Paradigm Shift
Chapter 12: Family Matters

He was driving to his hometown of Odaiba, various gifts neatly packed by his assistant in the seat beside him. It was Christmas, which meant his family was gathered at his parents' place. He would usually go the night before and stay through the weekend, but Sora wasn't going home for the holidays this year. Though his mother was crushed, he felt he had to stay with Sora for a part of it. He spent the morning and afternoon with her, exchanging gifts and attempting to make Christmas pie, though he accidentally let one sit in the oven for too long, much to Sora's chagrin. They ate the burnt one, but the second one, which Sora timed, was on his passenger seat for his family. She had insisted he bring it to them, which started an awkward conversation that ultimately ended in him not inviting her over for Christmas dinner.

He felt bad, especially knowing that she had wanted him to invite her, but he just wasn't anywhere near ready for that yet. It was crossing a line of seriousness he was perfectly okay with avoiding for a long time to come.

His mobile started ringing, which he would have ignored except he saw it was his sister. He tried to always answer her calls, so he reached down to answer, turning on the speakerphone.

"Hey Kar, what's up?"

"Hi Tai, are you on your way? Mum's been asking."

He looked over the Tokyo Bay harbour, seeing his parents' apartment complex in the distance. The view was something he took for granted growing up. His family still only lived a twenty-minute drive away, but somehow he found the drive to Odaiba too cumbersome. Perhaps it was the bridge and it being on the other side of the bay.

"Yeah, I'm almost there. Did Mum make anything edible this time? Should I buy something on the way? I don't want to starve."

"Taichi Kamiya, I can hear you, young man!"

"You're on speakerphone, Tai," Kari mentioned tardily, giggling.

"Hi Mum," Tai greeted pleasantly.

"Are you almost here, darling?" his mother asked, voice getting louder. He assumed she had taken the phone from his sister. "Can you pick up some strawberries on your way up? Your father forgot to get them, even though I reminded him twice."

He was far too lazy to go, but he supposed he could use this chance to buy a bag of crisps. He went home to see his family, not because he wanted a home-cooked meal.

"Sure, Mum. Anything else?"

"Are you close? Are you driving safely?"

"Yes, I'm close. Yes, I'm driving safely."

"Okay, I'll see you soon!"

He heard Kari's voice next. "Just so you know, Mum's been talking about setting you up with Senri. She might join us for dinner tonight."

"God no," he groaned loudly. "She's—are you listening, Mum?"

Kari giggled on the other line. "No, you aren't on speakerphone anymore."

"Oh, good. Kar, she's an absolute troll. I couldn't possibly."

"Tai!" she gasped with genuine disbelief. "You're mean. She's a family friend, so be nice."

"Fine, fine. I'll be nice, but let Mum know there's a zero per cent chance of anything happening, so she's wasting her time." He pondered whether he should admit it was because he was seeing someone. He decided against it. The night was supposed to be about Kari, not him.

Perhaps it was because he had always been the centre of attention in his family, but he didn't want to take something else from her, however insignificant she would find it.

When he entered his childhood home, everything was the same. It always surprised him to step back into his past. His mum was in the kitchen with Kari, while his father and TK were watching telly. TK was a constant presence in every family gathering, obvious due to his association by marriage. He had integrated himself into their family seamlessly, and his parents adored him. He saw his father hit TK's back in pride as they got up to greet him, his arrival obviously interrupting some sort of talk they were having.

It occurred to him that when he eventually settled down himself, his significant other would have to match up to TK's standards. He wondered for a moment whether Sora would, until his mother came dashing, immediately fussing over him.

"Tai, you must be freezing! I told you to come earlier! I can't think of a single reason why you'd have to come so late! Hurry inside!"

"I'm fine, Mum," he said with a grin, closing the door behind him. He stood up straighter so his mum would stop smothering his face. "Merry Christmas, everyone."

His sister waved at him, while his mother beamed at him with pride. She used to not be so obviously loving of him, though it changed when he moved out.

"You look so handsome, dear. Are you hungry? Do you want a pre-dinner snack?"

She forced him into the kitchen, fixing him a plate of god-knows-what as she gushed that he had gotten taller, even though he had stopped growing years ago.

He stood over the counter, deciding to eat in the kitchen. His mother used to tell him off for this when he was younger, though she didn't seem to mind anymore. She had probably given up. "Mum, I think you're just getting shorter because you're an old lady now."

She tried to look annoyed but failed, too thrilled that he was here. She urged him to eat instead.

