R e n e g a d e s (High&Low) v5: Memory



 「For all of the times that they said it’s impossible.」

The taxi dropped us off at a motel on the edge of town and I followed them to room 119 at the back of the building. The low buzz of the AC filled me with nostalgia for a time when my life wasn’t quite so difficult. I remember being a small child when my grandma was still alive. Every year she would take me a theme park and we’d stay over night in a hotel room. For a kid so young, it was like a grand adventure each time, but it didn’t last long. After she died, I never got to take another adventure. Until now, I guess, but I have to wonder if this is the kind of adventure I want to be on.

Hiroto headed to the back of the room. “I’m taking a shower first. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

I sighed, falling onto the bed closest to me and running a hand threw my hair. “This is the longest day of my life.”

Masaki settled down beside me. “It’s after midnight so the day is technically over.”

I glanced at the clock on the wall – it read 1:15 in the morning. For a moment, we just sat in silence, waiting for Hiroto to finish in the shower so we could have a turn. “When do we leave?”

“The flight is booked for 11:30 tomorrow morning.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” I wondered softly, leaning my head back to stare at the popcorn ceiling. “How do I know you won’t sell me on the Japanese black market or something?”

He hummed. “You don’t, but why would we go through the trouble of saving you just to kill you or get rid of you?”

“I don’t know how psychos think.”

He laughed, patting my shoulder. I turned my head to meet his eyes, surprised by the sincerity lingering there. “I promise that we won’t hurt you. I promise to protect you and keep you safe, Jen-chan.”

Maybe I shouldn’t, but I believed him.

The bathroom door opened and Hiroto came out in a cloud of steam, wearing nothing but a fluffy white towel around his waist. That’s not what caught my attention, though. My eyes fell to his forearm where a red slash sat against his skin, irritated from the hot water he had used. I realized that I had been the one to cause it and I felt guilty. Granted, I thought I was going to die, but still.

Masaki reached forward to pat my arm. “You can go nex -“

“I’m sorry,” I interrupted him, meeting Hiroto’s dark eyes. When I noticed his confusion, I added, “For cutting you. I kinda thought it was you or me… sorry.”

“Forget it,” he replied softly, turning his back to me so he could pull some clothes from his bag.

I was going to ask how someone could forget about slicing another person’s arm up but… well, my memory is worse than an 80-year-old flea. I’ll have forgotten all about it in ten minutes unless I see it again.

Masaki smiled, glancing between me and his brother before addressing me. “You can take a shower next.”

“Sure. Thanks.” I sent him a nod before starting toward the bathroom, but I only made it a few steps before I realized something important. I turned around, frowning at the brunette. “I don’t have any clothes…”

“You can borrow ours!”

I looked at his skinny form before glancing at Hiroto’s fit form. Then I looked down at my chubby ass before sending him a look. “You’re kidding, right?” He seemed to notice this problem as well, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to think of a solution. “I’ll just grab some clothes from my house.”

Before I could even make it two steps, Hiroto was grabbing my arm to root me in place. “You’re not going anywhere.”

“Am I feckin’ prisoner?” I scowled at him, yanking my arm free.

“Yes.” “No.”

The two brothers stared each other down, seeming to have a silent conversation like the Dean and Sam Winchester often did on Supernatural. I thought that was a twin thing, but I guess it’s just a brother thing in general.

“Hiroto will take you to get your things while I shower,” Masaki stated, earning a scoff from his younger brother. “But you need to listen to him, okay? We don’t know if they’ve found your house or if they’re still looking for you.”

“Sure.”

Once Hiroto got dressed, we headed out into the night. I had called ahead so a taxi was waiting outside, the driver a middle-aged woman reading a magazine to pass the time. We slid into the back and it felt nice not to be squished between the two of them.

The woman threw the magazine onto the passenger seat. “Where to, hun?”

I gave her the address and we took off.

━━━━━━༻🕯༺━━━━━━

I watched the fan blades as they slowly turned above me, circulating the air from the AC throughout the motel room. No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to fall asleep. I guess there’s just too many thoughts running a marathon in my head. No matter how many times I try to piece it together, I just can’t figure out why anyone would want me dead. Sure, I can be annoying as hell sometimes, but kill worthy? And that damn USB… I’m hoping that they really did want the security feed from the school, but something tells me that’s not the case.

