Chapter 3: Accountability

I clamped down on the handle of the door and twisted clockwise. I pushed forward and the door creaked open.

I was looking at a bluish-white, sterile hospital room. There was a television that was tuned to the news on my left. The only bed in the room was to my right, obscured by a curtain.

"Grandma?"

No response.

There was a silhouette drawn by the sunlight hitting the curtain; it looked like somebody was sitting upright in bed. Is she asleep?

...

Or is she...

I quickly hurried over to the curtains and flung them open.

"Grandma?!" I said with heightened anxiety.

To my surprise, there was nobody there. What I thought looked like a person in the bed was just the covers and pillows sitting in a way to give the illusion that someone was there.

She's not here?!

My brow furrowed, feeling confused and worried. Isn't this her room?

"Is she okay?!" Ms. Ichinose asked, not too far behind me and looking just as concerned as I probably looked.

"She's not here," I replied, walking back towards the door to look at the name tag listed.

'Nagomi Kinoshita'

Okay, this is her room. So where is she?

I clasped my hand around the back of my neck and sighed.

What the hell. She always does stuff like this. I set a time to meet her and almost every time I have to hunt her down. She can never stay in one place too long, I guess.

Ms. Ichinose poked her body out of the door. She looked to her right down the hall, before looking left at me.

"Can you call her?" She asked.

Oh, good idea.

I pulled out my phone. I paced a bit as I pulled up her contact information. Ms. Ichinose crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall outside the door. I called grandma's number.

*ring ring ring*

...

I and Ms. Ichinose both heard a ringtone from somewhere. I looked at her, and she looked at me. We both looked at the door. Both of us peeked around the corner to look.

Grandma had left her phone under the bedsheets. I could hear it ringing from here.

Nice grandma... how in the world do you of all people forget to bring your phone before going somewhere? Aren't you the one with more social media followers and online friends than me?

I looked at Ms. Ichinose. I shook my head and held out my arms as if to say, 'what now?'

"Well, she's gotta be around here somewhere, right?" I concluded, placing my hands on my hips.

"Excuse me, can I help you two?" A young lady's voice called out.

I and Ms. Ichinose turned to see a nurse with a clipboard smiling at us. Ms. Ichinose pushed herself off the wall and clasped her hands together, standing next to me as I spoke.

"Oh, uh, we're looking for my grandma, Nagomi Kinoshita. The receptionist told us to come up here to this room to visit, but my grandma wasn't in there," I said matter-of-factly.

The nurse frowned as she shook her head.

"Ah, well I'm afraid that you came at a bad time. This floor is currently hosting a bingo game in the lounge room." The nurse's smile returned for her next statement. "If you'd like, I can show you where it is; you're more than welcome to come to play."

Bingo... seriously?

Ms. Ichinose was next to speak. "If you wouldn't mind ma'am, we'd appreciate you showing us where to go," she sweetly expressed to the nurse.

The nurse nodded. "Oh well, of course, young lady! I'm pretty sure the game just got started, so you won't be missing anything!"

I fake smiled through gritted teeth. Paying for a fake date and going to play bingo in a hospital filled with old women isn't exactly how I'd like to spend the rest of my afternoon.

"Oh, that's quite alright, we're just looking to speak to my grandmother," I said, waving my hand dismissively.

The nurse nodded and began leading.

"It'll be down this hall to the right, just follow me," the nurse said, striding forward.

As we began walking, I felt a tug on the back of my shirt. I turned around to look at Ms. Ichinose, who had a serious look about her now.

"If my grandmother is in there, remember what I said: don't bring up the rental job or my fake name," she whispered.

I nodded affirmatively.

"Right, I understand," I said reassuringly.

She held her gaze with me before standing up straight again and clasping her hands together in front of her skirt.