"I heard Senri might be stopping by?" Tai mentioned casually, taking a bite of the mystery meat. It was unappetising, yet he felt at home eating it.

She sighed in disappointment. "Actually, she isn't able to make it back to Odaiba tonight, but I gave her your number in case she's ever in your area. She is such a lovely girl. You really should take her out to dinner some time—"

"I'm a bit busy," Tai interrupted, taking his plate off the counter. "Hey, Dad. What are you guys watching?"

He left the kitchen area to be with his father, who was far less intrusive about his life.

"Hey Tai," TK greeted pleasantly, getting up to offer his seat to him. TK moved to the couch that wasn't occupied by anyone, allowing Tai to sit with his father.

"Hi son," his father greeted him, opening a can of beer for him.

"Honestly, he's driving," his mother fussed instantly from the kitchen.

"It's just one, Mum," he promised, taking a swig before she could stop him.

"That's dangerous," Kari warned, coming out of the kitchen and taking the seat by TK.

Tai reached over to poke his sister's stomach, looking at the kitchen to his mother. "Are you telling me you won't even let your one and only son crash here for the night?"

His mother brightened at the prospect. "Of course you can! Why didn't you tell me earlier? I could have fixed up your old room for you. No matter, I'll get to it right after dinner."

He turned back to his sister with a knowing look, and she giggled in response. His mother was easy to please.

"You never want to stay the night," his father noted.

"Might as well squeeze the last bit of love out of Mum before she redirects all of it to this one here," Tai said, nodding towards Kari's stomach. "Oh!" He stood up, making his way back to the front door where he had left his gifts, neatly packed into a large bag. He had dropped it there when his mother had been smothering him. "I brought gifts for everyone, especially you two."

"Tai!" Kari squealed, thankful and sorry at the same time.

"Thank you," TK worded for her, taking the bag from him.

Working at his firm, he was limited in free time and didn't nearly get to see his family as often anymore. In turn, they paid him well, and he tried to make up for it with tangible gifts, though he couldn't actually say that it was compensation enough.

"TK, where are our gifts? We should all open presents after dinner. We decided to wait for you, Tai."

"Tai, did you buy the strawberries like I asked? You forgot, didn't you?"

"Does anyone remember what time the match comes on tonight? Can someone look it up?"

Everyone was talking at the same time, which happened often despite them not being a very big family. With age, the gaps he spent between seeing his family widened, but it was when he was finally able to see them that he realised how much he missed them.

Dinner consisted mostly of pregnancy talk, his mum sucking Kari's speaking quota dry until Tai made a comment that Kari wasn't able to eat because she was too busy answering her questions. His mother instantly switched the subject to let her daughter take a break, insisting that she wasn't eating nearly enough for two.

"And how is your family doing, TK?"

Tradition instilled that once Kari married TK, she would become a part of his family, but tradition was lost in the fact that TK came from an atypical household. This was the second year in a row that he spent Christmas with the Kamiyas, though the two had spent the past New Years with his mother.

"They're well," TK answered, which was always his answer. TK was far less weird and socially acceptable when it came to his family, but Tai noticed that neither he nor Matt spoke much about them.

His mother looked at him piteously. "Your mother told me what happened with Matt. The poor darling. I really thought those two were going to be next."

TK gave a cordial smile. "My brother will be all right."

Tai looked at his sister's expression for a clue, and he could tell by her expression that she knew the actual truth.

"We're having a family dinner on our side too soon, aren't we, Kari?"

Kari nodded at her husband.

"Oh, that's just lovely." His mother beamed at the two of them before turning to him next. "And what about you, Tai? Anything new with you?"

"Nope," he reported between bites of his dinner. For as much as he hadn't liked his mother's cooking growing up, he quite enjoyed it now. Nostalgia was funny that way.

She shook her head in disappointment. "Tai, honestly. When will you settle down? You'll be thirty soon, you know."

"I have a few years."

He had thought earlier about telling his family about his relationship status, but he had ultimately decided against it, knowing his mother would try to butt into his life. He loved her, but she could be a bit too much at times.

"I want grandchildren from both of you, mister."

He smirked at her. "I don't need to settle down for that, Mum. If you want another grandchild, I can leave now and get you one in nine months."

He stuck another bite of food into his mouth as his mother frowned disapprovingly of his joke. "Taichi Kamiya, I am your mother!"

"Dad thinks I'm funny, Mum," Tai called out, pointing in his father's direction, who cleared his throat.

