Riku
I didn't have a choice…
I didn't have a choice, I didn't have a choice, I didn't have a choice…
That's all I could tell myself after Sora found me like that. After all, I couldn't move anymore… I was lucky I even made it to that spot to begin with before I collapsed from the pain.
It hurt so much, I almost passed out…
I only meant to stay there until I recovered enough magic to heal myself though. I hadn't meant for anyone to see me, especially since that door was always locked after ten PM. But of course Sora would show up out of nowhere.
He just wouldn't go…
Covering his eyes was all I could think to do, but… that didn't make things any less suspicious. Sora still saw my wound disappear. Even if he didn't know how it happened, he still saw me make some kind of miraculous recovery.
And even though I knew it wasn't my fault, that I'd done everything I could to prevent this from happening, that didn't mean I was safe…
Because regardless of what happened, it's my responsibility to ensure people don't figure out who or what I am. To ensure that people don't discover our world.
Failing to do so meant I may still have to face the consequences…
I fucked up…
But… I didn't have a choice…
Sora
"Anyways, what's going on in your life, So? It feels like ages since we last talked," Xion said.
"We talked just last week, Xion." I answered with a small laugh.
"And it feels like forever!" She teased. "Besides, I can't remember the last time we talked about your life. I feel like all of our most recent conversations have been about my relationship drama."
"That's because you keep going back to that dickhead you call a boyfriend."
"You're one to talk. Hell, I bet you were texting Kairi just last night."
"I was not!"
"Really~? When's the last time you talked to her then?" she asked, keeping her tone light and teasing.
I couldn't help but frown at the question. I genuinely hadn't talked to her last night. However… it had probably only been a day or two since our last conversation…
"I don't wanna talk about it…" I mumbled.
"Hah! See! Now come on, spill!" she demanded in a playful tone.
I let out a long sigh, running a hand through my hair. "I mean… I don't know what there is to tell. I don't feel like anything particularly interesting as been happening. Well, except…" I trailed off as my thoughts wandered back to Riku. I hadn't actually told Xion anything about him yet. Not even the whole "stalking" thing. So, it felt a bit odd talking about it now.
Hell, if I did, Xion would probably tell me what a bad idea it is to involve myself with him and that I should keep my distance…
I didn't feel like that was fair though. I mean… I didn't get any bad vibes from him. And aside from all the weird, unexplained incidents, he seemed nice. Maybe just a bit awkward? I couldn't fault him for that though…
"Except what?" Xion asked when I didn't continue.
"Well…" I sighed, rubbing at the back of my neck. "I met this guy…"
"Oh? What kind of guy?"
I chuckled. "A weird guy."
"Weird in a bad way?"
"Uhh… I don't think so. He seems nice. I just can't figure him out, you know?"
"Well, is he cute?"
I snorted at that. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I don't know, I just want you to get past this Kairi nonsense. She's bad for your health, So."
I knew Xion was only looking out for me, but I couldn't help rolling my eyes at her response. After all, every time we talked about her on again off again boyfriend, all I did was tell her to leave him. "Xion, if I get past my Kairi nonsense, that means you have to get past your Hayner nonsense."
"Shhhhhh! We're not talking about that!" she responded dismissively, making me laugh again. "Now come on, answer the question!"
I sighed, looking off to the side as I thought it over.
If I were being honest with myself, I already knew the answer… Riku was probably one of the prettiest guys I'd ever seen. Hell, he was probably prettier than all the girls I'd ever seen too.
But I couldn't tell Xion that.
If I did, she'd immediately start insisting I ask him out. And that thought alone was enough to make me flush with embarrassment…
"I guess, yeah… He's pretty cute," I said.
"You should ask him out!"
Bingo.
I rolled my eyes, despite the fact that she couldn't see it, and let out a small laugh. "I'm not asking him out. I hardly know the guy. And besides… I kind of get the feeling he doesn't want to be around me…"
"What makes you say that?" she asked, her tone a mix of confusion and worry.
"Well…"
I didn't get much sleep on my days off. I spent a lot of the time with my family or talking to friends, but… that didn't really have anything to do with it. If anything, they were a mere distraction from the fact that I couldn't sleep.