Poor girl. I can't imagine how nervous she must be. I also can't imagine she'd have thought to be doing something like this on a rental date; fixing the mistakes of somebody else and getting paid to do so. I've gotta say though, she's a killer actor. She doesn't even need to put up the girlfriend act for me, yet she's done so quite effortlessly. Just like I thought before, it's no wonder she's a top-tier rental girlfriend. She sells the role. There's no doubt in my mind she loves doing this job, but I wonder why? It's certainly not the kind of job I'd envy doing if I was a girl. She must have to deal with a ton of creeps and weirdos... oh wait, that was me wasn't it?

Yikes.

I sighed just thinking about that.

Well, that's why we're here. It's for her sake and mine. We're gonna get each other's lives back to normal.

The nurse held open the right side of a double door.

"Just past here," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," I said, walking into the room with Ms. Ichinose behind me.

We walked into a rectangular lounge room with tables set up for groups filled with elderly women playing bingo. It was surprisingly chatty. Conversations, jokes, arguing, and more. It was like walking into a school cafeteria during lunch hour.

I scanned the room from left to right trying to locate my grandma in the sea of white and gray hair.

"Do you see her?" Ichinose asked, looking around herself.

"Nah, not yet. What about you, do you see your grandma?"

"No, I don't think so," Ms. Ichinose responded, sounding a bit on edge.

I started walking forward as Ms. Ichinose followed behind. We walked past tables of old women, still looking left and right as we did so. A couple of the old women started taking notice of us strolling by and I started hearing things out of earshot.

"Oh, wow, look at that hunk!"

"God, what I'd do to look like her again and grab a stud like that."

"He's quite the looker. She's a lucky girl!"

Well... it's nice to hear compliments for a change... although I wish I was getting these compliments from women who aren't four times my age and some change.

We walked about halfway into the room before I heard a shout from the right.

"Oh, Princess Chizuru!" A familiar and elderly voice shouted.

The shout almost gave me a heart attack. I and Ichinose both jolted our heads in the direction of the shout.

Grandma had both hands on the table leaning forward towards us. She was sitting with a group of about five other ladies, sat three by three across from each other. My grandma was at the far right of the table, her body towering over the bingo sheets laid out for each of them. All the elderly women in the room turned to look our way now.

"Uh... hello again, ma'am," Ms. Ichinose said sheepishly, casting a slight wave of her hand and a half-smile. She must have been caught off guard by the sudden outburst too, unprepared for a proper greeting.

My grandma ran around the corner of the table with what looked like tears in her eyes and took Ms. Ichinose's hands in her own. I just stared in bewilderment. I'd never seen my grandma act this emotional before.

"Oh, thank goodness you two made up! This idiot grandson of mine was throwing away a good thing when he tried to tell me all those lies," grandma said, shooting a less-than-amused, scornful look at me.

Jeez... okay, then.

Grandma took Ms. Ichinose in for a deep hug. Ichinose looked to me for help over her shoulder. I started looking around and noticed the other ladies were gathering and talking amongst themselves.

"Oh! Girls, this is the hottie girlfriend I was telling you about," grandma said, holding her hands out towards Ms. Ichinose as if showing off a luxury car.

All the women ooo'd and aaa'd in delight. They approached Ichinose and started inspecting her. She looked visibly uncomfortable. That's when I stepped in.

"Excuse me, sorry ladies, please leave her be, she's very shy around new people," I said, getting between Ichinose and the old ladies, holding my hands out to barricade her. I could feel a pair of familiar eyes drill into my skull when I'd said all of that, though.

"Kazuya, you've got some explaining and apologizing to do," grandma confronted me, throwing a finger in my face. At this point, I wasn't even flinching anymore. Grandma turned back toward Ms. Ichinose.

"Oh, Princess Chizuru, he acted in such a terrible way when I asked about you the other day. Trying to play an old woman for a fool. I'm so glad you two have made up and come to visit today," grandma said, retaking Ichinose's hands.

"Uh- yes, of course! He's never been great about expressing how he feels," Ichinose said, shooting a mean mug at me.

God, once again, I'm sorry, Ms. Ichinose. I'll take over now.

"Grandma, let her go. I need to talk to-"

"Chizuru?" A voice called from behind Ms. Ichinose and grandma.

