Sweet Burden Read online
sweet burden
K. L. Ogden
The events portrayed in this book are fictitious.
Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.
Sweet Burden
Copyright © 2012 by Kristi L. Ogden
First eBook edition February 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
sweet burden
K. L. Ogden
To my mother,
for always believing in me.
And my friends and family,
for never letting me quit.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 1
The alarm screamed in Hitomi’s ear. The repetitive beeps causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and smack the plastic box. She took a deep breath and rolled over toward the wall. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared at the dull blue of her bedroom. The room was dark and the tapping of rain against her window could be heard. There was a deep crack of thunder and she sat up quickly. The room lit up with a bright flash of lightning. It felt as though the storm was hovering right over her house.
There was a light knock on the door and then it creaked open letting in a flood of light from the hallway.
“Hitomi? Are you awake?”
Her mother’s silhouette appeared in the doorway blocking half the light. The outline of Regina Beaumann’s hair was the only thing that made her recognizable. She had long brunette locks, but always kept them gathered in a tight bun on top of her head. Hitomi rubbed her eyes as they began to adjust and noticed her mother had her scrubs on. Her mother worked as a nurse at the local hospital and most of the time pulled double shifts, leaving Hitomi home alone often.
“Yup,” she nodded. “Heading to work or just getting home?”
“Heading. Now get up sleepyhead before you are late again.” She quietly shut the door as there was another crack of thunder so loud the window shook. Hitomi fell back onto her pillows dreading pulling back the covers and loathing the idea of another day of high school.
After forcing herself to get up she pulled on her jeans that lay on the floor and rummaged through drawers to find a t-shirt. She slipped on her sneakers and buttoned up a cardigan over a t-shirt depicting a beach resort. She had never been to the beach. Actually, she had never been anywhere outside of Beach Village, Ohio. Hitomi couldn’t help but think when they moved there when she was a baby that Regina thought there was actually supposed to be sand and an ocean. But there wasn’t. There wasn’t anything in Beach Village.
Hitomi secured her long hair into a ponytail and grabbed her backpack as there was a blaring honk from the driveway. Opening the bedroom door she stuck her head out into the hallway.
“Mom! Tell Kerry I will be right out!”
She hurried around the room grabbing keys, wallet and a cell phone. There was another short honk and she realized her mom had probably already left. She ran downstairs and out into the rain. It was cold out. Unseasonably cold and she immediately wished she had grabbed a jacket. Hitomi plopped down into the warm velour of Kerry’s passenger seat quickly pulling the door shut.
“About time Hitomi. We’re going to be late,” Kerry smiled and backed out of the drive. Kerry was her best friend since grade school. She was the lucky one graced with curves, gorgeous blond hair, and rich chocolate eyes. Not to mention a car and a boyfriend. She felt a twinge of jealousy towards her friend. Hitomi was the exact opposite of her, long straight brownish-blond hair that always just hung there and not much in the curve department. She was barely 5’4” and built like a pole. The only thing going for her was the blue of her eyes, which Kerry described as the color of the ocean. There was another twinge of jealousy. Kerry had been to the ocean.
“We’re always late,” Hitomi rolled her eyes and dug through her pack hoping she had remembered everything.
“We are not turning around if you forgot anything,” Kerry laughed, knowing Hitomi too well. “You’re coming with Shane and I tonight, aren’t you?”
Hitomi shrugged. “I haven’t asked my mom yet. So, probably no.” Her mother had always been protective of her. Hitomi chalked it up to the fact she was an only child and her mother had never married, but now she was almost 18 and was beginning to expect a little bit of freedom.
“Oh, c’mon. She has to let you out of the house sometime.”
“Not according to her,” Hitomi sighed and leaned back deep into the seat. She glanced out the window and up into the sky. It was sinister and caused her to shiver. The cold was affecting her more lately, as if the chill was creeping into her body and trying to take over.
Within a few minutes the car pulled into the school lot. They were one of the last cars to pull in forcing them to park near the back with the freshman. Hitomi dug through her pack again searching for an umbrella.
Damn. She had left it by the front door. Kerry was already out of the car hurrying towards the building with her umbrella hovering over her head. Hitomi swung the door open and secured her pack on her shoulder. She hung her head down starting after Kerry as she concentrated on pacing her steps quickly and not the thunderous sky looming overhead.
Once inside, the school lights flickered with promise of a power outage. Hitomi combed her fingers through her ponytail and tried to brush any water from her.
