her mouth and laughs with me.
The entire night was filled with laughter and teasing. I noticed how Blight never returned after our conversation earlier. I decided not to think about it and have fun without him while I still can. Kiara and I cleaned the dishes and even handed some out to the other tenants. When all was said and done, we ended up back in the living room.
We drank while watching an old anime that aired every midnight. It was about this group of friends competing in a test. Kiara's favorite was the white haired boy and the antagonist who looked like a circus clown. I on the other hand fell in love with the blonde haired girl, until I found out that she was a he. She kept laughing at me for mistaking the character for a guy until she noticed the cut I had on my right palm.
"This doesn't look serious, but let me get some bandages and antiseptics just in case." She went to the bathroom opposite my room and took the first aid kit in the second cabinet below the sink.
It's like she lives here. Did she come to my apartment everyday?
Kiara takes my right hand and treats the cut I got earlier from the heated discussion I had with Blight. She looked really concerned about this arguably small wound. As she was applying the bandage, she caught me looking at her.
"Hey Kiara, I'm really glad we became friends." Her face lit up in a bright red tint and she smiled.
"Geez, what am I gonna do with you, Lyth."