Scarred - Chapter 6
Title: Scarred
Author: Me
Pairing: Takaki Yuya X OC
Genre: Romance. Slice of Life. Slight Angst.
A/N: Few more chapters :)
Paper planes fall.
Leaves wither.
Sun sets.
Stars disappear.
People get wounded.
Wounds turn to scars.
“I’m home!” Himari cheerfully exclaimed, still a bit giddy because of what happened at the library.
She waited for her mother’s reply which didn’t came. She frowned a bit. Her mother is already home. She saw her car outside. She continued walking up to the kitchen where her mom is usually when she gets home. And she’s right, her mom’s there.
“Mom?”
As soon as her mother heard her, she was immediately welcomed by a tight embrace. Though she’s surprised, she managed to return the hug. They stayed still for at least a minute.
Then, she broke the silence. “What’s happening?”
Her mother let go. She placed her hands on her shoulders and stared at her. “Listen to me Himari.”
She looked at her mom with confusion but nodded.
“No matter what happens, you’ll stay with me, okay?”
A hint of anxiety hit her. Her eyes widened. “Why?”
“Just promise me you’ll stay with me.”
She looked down her feet and inhaled.
Her mother conceived her out of wedlock. But in her seventeen years of existence, she never felt unloved. Her parents did their best to be good ones. She knew how much they love her.
But she doesn’t know how much her parents love each other. Or if they even love each other.
But she doesn’t lose hope. Because she believes that they’re a family. A family loves even though things aren’t understandable. A family loves even though things are unacceptable. A family loves even though everything’s falling apart. Perhaps, her parents doesn’t love each other. But she knew they love her. And that’s what keeping them together.
She’ll give them more love to make them love her more. She’ll be their bridge. She’ll be the attachment that would make them stay in this family even if things are hard.
She’s also hoping that by doing those, her parents will learn to love each other too.
She could do it. She believed she can.
But right now, could she still do that? Now that the time wherein she’s going to choose from the two is coming?
She can’t. She knew she can’t.
“Where’s Yuya?” Himari asked as soon as she reached the the spot where they eat in the garden.
Hayate shrugged. “I haven’t seen him this morning.”
She sat down in front her best friend and placed down a plate of cheesecake. She saw Hayate eyeing it so she immediately pulled the plate away him. “Don’t you dare.”
“I’m not doing anything yet!” Hayate protested.
She chuckled and poked his cheek. “But I know that look.”
He pushed her finger away. “And I know that you know how much I like cheesecake.”
She grinned. “And I know that you know how much I love teasing you.”
He leaned forward then winked. “I know that you know how much I love you even though you’re so mean to me.”
“I know that you know how much I love you too even if you’re mean to me too.”
They both smiled at each other and started eating. And as expected, Hayate took a piece of her cake. She didn’t mind it that much though.
Suddenly, she thought of Yuya. “Do you think he’s sick?”
Hayate looked at her with a teasing grin. “Concerned?”
“Of course!” She exclaimed. “He’s our friend.”
“I’ll share you a secret.”
She tilted her head sideward. “What?”
“Yuya has a crush on you.”
She felt her cheeks burn. She knew it’s not true. But the thought of Yuya liking her too...
She heard Hayate laughed. She immediately glared at him. “Hayate!”
He continued laughing. “You’re blushing!”
“I’m not!” She leaned forward and pushed her best friend’s face.
He moved away and covered his face with his arms. “But don’t worry. I’m telling the truth. When did I lie to you?”
She stopped and plopped down her chair. Hayate always says the truth. He never lied to her. Joked, yes. But lied? No. She shot him a look. “You’re joking.”
He grinned. “I am.”
She felt her cheeks flush again because of both embarrassment and irritation. She couldn’t believe that she almost believe this guy. “I really hate you!”
Hayate continued laughing which made her more irritated.
Himari fixed the strap of her bag. Hayate ruffled her hair so she pushed him away. “Stop it! If you want a hair as long as mine, I’ll buy you a wig,”
They continued walking home.
Hayate chuckled and placed and arm over her shoulders. “You’re so hot-headed. Is it because Yuya isn’t around?”
“Why do you keep including Yuya in our conversation?” She faked a gasp. “Is it because you like him?!”
“Ha-ha.” He made a face. And without another word, he stopped walking which made her stop too. His eyes focused on something.
“What?” She asked, searching what her best friend is looking at.
“That’s Yuya, right?” he asked, pointing a restaurant on the other side of the street.
She followed his finger and saw that he was right. She saw the familiar tan guy sitting on the seat beside the glass wall. She couldn’t see his full face but she knew it is Yuya. He’s with a guy a lot older than him and two guys that seem to be two to three years younger than him.