“Ladies, finally,” a deep voice boomed with a laugh. Hitomi glanced up as Kerry practically bounced into the arms of her boyfriend. She turned away from the couple trying to fight off another twinge of jealousy. Shane Noble was as good as boyfriends could get. He was tall and muscular. Hitomi let out a slight huff. Okay, Shane is more like a Scandinavian god. She shook her head and turned back to them forcing a toothless smile. They were quite perfect for each other; blond god and goddess. And there stood Hitomi, plain and alone. The bell rang and they hurried off to their classes.
After school, the weather had decided to calm. Glad that she left a jacket in her gym locker, Hitomi pulled it on and headed for the doors. She walked outside to the clouds releasing a misting of water. Again she shivered. But this time it was from the odd sensation that she was being watched. She felt eyes burning into her skull. Hitomi looked around trying to spot the origin of the creepy feeling. There was no one even looking at her. Most everyone had left for the day, while she had struggled with the lock on her locker.
Shrugging it off as paranoia, she practically stepped in front of Shane pulling up in his midnight blue Bronco with Kerry in the front seat. The car let out a squeal from the tires.
“What are you doing Hitomi? Trying to get yourself hurt?” Kerry yelled at her out the open window.
“Sorry, I was just…” What were you exactly doing? “thinking,” Hitomi finished.
“Well, do you want a ride? I’m going to go with Shan
e, but we can drop you off.” Kerry gave her a warning look to say ‘no’.
“Yah, c’mon,” Shane motioned behind Kerry in the driver’s seat.
Hitomi shook her head. “Nah. I’ll walk. But thanks.” Shane gave a shrug and Kerry mouthed ‘thank you’. “Can you pick me up later though?”
“Are you coming with us?” Kerry beamed.
“Yah. I think I could use a Friday night out. Mom will just have to deal with it.”
“Okay. We’ll see you at nine then,” Shane gave her a wink and they pulled out of the lot.
Hitomi let out a loud sigh and started walking. It really wasn’t a long walk and she decided she could use the time to think. The wind had picked up and she tightened the jacket around her. Her hair whipped around behind her and her fingers started to hurt from the cold. She wanted to kick herself for not taking the ride offered, but she knew that Shane’s parents weren’t home after school and Kerry was eager to get to his house.
A blast of frigid air suddenly swirled around her causing her to stop and shake. Hitomi felt the gaze on her again. Is someone following me? She trembled not wanting to turn around but sensing that someone or something was there. Her heart began to pick up speed. She was starting believe herself to be crazy. She wanted to turn around and prove herself right. But she was also scared she’d prove herself wrong. Rubbing her hands together, Hitomi leaned down and pretended to fix the laces on her shoe. She closed her eyes slowly turning her head and then quickly opened them. She abruptly stood up and turned around. There was no one there. The wind howled and the rain started to pick up again. Satisfied that she was going crazy, she picked up her pace and rushed home.
She passed a few neighborhood stores and hurried through the park. The small white house sat across the park with a perfect view of the slide and swingsets. In the summer she would spend hours in the recreational area taking photos. These days the amount of summer days was growing shorter and shorter. She passed by the bus stop bench and hastily carried herself across the street and up her front steps.
Once inside, Hitomi couldn’t help but peek out through the curtains in the living room out to the street. She glanced up and down both sides, but saw nothing. The rain was falling harder now and she lay down on the couch happy that she was not soaking wet.
Hitomi faintly heard the beeping of her cell phone indicating there was a message. Sitting up in the dark room, she wiped the sleep from her eyes and turned to the clock on the DVD player. 8:30! She scrambled up from the couch catching her toe on the leg of the coffee table.
“Damn it!” she yelled, hobbling over to her back pack on the floor by the door. Three missed calls all from Kerry. She flipped on the light and hit send on her phone, then went up to her room.
“Where have you been? I was getting ready to call the police!” Kerry said with worry in her voice.
“I fell asleep on the couch.” Hitomi stripped off her jeans and started to pick through her closet.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Umm.” Hitomi frowned at her options. “I will be.”
“Wear something tight and black,” Kerry giggled.
“Sure. I did just get back from Whores ‘r Us.”
“Enough sarcasm Hitomi. I’ll bring something for you then. Be there in a bit.” Kerry had hung up and Hitomi closed her phone. She walked over to her vanity and sat down. Pondering why she hadn’t started to fill out a bit, she started to put on a bit of make-up knowing that Kerry would add to it when she got there.
“See, it fits perfect,” Kerry said as she lay on Hitomi’s bed moments later.
Hitomi turned in the mirror. “My butt is practically hanging out.” The black pleated mini skirt and black tight t-shirt left more skin uncovered than she was comfortable with. “And my legs are going to freeze.” The fishnet stockings left little to the imagination.