"Don't say things like that, son. It's inappropriate," his father scolded in his best stern voice upon seeing the equally stern look coming from his wife. "For heaven's sake, he's old enough. Let him live his life."

TK took this time to change the subject, asking how his mother's new cooking classes were coming along, complimenting the dinner she had made. Tai hadn't known that. As his mother began to chat enthusiastically with TK, he noted that his brother-in-law knew more about his mother's day-to-day life than he did. It wasn't that he was not okay with it—it made sense given they lived within walking distance of each other—but it didn't feel great.

After they had polished off Sora's Christmas pie, which he shamelessly took credit for making, the family dispersed from the dining table. His mum and TK were cleaning up, while his dad settled himself in front of the telly again. He stepped out to the terrace for fresh air and to call Sora. She had been texting him, but before he could dial, he heard the sound of the door sliding open behind him, and his sister walked out.

"Why do you have to say things like that?" she asked him, handing him his coat. She probably thought he was cold. She was always paying attention to things like that.

"Say things like what?"

"That stuff when mum asked you to settle down."

He shrugged, looking over the terrace at their view. It was much nicer than the one at his flat. "She's always trying to get me to settle down. I'll settle down when I want to. I was just joking with her."

She sighed. "All right. Just don't freak her out." She looked at him, biting her lip nervously. "You aren't like that anyway, are you, Tai?"

"Of course not," he dismissed immediately. "That's why I can joke about it."

He considered himself close with his sister. They were probably closer than most brother-sister relationships.

Yet, the two of them had an unspoken truce in which they believed the other's lies. Kari believed he was a perfect Prince Charming who was always looking for his one true love. He, on the other hand, would believe even when she would give birth to her first-born child that she was untouched.

"TK's family is doing a dinner?" Tai asked, changing the subject. He thought back to Matt, who had opted to spend Christmas at their flat alone.

She nodded. "Yes, but they haven't scheduled it quite yet. It's difficult to find a time when both his mum and dad are available, but they're trying to do it before the year is over."

"Sounds awkward."

Kari shrugged her shoulders, ever cordial. "They're just different."

Ever since he went to uni, his father decided they needed to have annual family dinners, just to give them a false sense of family bonding. It was just one night, usually set in the summertime but had been pushed back to the end of the year for various reasons. Finally, with the year coming to a close, his father had had enough, picked a date, and demanded everyone to go. It was Matt's least favourite night of the year. He dreaded going every time, but he went because it was important to his father and brother. He thought it was his father's attempt to keep the family together, even though all four of them lived four very different, independent lives.

They used to be worse. At first, it was just his father, his mother, TK, and him. When TK had gotten engaged, Kari and Megumi started getting invited to the dinners too, though Megumi was absent this year for obvious reasons. It was the first time he had seen his parents since his breakup, and they had not yet asked him about it even though he knew they wanted to.

This year was his mother's choice of food, so they went to a French restaurant in Kagurazaka. She liked to immerse them in the culture whenever possible, which was not often, so Matt felt no particular interest in getting to know that part of himself better.

They always went to a restaurant. It made for an easy escape.

After TK got married, they decided to do it at his and Kari's new flat, just to mix things up. It was an uncomfortable mistake, as neither parent really knew when it was appropriate to leave, so they unanimously, wordlessly agreed to stick to restaurants moving forward.

"So, how's the love life?" his father said, turning to his mother.

"Oh, dear lord," Matt muttered loudly, taking another swig of his wine.

"Matt."

Matt ignored his mother's scolding and his father's look. "I don't understand why we have to always do these. You two are clearly uncomfortable, and it's making the three of us uncomfortable—"

"Watch your tone," his dad growled. He cleared his throat. "It's important that we get together once in a while as a family, and it's only once a year. You can get over it."

His father's biting tone didn't bother him. He knew that despite their divorce, his father cared for his mother deeply, even if that affection was no longer love.

It wasn't that he himself didn't love her. As his mother, he felt an obligation to, and he knew she loved him very much too.

Nevertheless, it was his mother who had wanted the divorce. With age and time, he had accepted it and forgave her, but it was always in the back of his mind that she was the reason behind their broken family.

His mother smiled sweetly to Kari, who must have felt the most uncomfortable of them all, although she was too refined to show it. "How are you feeling?"

TK had lamented over Kari's morning sickness to him just earlier, but Kari made no mention of that as she told his mother how well she was and thanking her for everything she had done so far to help her. Kari was very close with his mother.