The thing was… every time I tried, I kept thinking about Riku…
Every time I closed my eyes I saw him. Just sitting there in a pool of his own blood…
He said it happened more often than I knew… But how often? Was he bleeding out while I laid there doing nothing? Was he all alone with no one to offer comfort?
And… what was that light that seemed to heal him…?
"Sora?"
I glanced over my shoulder when I heard my name, brows raised and eyes wide in curiosity. Though, I was immediately met with the sight of a certain silver haired male.
"Oh! Hey!" I answered in surprise as I dropped the pile of clothes I was holding into one of the baskets. They fell out of the neat stack they were in when I did, a couple of them even unfolding in the process. I didn't have time to worry about that though. All I could do now was give a sheepish smile as I turned to face Riku.
"Hi," he said with a small, amused laugh. "I uh… I brought you something."
"You did?" I asked with a raised brow. Riku nodded before producing a pack of peanut butter crackers and a blue Herculade bottle from his pockets.
"It's not much, but… I felt bad about what happened the other night and… I suppose I didn't know how else to express how sorry I am." He looked off to the side in shame as he held the items out to me in offering.
"Oh. Well, I mean, you didn't have to. But thanks." I was still confused, but I wasn't going to turn down a free snack. "By the way, um… what did happen the other night?"
Riku glanced up in surprise at first, then raised a brow in question. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, how did you get hurt? And what was that light? Did it heal you?"
His eyes widened in surprise, then his brows furrowed as he began clenching and unclenching his hands. "I… I'm sorry, but… I don't have an answer I can give you."
I frowned. "Why though? I don't get it…"
"I just… I can't. I'm not allowed to," he answered. He had this almost pained look on his face though, like he wanted to say something more. "I should really get going now. I have work to do."
He gave a small wave as he turned to leave, and I was a bit taken aback by how abrupt he was being. Especially with that kicked puppy look on his face. It was almost like he was being forced away.
But…
"Wait, I…!" I paused, feeling a bit uncertain with myself.
I don't know why I stopped him. I only knew I didn't want him to go yet. I wanted to keep talking to him. But… I didn't think there was anything I could say that would convince him to stick around.
Thankfully, Riku did stop, turning to look at me as he patiently waited to hear whatever I was trying to say…
That's when I remembered my conversation with Xion.
"That is weird. But I don't get the impression that he doesn't want to be around you. In fact, it sounds more like he's worried about you not wanting him around."
"I guess… I never indicated that though."
"Well, maybe you should try to indicate that you would like him around~… Maybe by asking him on a date?"
"I'm not asking him on a date!"
Fucking dammit…
"I… I was wondering… would you maybe want to… hang out sometime? Maybe… Maybe this weekend?"
It wasn't a date. Just two guys hanging out…
Riku's eyes shot wide open. "I… uh…"
He almost looked like his brain was short circuiting, and I immediately felt a wave of panic wash over me.
"You don't have to if you don't want to of course! I won't be offended, I promise. I just… I thought it might be fun; you know?" I rushed out my explanation as I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck. "Maybe we could have coffee or see a movie? I um… I-I'm open to anything really."
It felt like the more I rambled, the more panicked Riku seemed. And once I finished, all he did was stand there, looking tense.
At that point, I didn't even need him to answer me. As far as I was concerned, the look on his face was answer enough. As I was about to tell him to forget it though, he took a deep breath, which seemed to help him relax.
Though, his face was still as bright as a Christmas tree, and I would lying if I said it wasn't cute…
"Okay… Yeah. Yeah, I… I would like that…" Riku finally answered.
My whole face lit up, and in an instant I felt like a weight had lifted from my chest. "Wait, really?"
Riku smiled in amusement. "Yes, really. No work talk though, okay?"
"Of course! No problem!"
We exchanged numbers after that so we could nail down a time and place to meet up. I was over the moon though. I couldn't believe he actually agreed to go out with me.
Hell, my work week had just begun, and I was already anticipating my days off.