“That’s why I brought you my boots.” Kerry held them out to her and Hitomi slipped them on lacing them up to her knees. The boots easily gave her another inch of height. She looked at herself in the mirror again. “You look great,” Kerry nodded behind her.
“I look like a hooker.”
“Perfect! We’re going to a club, not a library.” Kerry had already painted up Hitomi’s eyes with black eyeliner and mascara; the outfit completed the whole transformation.
Great. I’m a goth-reject. Hitomi shrugged to herself and Kerry pulled her out of the room. She left her mother a note and they were off to Club Scarlet.
“So, I wanted to tell you that Bradley was asking about you today. He’s going to be there tonight,” Kerry said leaning over the back of the passenger seat.
Hitomi tugged at the skirt trying to pull it down a bit and glanced up at her. “Why was he asking about me?”
“He’s got the hots for you. And dressed like that, he won’t be able to keep his hands off you tonight.”
“I don’t like Bradley.” Hitomi continued to struggle with the skirt.
Kerry rolled her eyes. “Give him a chance. He’s nice.”
“Maybe Hitomi doesn’t want a nice guy. Maybe she wants a bad boy,” Shane mused as he gave her a smirk in the rearview mirror.
Hitomi sunk into the backseat bench. “I don’t know what I want,” she said under her breath. The rest of the ride consisted of Shane and Kerry arguing over what to listen to on the radio. Hitomi wanted to tell them about the odd sensation she had been having of being watched, but she knew that Kerry would start going on about something paranormal and Shane would shrug it off as paranoia and then joke that maybe she had a stalker. Needless to say, she kept her mouth shut and listened to their argument over hard rock or club music.
They only had to wait a short time to get into Club Scarlet. Shane seemed to know every important person within a thirty mile radius, and that included the bouncer for Club Scarlet. Hitomi scurried past the overweight tattooed man, holding onto Kerry’s arm. The club was bathed in red and the dance floor was lit up by the occasional flashes of strobe lighting. On the dance floor, Hitomi could only make out various moving shapes clad in fake leather and chains. The light reflected off the black shiny material and the silver glistened every time it flashed. The club smelled like sweat and alcohol and her feet stuck to the floor with every step.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Kerry yelled as they followed Shane to the bar. Hitomi just gave a nod trying not to get lost in the sea of people. Once at the bar Shane handed them each a drink and Hitomi took a sip fully expecting some sort of alcohol, but was surprised to find it just a simple sparkling water with lime. They moved over towards the wall and found an empty red velvet couch near the dance floor. Hitomi yanked on her skirt again as she sat down, careful to keep her knees together. She looked around at all the people feeling incredibly out of place. Her Friday nights were usually spent either doing homework or pouring over photography books.
Hitomi held the straw of her drink in between her teeth when she felt the shiver of someone’s eyes again. People were glancing over at her, but no one was outright staring. Her body shook so hard that her glass fell out of her grip and crashed to the floor.
“You okay Hitomi?” Kerry nudged her with her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“Yah, yah. Sorry.” Hitomi blinked hard and shook her head. “I’ll be back. Just going to run to the bathroom.” Without waiting for directions from Kerry, Hitomi got up and started pushing through the people still feeling the gaze on her. She was hoping to escape it within the walls of the ladies’ room. She felt panicked and rushed not paying attention to where exactly she was going. The place and lights made her dizzy. Just as she had broken through a large group of people into a somewhat open area, she tripped over someone’s foot. Hitomi quickly put her hands out in front of her to try to soften her fall on the concrete, when she felt an arm around her waist and a hand on her back.
Whoever it was had caught her and she stumbled back upright to reclaim her balance. The boy removed his arm around her and rested his hands on her shoulders.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Hitomi straightened out non-existing wrinkles in her clothes and nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“You should watch where you’re going. If you end up on the floor, you might not get back up,” the boy chuckled.
She shivered again and raised head up to look at the boy who had saved her from another skinned knee. He looked incredibly out of place in the club, dressed in jeans, black t-shirt, and sneakers. His hair was hidden by a grey beanie. Then Hitomi gasped taking a step back from him. His eyes were as crimson as blood.
His hands dropped to his sides. “Maybe you should sit down.”
“Your eyes…” she mumbled and then clasped her hand over her mouth. The music was still loud in the side area and she wasn’t sure if he had heard her. Slowly a grin crept up the left side of his mouth.
“Contacts,” he winked. “You should get back to your friends.”
Sweet Burden