He wished he cared that his mother was so attentive to TK's needs while she didn't ask him anything about his, but he didn't. Tai sometimes complained that his mother was overbearing. His mother was the opposite, pretty much leaving him alone since he was a child. He preferred things this way.

They were talking about parenthood again. He watched as his mother leaned over to kiss TK on the side of his head. She called him her little baby—something she had never once called Matt.

He looked over at the time. He was ready to leave, but his father had a strict two hour rule. They hadn't reached that yet.

He felt a hand squeeze his arm, and he followed it to the saddened look on his mother's face. Everyone told him he looked more like his mother than his father. He supposed he could see that. His dad used to tell him that he had his mother's personality, but with that he was less certain. He was still unsure what her personality really was.

"How are you, Matt?" she asked, taking his hand now.

"Fine," he answered, withdrawing it.

"You're always only fine," she said, moving her hand to tidy his hair instead. He let her do it because she was his mother. "Tell me things."

"Nothing as interesting as a baby to report, I'm afraid."

She smiled warmly at him. "I know it must be hard with Megumi gone."

He felt a surge of irritation, Megumi not being a topic he wanted to discuss with her. "It's not that bad."

"You're allowed to show your feelings, darling. You don't have to hide behind—"

"I said it's not that bad," Matt interrupted.

"Matt, you can always talk to us. We're your famil—"

"That's enough," his father interrupted.

The atmosphere was as awkward as it always got, and TK broke the ice as he always did. Dinner was always exactly the same, the only difference being the absence of Megumi. They never got anywhere with these. He spoke to his brother enough that he only ever heard repeated stories. He would sometimes learn a thing or two about his father's work. His mother was always the same.

For as long as two hours always seemed during these dinners, they inevitably passed, and he was first to bring attention to this by asking for the bill.

TK had this facial expression that made Matt feel uneasy. His brother was unlike him in that he was very much in control of himself and rarely shifted from looking calm. It was when that calmness broke and was replaced by a darker image that he knew he had gone too far.

He pretended not to see it. He pretended to be fixated on the seconds ticking far too slowly on the wall clock.

As the older brother, he usually let TK have his way, but they were very different when it came to their shared family. TK wanted them to get back together. He was probably influenced by Kari's picturesque family. TK wanted a future.

Matt had no interest in a future. He wanted the impossible. He wanted the past to be rewritten. This was where they couldn't see from the other's point of view. This was the root of their most intense argument, concluded at a standstill.

Dinner was over, and everyone was saying their goodbyes, hugging each other because that's what family members did. Although she had annoyed him, he leaned down to hug his mother, letting her grab his face so she could memorise his features until the next year. He told her he loved her to make her happy.

His dad asked him to drive him home, even though he lived in Odaiba like the rest of the family and could easily walk home. He agreed anyway, and the two made their way to the car park, his father blasting the heat the moment he started the engine.

Matt knew a talk was coming, which was rare between the two of them. They had a relationship in which he knew his dad would be there if he ever wanted to talk, but he himself never forced it on him. He liked this about his father.

"What is this?" His dad picked up a pack of cigarettes from the cup holder. "Are you smoking?"

"They're a friend's," Matt answered automatically, beginning to drive.

His father didn't say anything immediately afterwards, but knowing that the drive would only be five minutes at most, he spoke up. "I know you're an adult, and it's hypocritical of me to say this, but I'd like it if my son doesn't have such a terrible habit."

They reached a stoplight.

"They're a friend's," he repeated.

It fell silent again, his father speaking only once the light turned green. "You're just like your mother."

"I'm nothing like her," he refuted immediately, offended though he had no reason to be.

He didn't know what his dad's reaction was, staring only at the road until he stopped in front of his dad's flat. His father didn't get out, reaching for the cigarette carton.

"You don't mind if I take these for myself, do you?"

He felt uneasy. The drive to his flat was twenty minutes away, and he was already feeling edgy from dinner.

He didn't make eye contact with his father, even though he never judged him. "Just leave me one."

His father scowled, placing the carton back. "Matt."

"I don't need a lecture from you, Dad."

He had this bad habit of talking back to his father, stemmed from the laidback way he had raised him. Indeed, his father's response to his short temper was that of a concerned friend, not a strict parent.

"I know you're going through a rough patch, but don't let one woman destroy your entire life with one decision. I don't think I have to remind you that I probably know a little bit more about that than you do."