Everyone turned to look towards the person who called Chizuru's name. As the crowd cleared, a woman in a wheelchair who sat at the same table as my grandmother came forward. She had red glasses and curled gray hair.

Don't tell me this is...

"Grandma," Ms. Ichinose replied, sounding half surprised and half frightened.

"Sayuri, this is YOUR granddaughter?!" My grandma asked in bewilderment. There were gasps among the crowd.

I closed my eyes shut and clenched my fists. God, this is the worst possible outcome, isn't it?

"Well yes, but I had no idea that the same girl you were talking about, that same Chizuru could've been mine!" Grandma Sayuri said, half-chuckling. "On top of that, with such a delightful young man as yours," she added.

"Oh please, I don't envy her position. Back in our days, we had true gentlemen, Sayuri. Kazuya just told me the other day that he had no idea who his girlfriend was," she said, throwing her hands up in frustration.

My brow furrowed. "Grandma," I said sharply. My grandma, Ms. Ichinose, and her grandma, as well as the crowd of elderly women, looked at me.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you in private. That's why I brought Chizuru here. Also, since her grandmother is here too, I'd like for her to be present as well."

Grandma blinked. She folded her arms before replying. "Alright, if it's for you and Ms. Chizuru, I'll come."

Grandma turned to the rest of the women in the room and waved her hands around.

"Continue without us, girls. We'll be back shortly."

Audible disappointment erupted from the women in the room.

I and Ms. Ichinose stood across from our grandmothers in a hallway outside the lounge room. My grandma was in a seat sitting next to grandma Sayuri, arms folded and eyes shut. Grandma Sayuri held her hands in her lap, looking up at us.

"Grandma, why didn't you wait for me in your room?"

Grandma opened her eyes to look at me.

"Well, I figured I could go play a game of bingo with the girls before you got here, but you seemed to not have any trouble finding me," grandma said, nonplussed, waving her hand around as she spoke. "Plus, it gave you a chance to show her off to the ladies a bit. It went better than I expected," she said with a smug, self-satisfied expression.

Which one of us is happier about that?

Grandma folded her arms again and shut her eyes.

"Now, why don't you explain to me what kind of stunt you were trying to pull the other night?"

I saw Ms. Ichinose look at me from the corner of my eye.

I took in a deep breath.

"Grandma the truth is..."

As I spoke, I noticed my grandma's eyes meeting mine. Her face was serious. It made me freeze up.

My words got stuck and I felt petrified. I saw Chizuru looking at me from the side.

What the hell? Come on, man, speak. This is what you came here for isn't it? This is for Chizuru's sake. You did make this problem, so fix it. Come on!

I closed my eyes and gathered my composure.

"The truth is?" My grandma said, waiting for me to go on.

I opened my eyes.

"Chizuru was never my girlfriend. I lied to you. I'm sorry."

There was a prolonged pause. My grandma's eyes went wide. Grandma Sayuri looked shocked too, and even Ms. Ichinose looked surprised from what I could see of her.

I clenched my fists. I felt my heart beating in my ears.

"Chizuru is my neighbor. She just so happened to come with me to the hospital that day when you were admitted. When you and my parents asked about her and whether she was my girlfriend, I told a lie and said that she was."

My grandma's face started to drop a little. She was slowly shaking her head and began looking down.

"It's not her fault, though! It's mine, I just put her on the spot because of my embarrassment."

I could feel my voice wavering. Even if I had no recollection of any of the things I was saying, I still felt the emotion coming through in my words.

"I let you and my parents down. I was embarrassed about not having a girlfriend and told a lie that forced Chizuru into an uncomfortable situation."

I turned to look at Chizuru. She looked surprised that I was acknowledging her now.

"Chizuru, I'm so sorry," I said, bowing to her. "I'm so so SO sorry. I hope you can forgive me for doing that to you. I hurt you and made you lie for me."

I looked up and saw her mouth trembling to find words. "N-no..." she tried to say something, but I was too focused on my apology that I cut her off as I continued.

I turned to face Mrs. Ichinose's grandmother.

"Mrs. Ichinose," I said. She looked at me.