I glanced over at the second bed where the two brothers were sleeping peacefully. I hate to admit it, but these guys have already started to win me over. I feel like I can trust them but I also feel like they’re hiding something from me. Like in the car when Masaki said he didn’t know who is after me. I’d bet my last Dr. Pepper on the fact that they do know. Why wouldn’t they say, then? I reached up to the ring around my neck, running my thumb over the circular, red gem in the center.

With a sigh, I pushed myself up off the bed, carefully peeling back the curtain to look outside. It’s still dark, but the sun is slowly beginning to rise to the east. My eyes scanned the parking lot but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. There were only 3 cars out there but I honestly couldn’t remember which ones had been there when we first got back. What kind of car does a bad guy even drive?

I glanced back at the sleeping brothers to make sure they were sound asleep before I slid my shoes on and crept over to the door which squeaked when I opened it. I paused, listening for movement from the brothers but there was none. Damn door, you didn’t squeak when we opened you earlier, why now? Shaking my head, I stepped through the door, tugging it closed softly. Most of the time, motels have vending machines somewhere and I’m craving a soda.

Maybe it’s in the front office? I peeked through the window, seeing the employee asleep behind the desk, his feet propped up and his head thrown back. His snores were so loud that I could hear them even outside. I tugged the door open and stuck my head inside, but there were no vending machines, just a small area to the right where people can sit and read the cheap magazines sitting on the rack.

I stepped back out and followed the wall back toward our room but I stopped short, taking a left turn and following the wall to a small enclosed area without a door. Two vending machines sat side by side, one filled with snacks and the other with drinks. I hummed as I scanned the items, excited to get some food. There was no option for Dr. Pepper which sucked, so I settled for a Sprite and these tiny chocolate chip cookies. Probably not the best breakfast, but I’ve had worse.

With the sun rising, it was starting to get humid so I hurried back to the room. It swung open when I reached for the handle and I was met with the tired eyes of Hiroto who looked torn between annoyed and tired. I offered him a sheepish smile. “Good mo -“

“Where were you?” he demanded, stepping aside and motioning for me to enter the room.

I held up my snack before stepping back into the room. Masaki was awake but still lying on the bed, scrolling through his phone. When he saw me, he sat up but he pouted when he noticed the snack.

“You didn’t bring us any?”

Rather than saying I didn’t think about it, I said, “You were still asleep.”

“I told you not to leave the room,” Hiroto scolded, folding his arms over his chest.

“You never said that,” I replied, narrowing my eyes at him. “Seriously, what’s your problem? I just went and got a snack.”

“And if Kuryu had come back for you, what then?”

“Kuryu?”

Masaki sent his brother a look.

“I knew it. You do know who those guys are!” I sent them an accusing look. “Who are they?”

“We didn’t want to say their name because we didn’t want you asking around about them and attracting attention,” Masaki explained, his puppy dog eyes practically begging me for forgiveness.

I guess that does make sense, but still… if he lied to me about that, what else has he lied to me about? I’ve got to remember not to fully trust them even though I’m 99% sure that ship has already sailed.

He ran a hand through his messy hair before stuffing his feet into his boots. “We still have time before our flight. Let’s get breakfast!”

Nice change of subject, I thought. I’m going to let the subject drop, though. Mostly because I’m starving and don’t like arguing. I grabbed my bookbag, putting one of my arms through the strap. The boys did the same and we left the motel together. I thought we were going to walk but Masaki headed over to one of the cars, pulling out a set of keys. I blinked at it dumbly.

“What’s wrong?”

“You have a car.”

“It’s a rental.”

I frowned at the youngest brother. “Why the hell didn’t we take the car when we went to my house last night?”

“A taxi was easier,” Hiroto shrugged, climbing into the passenger seat.

“I mean, I guess…” I rubbed the back of my head, climbing into the backseat. I know how to drive, but I don’t have a license and Hiroto doesn’t know the area. The diner was only a couple of blocks away so it didn’t take us long to get there, thankfully. This was going to be my last American meal before I left for Japan and I intended to savor it.