He didn't answer, and his dad understood his son didn't want to further the conversation. He left, and Matt quickly sped away, stopping his car just near his mother's flat. He wasn't there to see her though. She lived right by Rainbow Bridge, and he still had time before it would close for pedestrians. He grabbed his cigarettes, hiding them in his coat pocket as he slammed the door to his car.

For no reason at all, he ran, running past the starting post to the bridge itself, letting the cold air tear through his raw skin, made more unbearable by the close proximity of the windy waters below.

He had only reached the middle when he turned back to see his hometown. Red in the face and out of breath, he was struck by how familiar it was though no particular memory came to him. He turned to the bay instead, looking not at it but the fence that stood between them. It didn't look too difficult to climb over.

He envisioned suicide for one dark moment, knowing he'd never do it but wondering how people would react. His brother, his unborn nephew, his friends, his parents, even Megumi.

Oddly enough, he imagined the worst reactions from his mother and Megumi. They would probably be overcome with guilt, his mother for not being there enough and Megumi for abandoning him. He wanted that from both of them, but not at the cost of his life.

He wondered if she was thinking the same thing on the other side of the world. Did she think of him? Was she as miserable as him? Did the thought of killing herself—something that should never appear in anyone's thoughts—tempt her too?

The more time passed, the more he began to doubt all of it.

He tore his eyes away from the fence and began to walk back to his car, knowing the walkway would close soon. He walked this time, staring directly at his mother's building, counting the number of floors to her flat.

She wasn't a stranger to him, no matter how much he tried to distance himself from her. Still, he couldn't say he was close to her, not like how his little brother was. TK thought she was the greatest mother ever. He failed to agree, as awful as that was, but he thought it was fair that such a title needed some involvement in her child's life. She sought it now, but it was too late—about twenty years too late.

His father had just said he was like her. He supposed he could see one grey area in which this was the case.

The two of them were both very good at running away instead of facing their problems and fears. After the divorce, his mother had taken TK and gone off to Sangenjaya at the cost of separating their family. He always thought that had been incredibly selfish of her, but he had no place to judge her when he was same.

He may not have physically run away, but the person he was becoming disgusted him. When Megumi left, he had chosen to make his life miserable rather than try to live a life without her. He felt himself rot away, leaving behind only a horrific shadow of who he once was.

He reached the end of the bridge and went to his car. Even though he was freezing, he lowered the heat that his father had blasted and began to drive over the very bridge he had just walked.

For the first time, he felt a true anger towards her. It wasn't heartbreak, nor was it confusion. He felt hatred, and it was unlike one he forced himself to feel for his mother. He knew he loved her despite their unconventional relationship. This was pure and raw, void of any feelings he had ever once felt for her.

Since their breakup, he had been careful not to say anything bad about her, but why? Why was he defending her when she had proven she was as awful as everyone said she was?

He could suddenly recall everything that bothered him about her, amplified by his resentment.

She was bossy. She was impatient. She was apathetic. She was selfish. The list seemed endless, but most importantly, she had made him shambles of a man, and she didn't care enough to make even the slightest effort to see if he was all right.

They had known each other for half their lives, but she was heartless enough to cut him out of hers with one snip and not look back.

Tai was right.

While he was mourning and hoping for a reconciliation that would never come, for all he knew, Megumi had already moved on.

He couldn't believe he had ever loved her, wasted so much of his life on her.

There were five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance.

He was finally ready to accept it and move on. He had already wasted thirteen years. He didn't want to waste any more.

If there was one thing he had learned from his family's odd relationship, it was that the past couldn't be repaired and the future could never be. He and TK had both been terribly wrong in their argument, if only he had realised it earlier.

Tai dropped a piece of popcorn from over his head, aiming for Sora's mouth but dropping it on her cheek instead.

"Tai, that isn't funny!" she snapped from his lap, turning over sideways to pick it off the floor and placing it on the coffee table. She started to get up, but he placed her back down with an arm, giving her a handful from the bowl nestled on his right.

"I'm sorry," he said, keeping his arm by her collarbone so she'd stay there.

It was his turn to pick the film, so he had picked a scary one, hoping she would get frightened and hold onto him, but she gave no such reaction, watching it with as much indifference as him.

"Why can't you get scared like other girls?" he bemoaned.

She turned her attention from the screen to look up to him. "Why, is this what you do with other girls?"

"That's not what I meant," he protested. "You're always twisting my words around."

"Pick a scarier movie next time," she suggested, turning back to the screen.

