Here I am again, with another bit of random story. This is a short little story for me to put up until I finish editing my longer story. I hope you enjoy it. As always, I do not own Digimon, only the story. Please enjoy and review.
I always did love the rain. The sound of it pounding against the windows, the feel on my face, how beautiful the puddles are as they form on the street. I had no idea that rain would ultimately be the death of me. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Let me tell you about what was going on to cause this.
It was about two weeks before the accident. I was on a westbound train headed for Odaiba. The train was coming from Tokyo, where I had been at University. I wasn't going to come home for summer this year. But with my budget being so tight, I couldn't afford an apartment like I had planned. "Sora," my mother had said, "you know you can always come stay with me." And so I went.
Normally, I would have been overjoyed to come back home. Previously, I had stayed with my father, just to get a break. I hadn't seen my friends in ages, only having phone conversations as of late. But everyone was pretty much spread out. Mimi was still in America. Joe was in medical school in Nakano. Izzy had gone to work with a computer corporation, so he had moved away. Matt was still traveling with his band. Then there was Tai.
Tai had always been my friend. Hell, he was my best friend. But after we had tried to date before college, things became awkward. Us dating had been amazing, don't get me wrong. But I was going away for college, and I knew I wouldn't be home for a long time. I couldn't put him through that. Afterwards, though, things were just weird with us. So we stopped talking as much.
Kari, of course, was another story. She was still like a sister to me, and I always talked to her. She had been having some issues with TK, and she came to me for advice, knowing I had been there too. I even made weekend trips to be with here when she was very upset. But Tai was there, so it always made things odd. For Kari's sake, I just ignored it.
While I was on that train, something occurred to me. I hadn't talked to Tai in four months. Not only that, but Kari always diverted the conversation away from him. It wasn't that I minded, I was never one to sit around and talk about an individual for long. But Kari was his sister, and she had always loved to update me about him before then. This set me to wondering what could be up with him.
When I arrived home, nothing had changed. The curtains were the same cranberry, to match the couch and loveseat. The place was covered in flowers. The hallway was full of pictures. And my room, it hadn't been touched. I supposed it was to respect m privacy. But it didn't even look like she went in there to clean. I wasn't discouraged, however, because that would be a quick fix.
Once my room was in working order, I called Kari. She knew I was coming back, but she didn't know when. I would give her a surprise. When it rang a couple of times, she answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kar, it's me."
"What's going on? I'm just hangin' with my big bro." I winced. Of course she would be hanging out with Tai.
"That's cool. I just called to say I made it home. . ." Kari screamed excitedly.
"Awesome! You should come over right now."
"Uh, I just got home, you know, maybe I should rest a bit. . ."
"Come on, Tai will leave us alone. Don't worry about it." I eased up a bit.
"Okay. I'll be over in a bit." I secretly wondered at that point just what I had gotten myself into.
Once I got there, I was surprised to see Tai was gone. Kari insisted he had gone out with some new friends of his, but I wasn't so sure by her actions. She had never been a good liar, so I could always see right through her. That's another reason I loved her though. She was so truthful. Like the time she kept insisting she didn't like parties right before my surprise going away party.
We had been hanging out a while when I decided to go home. She didn't want me to leave, she never did, but I assured her we would hang out so much this summer she would be tired of me. With that, I was on my way. The night was relaxing. It was nice to hear the breeze in the trees and birds feeding before nestling into a comfy spot.
My mother gave me her greeting when I got home. As I had suspected, she had been at the flower shop all day. I didn't mind though, it gave me a chance to get settled and catch up with a good friend. We stayed up for a long while talking, until I just couldn't keep my eyes open. The day had flown by. Hopefully, the summer wouldn't.
That week was mainly uneventful. Other than hanging out with Kari who occasionally brought TK, I really didn't do much. Tai was never around. This made me curious. Yet, every time I brought it up, Kari changed the subject. I was really beginning to wonder what she was hiding. It couldn't be that bad; could it?
On Tuesday, exactly a week from when I arrived, I was relaxing at the house, reading a book. I contemplated getting a summer job, and then decided against it for the moment. I could always work with Mom. But reading only keeps you entertained for so long. I decided I would surprise Kari with some candy and we could go somewhere.
When I got to their apartment, no one was answering at first. But I knew someone was there, so I persisted. Then Tai came to the door, his hair more messy than usual.
"Hey Sor, what's up?"
"Just looking for Kari. Is she here?"
"She's been gone a while. I think she'll be back in a bit. Wanna come in and wait?" I nodded and walked in. I didn't really want to hang out with him alone, but he was still my friend. Only he was not alone. A girl was sitting on the couch, brushing her hair. She smiled at me.
"You must be Sora. I've seen your picture everywhere. My name is Harley." She seemed genuine enough, so I smiled back.
"Nice to meet you. You must be one of Tai's new friends that Kari keeps talking about."
"Yeah." She looked at Tai oddly, as if trying to get him to say something. He sighed, and looked at me.
"Sora, this is my new girlfriend. I don't know why Kari didn't tell you." I knew why she didn't. I still had feelings for him. But I still smiled.
"That's great Tai! I don't know why she didn't tell me either. And she's so pretty too." How I managed to sound genuine, I have no idea. But she giggled, and told Tai how sweet I was, and he smiled, relieved it went so well. I talked to them a few minutes, my façade working wonders, until Kari got back. Once I was in her room, I collapsed.
"He has a new girlfriend." I was shocked. I had never imagined he would find someone else. But he had. Not that I was really surprised. He was a sweet heart, and adorable too.
"I had no idea you'd come over today, or I would have told them to leave. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. Besides, I'm okay. And she's a really nice girl. Tai seems happy." She could see right through me.
"Oh, Sora." She hugged me. I just remained in shock, not really processing the situation.
The rest of the day we just sat around reading magazines, gossiping, and taking goofy pictures. Kari always knew how to cheer me up. I was glad for that, because had I been with anyone else, I would have been falling apart. But I wouldn't let Tai know that. He was happy. And that was all that mattered.