TRIGGER WARNING.


Hiro's eyes snapped open when he heard the cafe door chime from downstairs. It couldn't be 9am already, he thought. I was only asleep for a little bit. The digital clock beside the bed glowed 9:23am. He blinked, sat up, and looked around. Tadashi's side of the room, neat and tidy as always. A deep sinking feeling hit him as it did every morning when he noticed how empty his room was. He stood and smoothed the quilt where he had been lying. He went downstairs to find Aunt Cass.

Hiro trudged down the steps into the Cafe on he first floor. There, Aunt Cass was serving customers and eating a doughnut. Stress eating, Hiro thought as his stomach turned. Aunt Cass turned to him and smiled with her lips. Not her eyes.

"Hiro," she wrapped her arms around him, "You're up. I was going to let you sleep in."

"I kind of did, I guess," Hiro replied, tensing at the hug.

"You're still wearing your tie? Did you sleep in your clothes?"

"What?" Hiro looked down at himself. "Oh, I guess I did. Sorry."

"No harm done, dear. Why don't you help yourself to a muffin."

"Thanks, Aunt Cass." Hiro took a muffin to please his aunt. He took it upstairs to his own kitchen and sat on the counter, staring at it.

Blueberry. Tadashi's favorite. He took a bite, in spite of the pit growing in his stomach. He chewed slowly, deliberately. Nothing had ever tasted so good. Suddenly, he was ravenous. When was the last time I ate? He thought to himself. Two days ago? He downed the muffin, washing it back with a glass of milk. As he put his glass in the sink, he looked at the framed photo above the sink. A picture of him, his aunt, and Tadashi; sitting together at a table in the cafe. All smiling. Tadashi's arm was around Hiro's small shoulders. But what got him was Tadashi, smiling down at him.

Suddenly, his stomach lurched. Hiro ran down the hall to the bathroom as the muffin came spilling back up into the toilet. His stomach kept pushing, but nothing came up. Hiro let himself fall to his knees, steadying himself against the wall next to him. Tears sprang to his eyes. No, he thought, not now. But his will broke as they came spilling down his cheeks.

Hiro filled the sink and put his face in the water. He held himself there til he felt his lungs scream. He pulled his head up and let air flow back into his aching lungs. His reflection stared at him in the mirror, water and tears dripping down his face. He looked so pale, so thin. It had only been a few days, he thought.

Returning to the kitchen, Hiro noticed he hadn't rinsed his dishes. The last thing he wanted was Aunt Cass to come take care of his mess. She had enough on her plate as it was. He reached into the sink and immediately pulled back. Looking in the dishwater, he saw a knife, sticking straight up. That's when he noticed the blood dripping down his arm. Crap, he thought, running back to the bathroom. He wrapped his arm in a towel and winced at the pain. He pulled the towel away and saw a perfectly straight line across his forearm. He poked at it, letting the blood drop into the sink and rinsing it down the drain.

"That's weird," he said out loud.

"What's weird?" Hiro nearly jumped at his aunt's voice. He turned and showed Aunt Cass his wound. "Oh no, that's pretty deep. You might need stitches. I can see if someone can take over the cafe for a bit, but oh dear..." his aunt's voice trailed off.

"No, Aunt Cass. It's fine. Really. I'll just wrap it and I'll be fine. You go take care of what you need to. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

Hiro nodded and smiled.

"Oh okay. You come get me if it opens again." She said as she went back downstairs.

Hiro waited until he heard his aunt enter the cafe. Then he went back into the kitchen and pulled the knife out of the sink. He went upstairs and locked himself in his room. He sat on his bed and stared at the knife in his hand. It glinted in the sunlight. Taking a ragged breath, he placed the blade lightly against his wrist.


Hope you like it. Much love to all of you :)