They watched a few minutes in silence, she lying down on his couch with her head on his lap while he was sitting, watching her movements more than the film. He waited until a suspenseful moment, then jumped slightly to shake her, laughing when she screamed, uneaten popcorn flying out of her hand in surprise.

"Tai!" she shrieked, sitting up instantly.

He was still laughing.

"Who's going to pick all that up?" she demanded, pointing to the popcorn scattered on the floor.

"Who cares?" he thought loftily, pulling her to him. "I'm bored of the movie. Spoiler alert: everyone dies. Let's make out."

"I'm not doing anything with you," she barked, holding him an arm's length away. "You're such a child."

"You were bored too," he noted, taking her by the elbow and bringing her to him. "Come on, let's do stuff before Matt gets back."

"You're the least romantic person of all time!"

They started to bicker until he made her laugh, and she let him have his way as he swooped in for a kiss, only to be interrupted as the front door swung open, his unwanted flatmate storming inside. Sora pulled away instantly and sat down beside him.

"Hi Matt," she greeted, waving once.

Tai leaned back on the couch, grinning at Matt. "How was dinner with your hot mum?"

"Shut the fuck up," he yelled angrily, immediately heading for his room.

Somewhat stunned by his reaction to an old joke, they heard a loud thud, startling Sora as she took his arm for support.

"He hates his family dinners. He just gets like that. Keep watching the movie, okay? I'll be right back." He kissed her once to reassure her, then stood up to go to Matt's room.

He opened the door without knocking, glaring at him. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you mad because I called your mum hot again? You know I'm kidding, and you're scaring Sora half to death, you crazy person."

"I've finally figured it out," Matt said, staring at his wall. "I couldn't break it because I was punching, but I was supposed to use my elbow."

Tai's eyes widened upon seeing the newly formed hole in their wall. "Are you mad?! What the hell happened this time that you're destroying our flat over it? I really don't understand why you can't release your anger in a less destructive way. You're paying for that."

Matt ignored him. It wasn't even worth trying to explain it to Tai, not when his family was already such a storybook fairytale.

He would never understand, but he pressed it anyway. "Was your family dinner a disaster?"

"It's always a disaster," Matt growled, still staring at the hole in his wall. "Good news, I think my mum has a new boyfriend, so that's perfect."

Tai sighed loudly, opening his mouth to say something.

"Save it," Matt cut him off before he could even begin. "Go enjoy your date."

"You ruined my date," Tai reminded him.

Matt jerked his head towards him. "Sora has her own place. She lives there alone. Why the hell are you guys always here?"

"Excuse you, but this is my place just as much as it is yours," Tai snapped, standing up straighter. "But, whatever. That's fine. We can go to her place if it's such an inconvenience to you."

Fuming, Tai turned to go back to the living room. His eyes locked with Sora's, and by her expression he knew she had heard everything. Concern replaced anger.

"He's an asshole," Tai muttered, putting an arm around her in a slight embrace, attempting to comfort her.

"I'll go," she offered, pulling away slightly.

"Don't," he replied immediately. "Don't let him make you feel guilty. He says things he knows will piss people off, but he's fine."

She was reaching over for her coat. "We'll just let him have this one then, okay? I don't think it's appropriate I stay."

"It's fine," he reassured, not wanting her to leave. "He'll get over it, and we haven't finished the movie. Don't you want to see what happens?"

"You already told me everyone dies," she reminded him with a small smile. "Neither of us were watching it anyway."

"Stay," he tried again. He tried several other pleas but she went home anyway, not even allowing him to take her home. He stared at the closed front door for a few seconds before he turned around with hatred and marched to Matt's bedroom door.

"Just because your relationship didn't work out doesn't give you reason to ruin mine," he said loudly, banging at the door. Matt didn't answer. "Do you hear me? Do whatever the fuck you want with yourself, but don't flip a shit at my girlfriend just because things didn't work out with Meg, you asshat."

He heard loud footsteps before the door flew open, Matt glaring at him hatefully. For a moment, Tai thought Matt would hit him.

"Never mention her name to me again."

"Who? Megumi?" Tai asked angrily. "Why not? You're the one who brings her up every five seconds."

"I never want to think about that bitch ever again. She can drop dead for all I care."

He slammed the door, leaving Tai to look confoundedly at it. Since the breakup, Tai had had no problem using a plethora of hateful language towards Matt's ex, but without fail Matt would defend her every single time. This was the first time Matt had agreed with him, but he couldn't tell whether this was good or bad.

14 April 2015

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