"I'm so sorry to you and your granddaughter. I used her for my own selfish gain and I got you involved as well."

She didn't say anything back. All she did was blink.

Finally, I took a step back, looking at all three girls before bowing my body fully towards them.

"I'm sorry. Grandma, Mrs. Ichinose, Chizuru, I'm so sorry to all of you!" I shouted, clenching my eyes shut.

...

Nobody said anything for about three or four seconds. I was stuck holding my bow until I heard my grandmother speak.

"Kazuya... stand up," my grandmother said in a stern tone.

I rose. I didn't even get a full look at my grandma before I felt a stinging sensation across my face. I staggered backward. My left cheek stung with a hot sensation. I looked at my grandma in confusion. She held her right hand out to the front beside her.

She had just smacked me.

She looked furious for a moment, but when our eyes met the anger in her face evaporated and was replaced with a regretful sadness. I tried to open my mouth to say something but my grandmother turned away from me, cupping her hands in her face, and quietly sobbed. She briskly walked away from the group.

"Wait, Nagomi!" Grandma Sayuri tried to stop her, holding out a hand. My grandmother pushed through the doors and disappeared.

I couldn't move. I felt my lip quiver as I shook my head. My mouth pursed and my eyes tightened. I felt my eyes getting wet.

"Chizuru," a voice calmly said. "Would you mind going to make sure Nagomi is okay, dear? I'll stay here with Kazuya."

"But I..." she paused for a moment, wanting to protest before biting her tongue. "Okay."

I thought I heard footsteps walking away from my left side. I sat on the ground and buried my face into the sleeves of my shirt.

Why? Why did this have to happen the way it did. I've done all these bad things and I don't even have the privilege of remembering half of them. It all feels so distant, but the pain I've caused to the people around me validates it. This feels so out of my control that it hurts.

I spent the next few seconds buried in my sleeves before I heard my name called.

"Kazuya," a kindly old voice spoke.

I turned my head over to the voice and looked up. Mrs. Ichinose held a reassuring smile on her face looking down at me. Her look pained my already guilty conscious.

"Mrs. Ichinose, I'm so sorry this happened. I never meant to harm your granddaughter nor get you involved. I just wanted to make things right," I exclaimed, whimpering regretfully.

Mrs. Ichinose slowly nodded her head and looked to her side.

"To be honest, I thought it was too good to be true when I saw you two together.

...

What?

I turned my face upward to look more at Mrs. Ichinose's expression. She looked down, but not at me. She seemed to be thinking forlornly to herself.

"Mrs. Ichinose?" I asked, confused.

"Kazuya, I'm not getting any younger, you see. I'm not gonna be there for her forever. Once I'm gone, I may go with only one regret. That my grandchild might be alone in the world from then on."

I watched her more intently now. I didn't interrupt.

Mrs. Ichinose now found her gaze resting upon me.

"Kazuya, please stand and sit with me," she beckoned.

I did as she asked. I pulled myself up and came to a seat next to her wheelchair. Our eyes met before she smiled and turned her head forwards.

"I know it took a lot of courage to say that to your grandmother. Believe me, Nagomi can be quite intimidating on the outside, but on the inside, she's very delicate."

I lowered my head, tightening my fists and pursing my lip.

"Yeah. She's the most important person in our family. Letting her down is like letting my family down... which, I believe I've done."

Mrs. Ichinose turned to look at me, still smiling.

"Your family should be proud to have a boy as noble as you are. Not many people could do what you did, especially in front of more than one person."

I half smiled, folding my hands together and nodding.

"Thank you, Mrs. Ichinose," I replied. "I just wish it didn't get to this point in the first place."

If only she could understand the situation completely then her sympathy would truly alleviate me. I doubt anyone could sympathize with my situation of having manipulated someone and then claiming not to remember doing so, even if it's genuinely true.

Mrs. Ichinose continued. "Don't worry about your grandmother either; I'll talk with her to help calm her down," she offered.

