Seduction Game (Art and Soul)

by Candy J. Starr

  I moved away so she couldn’t snatch it back off me. This drawing I’d keep safe.

  “Have it your way, but you will regret it.”

  I got my things ready for class, wanting to escape from that house. Despite the humidity, I still shivered. I needed warmth. I dug through my drawers trying to find something and sitting at the bottom was the hoodie Junichi had loaned me. I put it on, zipping it tight. The comfort of it thawed me.

  CHAPTER 29

  “Oh, Audrey, you’re leaving soon. Do you want the money before you leave or should I deposit it in your bank account?”

  What?

  Had Junichi heard that? He’d been following me down the stairs. I didn’t dare turn back to look. If I did, I’d just incriminate myself.

  She’d said it loudly. She’d meant Junichi to hear. That was her whole purpose. Bitch. I clutched the stair rail to keep myself standing as everything around me went black. The only thing keeping me upright was my fingers clutched around that rail.

  “What do you mean?”

  My words didn’t sound convincing. Maybe I should’ve just nodded. She’d not said what the money was for. Junichi might not catch on. Surely she wouldn’t be bitch enough to actually spell it out so he understood? She was trying to rattle me, not destroy him.

  “Yes, what do you mean?” He stood four steps above me. Close enough for me to know he was there but not close enough to touch me.

  “Let’s go back upstairs,” I said. I didn’t want him to hear this. I could make something up. She was paying me to take Shun to cram school? No, that would never work after the other night. Hell, brain, think of something fast.

  Mrs Tachibana’s eyes flashed and it struck me she wasn’t just toying with me, this was for real. My stomach lurched. I’d thought the laser eyes had been bad but that flash wasn’t meant to hurt, it was intent on destruction. I wanted to wrap my arms around Junichi and protect him from that evil.

  “Audrey’s been playing a little game with you. Your father and I thought that it would be good for you have more sexual experience before you get out into the world. Unfortunately, this witch has taken that too far. You can’t honestly be interested in her. She’s not our type of person.”

  She gave a little laugh. That laugh was cold as the grave.

  I froze.

  She’d taken everything wonderful in the world and destroyed it. I hated Mrs Tachibana. I wanted to punch her. More than punching her, I wanted to smash her face in. Her smug, smiling face.

  Fucking bitch. She was pure evil. It wasn’t even about what she was doing to me. How could she smile like that, knowing she’d said something that would destroy her own son? Did she even see him as an actual person?

  “It’s not like she says,” I muttered.

  I couldn’t look at him. I couldn’t face him, not when I couldn’t deny her words.

  “It’s exactly like I say. We thought we’d buy you a plaything. Really, Junichi, you need to toughen up a bit if you want to take over the company. She’s just a dirty little money grubber.”

  That’s when I flew. My body reacted before my brain. I hurled myself at her, my fist raised. Before my punch connected though, Junichi grabbed me. We both stumbled on the stairs, started falling but Junichi held me tight.

  “Don’t do it, Audrey. It’s what she wants. You’ll be in a world of trouble if you hit her.”

  I didn’t care. I struggled in his arms.

  “Don’t be a fool,” she said. “I’m telling the truth.”

  “Is she?” he asked me.

  He still had his arm around me. I wanted to lie. I wanted to tell all the lies. Anything that would keep him looking at me with that adoration in his eyes. Anything that would keep his body against mine. I couldn’t speak, though. The lies wouldn’t come out. Now that I needed them, they deserted me.

  “Is it true?” he repeated.

  The coldness had come back into his eyes but there was a glimmer there too. He wanted me to say it was lies, I knew that much. He almost begged for reassurance. But I couldn’t do that.

  “It’s not like that at all. I didn’t even really know you…”

  “So, you took money from my parents?”

  He had no idea what I’d have to deal with when I got home. He had no idea at all. That money was my lifeline out of hell, it was security and safety and a way to survive. For someone who had everything he needed, even money just stuck in bank accounts because his grandmother had given it to him, my life would be impossible to understand. Even if things between us had changed, they hadn’t changed that much.