“Who are those?” she asked.
“Uh, relatives?” Hayate answered in a question.
After staring at Yuya for a while, she asked. “Are we gonna wait for him?”
Hayate shrugged. “Maybe we should go? We can ask about that tomorrow.”
They were about to continue heading home when they saw Yuya stand up and hurriedly walk out.
“Yuya!” she called out loud. But unfortunately, the guy wasn’t able to hear her.
He continued walking away the restaurant. Then, the old guy stood up from his seat but the younger ones pulled him back.
With confused looks, Himari and Hayate looked at each other. And then they both followed Yuya.
They thought they lost Yuya but when they reached their place, the hillside, they saw him there, sitting on one of the steps. Hayate was the first to walk toward him and Himari followed.
“Hey bro,” Hayate tapped Yuya’s back, making the guy jump a little. He sat down beside him.
Himari, on the other hand, sat down behind Hayate so that she could see Yuya. He looks stressed. His hair is a bit messy and he’s wearing a deep frown. But even so, she couldn’t deny that he looks good on his navy black sweater and pants. It’s actually her first time to see him wearing that. He usually wears something good whenever they all go out. But simple clothes suits him well.
“Is there something wrong?” Himari asked. “We saw you at the restaurant with... Who are those?”
Yuya sighed but didn’t face her. “My dad.”
“And the other two?” Hayate asked.
“My... Half brothers.”
“What? You have half brothers?” both Himari and Hayate asked.
“I just knew about it this morning.” He ran his fingers in his hair. “I really hate him. I really really hate him.”
Himari frowned. “He’s your father.”
“Yeah, I know. But he’s an asshole.”
“Hey!” She protested. “You shouldn’t be talking like that. No matter what he did, you should still respect him.”
Yuya faced her with blazing eyes. “No! He deserves no respect. After leaving me and my mom to have another family? No way!”
She felt her heart broke for him. She knew how it felt to have a family that’s about to break. And it was awful. She couldn’t imagine how painful it is to have it completely broken.
“Why is he there, anyway?” Hayate carefully asked, glancing at her.
Yuya chuckled but it doesn’t have any humor. “He said he was sorry and he wants to rebuild the relationshit we had. He really thought he could do that? Funny. I’d rather be alone than have him as a family.”
“That’s mean,” she said, grimacing at his words. “Forgive him, Yuya. At least his making an effort, right?”
“Himari,” Hayate whispered hard. She gave him a look and waited for Yuya’s answer.
“Oh yeah? Then he’ll go away again and live with another family? Leaving my mother broken into more pieces?”
“Why can’t you give him the chance? He’s your father!” she insisted.
He should be giving a chance to his father, right? Doesn’t Yuya want a complete family? Doesn’t he want a broken but complete family? They can fix things little by little anyway. Because for Himari, she would always do whatever it takes for her family to be kept complete. She couldn’t imagine how it feels to have someone missing. She couldn’t afford to think about losing someone from her family.
Yuya faced her this time, shaking his head. “I’m just getting more frustrated. Stop this. You don’t know anything.”
“But he’s family! If he’s willing to comeback, let him. What if he’s staying this time? You’re depriving yourself of things that will make you happy.”
He shot her a look of anger. “You think I’ll be happy if he’s with us? No! You think he’ll stay this time? You’re wrong. Because Himari, people who left you alone might comeback but there will come a time that they’ll leave you again.”
“Stop,” Hayate tried.
“That’s not true. You can show that person how much you love him or her. Through that, you’ll build attachments that would keep you both together.”
She knew it was true. Because that’s what she’s doing to keep her family complete.
“Life isn’t a fairytale. Life doesn’t revolve solely on love.” He shook his head and looked straight in her eyes. “You wanna know why being married doesn’t assure you of a happily ever after? Because people can fall in love and can fall out of it too. No matter how much you love, time will come that you’ll fall out of it, get tired of it. No matter how strong the attachment you made, it’ll break soon. Because nothing lasts. Not even family.”
She felt shocked. Broken. Shattered. She opened her mouth but closed it again when she realized she doesn’t know what to say. Does that mean there’s really no way for her to keep her family? Does that mean all her efforts to love will all be wasted because nothing lasts? Does that mean her fear of her family’s downfall will be real soon?
Does that mean, her choice to live again is wasted?
She felt surprised when tears started streaming down her cheeks. She saw Hayate’s jaw dropped and his eyes are widened. Yuya’s face remain serious.
“You’re cruel.” She hurriedly stood up and ran away.
The sky begins to darken. And as the sun sets, her hope sets with it too.
‘I shouldn’t have continued.’