I nodded and smiled, looking at her again. "Thank you," I said, graciously. It didn't make me feel a hundred percent better, but her kind words and offerings calmed me down immensely.

I wanted to continue from what she had said earlier, so I carried forth in the conversation.

"Mrs. Ichinose, what did you mean earlier, about Chizuru?" I questioned.

Mrs. Ichinose's smile subtly dampened, remembering what she'd started the conversation about.

"Ah, well... Chizuru has been more to herself over the years. She's been that way since her grandfather's passing. She's a very driven and focused girl, but she tends to let her relationships fall behind in favor of pursuing her goals. I have no doubt she'll be successful in whatever she does, but I'm afraid that one day she'll look around at her life and realize that she hasn't lived."

In a brief pause, I thought to myself more about what I knew about Chizuru. In the time that I thought, and comparing it to what her grandmother was telling me, it made sense that Chizuru might be the way that she is based on how her grandmother described her. I could tell her grandmother hoped that I and her being in a relationship might be a silver lining if Mrs. Ichinose... might not be there for her anymore.

Thinking about it more, I turned to Mrs. Ichinose to reply.

"Mrs. Ichinose..."

She snapped out of her thoughts to look at me. I bowed my head respectfully.

"I'm so sorry for doing that to her, and you. I truly was awful," I repented, starting to feel the emotion of the situation again.

Mrs. Ichinose only smiled and shook her head.

"You don't have to apologize again, Kazuya. I've already forgiven you, even before you told us."

This woman... is the sweetest person I've ever met. I almost teared up again. How could I have done something so wrong to such a wonderful woman's granddaughter like that?

"...However, there is something I need you to do from now on," Mrs. Ichinose continued, her facial expression hardening.

I looked at her curiously, but intently. "Yes ma'am, anything," I said, dutifully.

She leaned back into her wheelchair's backrest, placing her hands on her lap.

"Please, continue to take care of Chizuru... even after I'm gone."

...

What? Me?!

My jaw dropped and I shook my head slightly.

"M-me?" I said, pointing to myself.

Mrs. Ichinose nodded her head gently.

"Yes. Be there for her when she needs someone to lean on."

I couldn't believe it. I was responsible for the anxiety she felt going to school every day, as well as her being in her apartment. Living next to the same person who put you in a lie that could have jeopardized your reputation and your job... and now their grandmother wants me to take care of them?

"M-Mrs. Ichinose, no... after what I did to her? To you?!" I said both ashamed and in disbelief.

Mrs. Ichinose only smiled and nodded her head.

"Yes, Kazuya. Please," she softly pleaded. "What you did is of no concern to me now, but what I'm asking you to do is for my daughter's sake. You've already proven to me that you're a man I'd trust to leave in her hands."

I looked down at my knees and gathered my thoughts. I sighed through my nose as I grit my teeth.

"I... don't know. I'm not sure she'd let me, or even if she'd want that."

"Kazuya, my granddaughter is a hard tell sometimes, but I promise you, having known her all my life, I can tell she appreciates you now more than you realize."

I squint my eyes, hardly believing her words.

"How do you know that?" I asked, curiously.

She smiled as she looked at me.

"She's my granddaughter... and she's a lot like me when I was her age. I can tell when she's herself and when she's not. Today, I noticed how considerably at ease she was. Her mannerisms more modest, her face settling instead of forcing her expressions."

Mrs. Ichinose shot a smirk and lowered her eyes before bringing her body slightly down to meet my gaze more.

"You know Kazuya, I used to be an actress."

I blinked.

...

"Huh?" I awkwardly chuckled out, half-smiling.

She pleasantly laughed.

"Yes, indeed! I was a lead actress once upon a time."

Her eyes lowered as she smirked. She brought herself back to her regular posture with a pleasant sigh.

"But, that was a long time ago," she concluded.

She brought her eyes back to mine.

"Well, the reason I mention that is because I can tell when Chizuru is being honest or not. Truth be told, she was never a good liar," she said with a slight shake of the head.

I gazed at her curiously.