  The hurt I read on his face struck me hard. I wanted to die. I’d caused that pain. I was a bad person. A terrible person. I would never, ever be able to undo the damage I’d caused.

  I ran back up the stairs. Mrs Tachibana swept off to whereever she’d come from. Happy to leave the destruction she’d caused. Junichi ran after me.

  He grabbed me.

  “What’s going on, Audrey? You need to tell me.”

  “You don’t understand. I needed…”

  Then I stopped. What was the point of explaining it all to him anyway? I wasn’t one of them, he’d told me so enough. I wasn’t the type of person he would ever get serious about. Even if I explained everything, he’d still turn away. Or he’d feel sorry for me. No matter, if he knew my history, things between us would change.

  “I can’t explain,” I said.

  “You don’t want to explain. Why did you do it? There are things you aren’t telling me. You don’t trust me.”

  “I trust you,” I told him.

  But that was a lie. I didn’t trust anyone. Especially not someone I cared about so much. Maybe it was better things ended like this. They had to end anyway, no point dragging it on.

  He stepped in front of me, grabbing hold of my shoulders. I had no way of escape from him.

  “Honestly, Audrey, you have to tell me. If you are in some kind of trouble, I can help you.”

  “It’s nothing like that.”

  “I’m not going to judge you. I just need to know. There’s something, isn’t there? At times, you just pull away. It’s there and it’s stopping you.”

  If I followed my heart, I’d have melted into his arms and told him everything. I’d have believed him when he said he wouldn’t judge me and that he could help me. But I wasn’t fool enough to fall for that. What did he care anyway?

  The moment I’d not done what Sean had wanted, he’d knocked me around. He’d been sweet to start with. And every guy after that. They’d been nice enough. But it’d all fallen to shit.

  Junichi was different. But was he different enough? Surely, it was better to just walk away before he hated me even more.

  “It’s like your mum said. I needed the money. They offered it to me. And, by the way, Sunshine, you were pretty easy. It wasn’t even a challenge.”

  “You aren’t like that. You aren’t that person.”

  “I’m exactly that person.”

  He shoved me away from him. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but didn’t speak. He just stared at me like I was a piece of dirt. I guess I was.

  CHAPTER 30

  I went to my room and threw things into my suitcase. I’d not live under this roof a moment longer. Since it was only two weeks until I finished my semester, I’d go to a hotel. I’d go anywhere. Hell, if things got bad enough, I could just return home early. I just needed to get as far away from here as possible.

  If I saw that bitch again, I’d knife her. I’d rip her guts open and let all the evil bleed from her body. I couldn’t do that though, so I had to go.

  Before I’d finished packing, Shun came into my room.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Sorry, Shun. I’m moving out.”

  He gave a little cry then wrapped his arms around my waist. “No, Audrey. You have to stay. It’s because of Junichi, isn’t it? I heard him yell at you. I’ll go beat him up for you.”

  “No, Shun. It’s my faul
t, not Junichi’s.”

  He clutched me so tight, I could barely move. I tried to prise his fingers away from me.

  “Shun, I have to pack.”

  “I’m not letting you go, Audrey. I need you here with me.”

  I caused problems all around. Junichi had told me in the beginning that I’d cause a mess that other people had to clean up and I’d mocked him for it. But he’d been right. He’d seen the truth of what I was. I should’ve left it at that.

  While I struggled with Shun, Yumi came into my room.

  “You’re leaving?”

  She didn’t say much but she sat down on my bed and didn’t look like leaving any time soon.

  Shun started crying. He was really too old to cry like that but that didn’t stop him. I patted his head.

  What a mess.

  “It’s my fault, isn’t it,” he said through his tears. “It’s because I wouldn’t go to cram school. I’ll go tell Mum that I’ll never miss a day again. I’ll tell her it was me. Just stay.”

  I sat down on the bed and pulled him onto my knee. I needed to calm him down before I did anything else.

