Exiled (AmBw)

Chapter 20

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.