"The long and short of it is, Chizuru needs someone to confide in, and since she's on her own, I don't know how much longer she'll have someone like that that isn't me, you know?" She said, looking over at me.

I only held her gaze, a little taken aback by her proposal.

I looked at my hands, clasped one over the other as I thought.

"I- I'm not sure," I said, feeling insecure.

Mrs. Ichinose placed a hand on my shoulder. I shot a look at her, to which I was greeted with a warm and elderly smile.

"Just give it some thought, would you?" She politely asked.

She patted my back.

"Okay! Let's go find Chizuru and Nagomi."

I shot her a look of surprise. "O-oh! Yes, of course," I said, befuddled. I'd forgotten that Chizuru had gone to go comfort my grandma.

I started for the direction that Chizuru had walked off in before I heard a shout.

"Ah, Kazuya!"

I skid my feet to a stop before shooting a look back behind me.

"Can you bring me with you, please?" Mrs. Ichinose giggled, shyly beckoning me back with a smile.

"Oh, man! I'm so sorry Mrs. Ichinose, I forgot!"

I ran back and grabbed the handles on her wheelchair, Mrs. Ichinose chuckling as I came back to get her.

I stood outside my grandma's hospital room. I waited there for a while, standing with Chizuru next to me on the opposite end of the door. Mrs. Ichinose and my grandma were inside softly talking to each other. I had my arms folded behind my back, staring at the ground.

"Uh... so how was she when you found her?" I asked Chizuru, not taking my eyes off the vinyl floor.

Chizuru took a second to respond. "She was crying when I found her. She hugged me and I tried to make her feel better the best I could." She said, softly.

I sunk my head lower.

"I'm sorry I-" Before I could finish giving another apology, Chizuru cut me off.

"It's okay." I stopped and looked back at her a little stunned. Her eyes looked into mine for a brief moment before returning to the floor.

"You don't have to apologize anymore."

That was all she said. She seemed somber in her demeanor.

I paused and silently sighed before turning my head back to the floor as well.

There was another brief pause before she spoke again, this time softer than before.

"Umm... thank you." She said, quietly.

I looked back at her again. Her face held a soft expression. Her eyes peered up to meet mine as well with a light smile.

I held her gaze with bated breath. I recomposed myself before nodding back with a mellow smile of my own.

"You're welcome."

Her smile grew a little wider.

Suddenly, the door opened to my right. Chizuru and I both clambered away from the wall to face the entrance. Out walked my grandmother, her head held low and not meeting anyone's gaze. I felt my heart catch in my chest and my head start to rush.

Slowly, she walked forward towards me. I felt my hands clam up as she raised her arms...

...and hugged me tightly.

She let out a soft and trembling sigh as she rested her head on my shoulder. I paused for a moment, feeling a deep alleviation in my body, before I returned the hug, tears dropping as my eyes squinted shut.

I felt that Chizuru was silently relieved as well, even though I didn't see her at that moment.

"I'm sorry." My grandma whispered with a sniffle. "I love you so much."

Her hug tightened as did mine.

"I love you too. I'm sorry."

She ran her hand down the back of my head soothingly. "It's okay."

We held each other for a while before we looked each other in the face. Her eyes were red but her smile had returned.

Looking past her, I saw Mrs. Ichinose sitting in the doorway with her wheelchair, smiling approvingly.

Grandma turned to look at Chizuru. She took Chizuru's hands in her own and sighed.

"Thank you for comforting me, dear. You're truly an angel."

Chizuru smiled and nodded.

We all stood and talked until we were laughing and bantering again. After some time had passed, I and Chizuru were waving goodbye to our grandmothers as we took the elevator ride back down to the ground floor.

Once we'd stepped foot back outside, the sun was beginning to droop low to invite the evening.

Chizuru walked ahead of me slightly. She sighed, stretching, and seemingly less guarded than before. I held my hands in my jacket pockets as I walked with my head down, mentally in my own world.

"Welp," she said, yawning and stretching, though her gestures looked instinctively artificial. "That went over better than I thought," she said with what felt like a hint of irony.

I shook my head and scoffed jokingly.