  “It’s not about that. I did something wrong and was stupid so now I have to go away.”

  “No. You can’t go.”

  His tears broke my heart. I’d never be able to explain things to him. He was too young to understand. I didn’t really understand myself. I’d thought I was doing something clever, something without consequences but all I’d done was screw up big time.

  I had no words to comfort him. I held him tight to me but I wondered if that was to comfort him or myself. Even Yumi moved closer.

  After a while, Shun stopped crying.

  “I need to pack.” I sighed. I pushed him off my knee and stood up. “Look guys, I was planning to go home in ten days. I’m just leaving early. I’ve got a whole life back there. My sister and my friends. You knew this was only temporary, right?”

  Yumi nodded. “We knew but we thought we had ten days left. We wanted to have a farewell party for you and everything.”

  Then she put her head down as though not wanting me to read her expression. My chest tightened. I couldn’t believe that they’d even thought of that. I loved those guys.

  “We can still have a party. Just don’t invite Junichi.”

  They both nodded.

  “Are you going to leave Tokyo?” Yumi asked.

  Where are you going?” Shun added. “Can I email you?”

  “I’m staying in Tokyo.” Hell knew where, though. “And you can email me any time.”

  That made him smile at least.

  “You are too old to cry like that,” Yumi added.

  “Am not. I can cry if I want.”

  I laughed. He was too cute sometimes. “You can help me pack if you like.”

  Before I could get anything else out of the wardrobe though, Mrs Tachibana came to my room.

  “Oh, you’re leaving.”

  Why was she surprised? After what she’d done, I could hardly stay in this house. That impulse to smash her face hadn’t disappeared but I couldn’t exactly punch her with Yumi and Shun in the room.

  “Yes, I’m leaving. That should make you happy.”

  “Please stay Audrey, just for the night.” Shun looked like a little puppy with his eyes so wide. He bit his bottom lip. That kid knew how to work it.

  “Please, Audrey,” Yumi added.

  “Mama, tell Audrey to stay. She’s not done anything wrong. She should stay with us.”

  “Nonsense. We are going out to dinner to leave Audrey alone to pack.”

  Shun’s lip trembled but he didn’t cry. He just pulled his mouth tight and said nothing. Yumi reached out and took his hand.

  “Come along and stop being stupid.” Mrs Tachibana held his arm.

  “Is Junichi coming with us?” he asked. “Or is he helping Audrey?”

  “Junichi has gone away for a while. I’m not sure when he’ll be back.”

  I’d thought my heart had sunk as low as a heart could sink but that dropped it almost to the core of the Earth. He was so disgusted, he never wanted to see me again. And who could blame him? This disaster was nothing more than I expected. I’d hoped I would’ve been able to leave Junichi with at least some good memories of me but he’d seen me for who I really was.

  “Shun, tidy yourself up. You’re in no state to go out. Yumi, you help him.”

  I didn’t want them to leave. I didn’t want to be alone with this woman. At the same time, I had things I wanted to say to her.

  When they’d gone, she got a big envelope out of her bag and handed it to me.

  “I want your assurance that you will never speak to Junichi again. You will be gone from this house and you will never have contact with any of this family.”

  I shrugged and pushed the envelope back at her. It was tainted and dirty. I didn’t want it.

  “Don’t be a silly girl. You need the money or you’d have never agreed in the first place. Don’t let your stupid pride get in the way.”

  “I need the money but I don’t need it that badly.”

  Junichi would never speak to me again but I’d promised Shun he could contact me any time. I’d not go back on that promise. I couldn’t turn away from him. He was a kid. He’d never understand.

  “Even if you don’t agree to my terms, he’ll never speak to you again. I’ve got your claws out of him.”

  I didn’t look at her. I bunched my fists tight, not to punch her but to keep my emotions under control. I needed to speak without my voice shaking.

  “Do you ever think what damage you’ve done in the process? Junichi might hate me but I’m going home anyway. He’ll hate you forever. You don’t understand a thing about your own family.”

  She sighed. “You don’t understand.”

  “They might do what you want now but you’ll die a lonely old lady after making your own kids as miserable as you are. Is that what you want?”

  She didn’t even react. The woman wasn’t human. I couldn’t hit her. I knew that. I’d be in a world of trouble and besides, my red hot anger had died down to be replaced with something colder. I wanted to hurt her, even if it was only a little bit. I wanted to see that facade fracture.

  “I don’t want your money. I did this to have sex with Junichi, not for the money, and I enjoyed every moment of it. It was pretty damn hot, to be honest.”

  She blanched a little but I had more to say. I slid open the drawer beside my bed and got out a box of condoms.

  “And you can have these back. We never used them.”

  I threw the box at her. They weren’t the condoms she’d given me. We’d used them up long ago. She wouldn’t know that, though. If it gave her a bit of worry in her perfectly set-up life then it was worth the lie.

  Mrs Tachibana stared at the box as though it were something lethal.

  “You didn’t!”

  “Yep, I did. That’s what us trashy sluts do.”

  She backed away from me. Her face twitched as though the foundation of that mask she wore was shifting.

  I wanted to laugh.

  “If you have a child, we will never acknowledge it.”

  “There are DNA tests and all kinds of things.”

  She gulped but left with a parting shot.

  “Make sure you only take your own belongings when you leave the house. I wouldn’t want to have to report you for theft.”

  This time with the Tachibanas was over. I’d never see any of them again, and that made me want to cry worse than Shun had earlier.

  CHAPTER 31

  Before I could finish packing, Mr Tachibana came to my room.

  “The others have gone out to dinner,” I said.

  He sat on my bad. “I know. I wanted to talk to you alone.”

  I wasn’t in the mood for talking. I wanted to pack and get the hell out of that place. I dumped the clothes out of the wardrobe onto my bed beside him and started folding them.

  There were a few things Yu
mi had given me. I put them to one side, not wanting to be accused of stealing. Bitch. I’d never stolen a thing in my life. Just because I had nothing, didn’t mean I took things that weren’t mine.

  I began regretting not accepting the money, though. I’d gone through all that and was left with nothing. She’d been right. It was stupid pride. It wasn’t like anyone was going to give me a medal for doing the right thing. I didn’t even have a warm fuzzy glow in my heart. All I had was a bleak bank account and the added expense of paying for somewhere to live for the next two weeks.

  “I’m sorry,” Mr Tachibana said.

  Not sorry enough to leave me the hell alone. I’d have preferred him not to hang out in my room. But then, it was his room, I guess. His house.

  He stared down at his very expensive shoes.

  “Hey, it’s not your fault.”

  I wasn’t even sure what he was apologising for – his wife’s behaviour or starting this whole mess in the first place.

  “We treated you badly. Then well, you know what she’s like. I’ve known since before I married her. It’s not been a happy marriage.”

  “So, why did you marry her then?”

  As soon as I opened my mouth I regretted it. Their marital problems were the last thing I wanted to know about. I folded up my t-shirts and hoped I’d not opened the floodgates to things I didn’t want to hear.

  “Money,” he said. “My family have a long history, a good name, but that was all. I wanted to make something of myself. Her family were the opposite. Rich and successful. They wanted the social position.”

  That made sense. I’d suspected something like it. When I’d asked Junichi about his mother working in the business, he’d not really answered. She had the control in the family, that was for sure.

  “So, you got what you wanted. This house, the business, all the delicious foods.”

  “I got what I wanted.”

  When he said that, I could see traces of Junichi in his face. That same resignation in his eyes when he talked of family obligations. Maybe he wasn’t such a terrible person, just someone who’d made terrible choices.

  Even if I pitied the dude though, it meant nothing. I’d finished packing my clothes and squeezed my shoes into my suitcase. I still had Junichi’s hoodie. I thought about putting it with Yumi’s clothes but I couldn’t do that. I put it in my case.