"Very funny," I said as if in on the joke.

That's when she took me a little bit by surprise.

"No, really," she said, having a modestly serious face about her, yet with a confident smile.

"You and your grandma made up by the end, everyone was joking and laughing, and now the burden is lifted, right?" She asked, rhetorically.

I felt my eyes drift to the sidewalk.

"Well, not entirely. I still have to tell my parents, but I won't need to bring you around for that," I admitted.

She clasped her hands in front of her skirt as her eyes glanced up towards the sky, thinking.

"Yeah, I suppose so," she agreed.

She soon returned her face to mine, smiling slightly.

"Thank you. I guess now we can go back to normal lives, huh?"

Normal, huh?

I thought about that for a second. Nothing about what I've been through has been normal. I don't believe anything that's happened to me happens to people normally. One crisis averted, yet another is looming overhead.

Chizuru walked slightly ahead of me now. I felt myself lagging behind, but I don't think she noticed. I looked up to see her walking ahead.

Buried in my thoughts, someone else's words echoed in my memory.

"Be there for her when she needs someone to lean on."

I stopped walking, watching her get farther and farther away.

There's no way I can. I don't deserve to be a part of her any longer than I already was. She wouldn't want that. Would she?

"...but I'm afraid that one day she'll look around at her life and realize that she hasn't lived."

I grit my teeth.

"Hey."

A voice broke me out of my thoughts. I looked up, and saw Chizuru standing in front of me, looking a little concerned.

"You okay? You weren't responding to me when I called back to you." She said, slightly worriedly.

I took a second to respond.

"I, uh..."

I wasn't sure how to start this. It took me a few extra moments to figure out what I wanted to say.

"I know you said you wanted to go back to the way things used to be, but... I was wondering if we could start over?"

She didn't say anything at first. After about a second of time passing, she spoke.

"Start over?" She asked, as if unsure of the prospect.

I put my hand behind my head and scratched, unsure.

"Yeah, because... I just feel like we got off on the completely wrong foot, and I was hoping you wouldn't mind getting... to know me for real, I guess."

She crossed her arms.

"Company policy states I'm not allowed to maintain any sort of outside work relationship with my customers." She said, very matter-of-factually.

Damn... a model employee.

However, there was a slight look of sorrow on her face that caught my attention. She seemed... kind of sad, I think. I tried rethinking my approach.

"Well..." I said, pondering what to rebuttal with.

"We are going to be living next door to each other. How about we start over as friendly neighbors?"

Her eyes widened slightly. She didn't say anything for a moment. I couldn't tell what she was thinking.

Suddenly, she sputtered out a laugh and bent over slightly, giggling to herself.

I felt a little awkward now, but I stood firm.

She turned her head up to look at me again.

"Okay sure, I can get behind that," she said, still giggling.

She spun on her heels, hands behind her back, then looked back at me.

"Friendly neighbors," she said resolutely.

I felt a relieved smile on my face. An unknown weight that I hadn't recognized before lifted.

When we got home, we said goodnight to each other and parted ways.

I entered my home and immediately collapsed onto my futon.

What an exhausting day. Emotionally and physically draining.

I checked my phone.

21:13

I sighed.

"I'm tired," I thought.

From here, I figured that the abnormalities in my life up until this point had been resolved and were subsiding.

However, as the months would come to pass seemingly innocuously, I got complacent again. I didn't start to realize some things were truly not the same until one event in particular.

That particular event would be none other than...

Hello, everyone!

I'm back! I bet you thought I'd given up on this, huh? Well, not exactly.

As I said before, these chapters are very fun to write, and my storyboard is very much thought out, but I must tend to other artistic matters first and foremost, as I only come back to write every so often. It also takes time to proofread my work and make sure I didn't miss anything or nothing is grammatically or spelling-wise wrong.

Other than that, yes! My time frame for chapter releases is every 3-4 months, but sometimes this may take longer, so bear with me as I go about this journey! This is the first story I've ever published on the internet, believe it or not.

Other than that, I'll see you in the future.

Warmest regards

- Ady Art