I know that's not out of the ordinary of course. Most people usually anticipate their next days off during the work week. But at least I felt like I had something to actually be excited about.
Of course, that excitement was short lived when I realized I'd have to tell my mother…
She was bound to demand I give her all the details about who I was going out with and where we were going to be. And I knew if I didn't comply, she'd lose her mind. Even just not knowing the answer to one of her questions was bound to result in an argument. Especially since Leon had told her about my "stalker"…
I threw the door shut behind me as I stormed out of my parents' house.
I'd just finished arguing with my mother about numerous different things. Because apparently we can't have a disagreement without my mother bringing up all my past shortcomings and what a terrible child I was…
Am…
Whatever.
The whole thing is ridiculous. I was only trying to tell her I was going out with a friend today. At that point she started drilling me for information about Riku. Even if I did want to tell her, I didn't have much I could say about him. Hell, that was the point of going out with him, so I could learn these things.
When I didn't give her the information she wanted, she called Vanitas into the room to see if he knew anything about him. And when that didn't work, she proceeded to call Leon.
Before I knew it, we were having an all-out screaming match with each other. And I hated it…
I hated being pushed into screaming before she wouldn't even take the time to hear me out. I hated that even though they weren't in the room, I knew my little sisters could hear us. And I hated that regardless of how the argument started, it always turned into her trying to shame and humiliate me in front of the rest of the family…
Even on my way out the door I could still hear her bitching. Yelling at me not to slam her front door, despite the fact that she slammed everything she could get her hands on when she was mad. Then yelling at my father about how rude and disrespectful I am, as if it's his fault I somehow turned out this way. Like she'd taken no part in it…
I hated that.
It was always that me and my siblings were "rude and disrespectful" while my parents were always in the right. I swear they don't even know the meaning of those words anymore…
Still, I couldn't stand being that house for another second, so I marched out the front door in a huff. I decided to take a walk before meeting up with Riku. My hope was that it would give me some time to cool down beforehand. After all, I didn't want to be upset about my family drama while we were out with each other.
Well, that was the plan. Until Riku showed up…
I heard him well before I saw him; the loud roaring sound of a motorcycle speeding down the street towards me. At first I turned around because I heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. Then the bike pulled right up next to me. I gave him a curious look, still not realizing it was him yet. That's when he pulled off his helmet and smiled.
"Hey."
"Uh… hey…" I answered dumbly. I could already feel my cheeks warming as I looked at him, but I tried to swallow down the nerves bubbling up in my throat. "Aren't you a bit early?"
Riku raised his brow and tilted his head to the side. "Am I?"
"Yeah. By like an hour…"
"Oh, jeez. I must've gotten the time wrong," he said with a sheepish smile.
I chuckled, my face feeling like it was on fire now. "It's fine. We'll blame it on the nerves or something."
"Sounds good," he said with a playful wink. I don't know if it was seeing him in the light of day or the fact that we weren't at work. Hell, maybe it was just the motorcycle that was getting to me. Regardless, I was far more flustered now than I had been with him before…
"Well, since I'm here now; you wanna go grab some coffee? Maybe a snack before the movie?" he asked.
"Uh, sure. That sounds good." I said. "Are we… riding this though?"
I knew all too well what a dumb question that was. Obviously, that's what we were riding, it's what he came here on. The only reason I bothered to ask was because I'd never ridden a motorcycle before…
"Oh, yeah. Sorry. I guess I should've asked if you were alright with it, but this is actually the only mode of transportation I have. I hope you don't mind…"
"No, uh…" I paused, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. "It's fine, I just… I've never been on a motorcycle before…"
Riku smiled and nodded. "I figured. No need to worry though. I promise, I won't let you get hurt."
I shrugged like it was nothing, though I couldn't help smiling at Riku's promise. "Well, I guess I don't have a choice."
Riku offered me his helmet at that point, which I hesitated to take. I was mostly concerned about Riku riding without one. Apparently he only had the one though, so he insisted I take it. He had to assure me a few times that it was fine, but in the end, I accepted the helmet.
Once I settled on the back of his bike, Riku made a wide U-turn before taking off down the street.
The motorcycle was thunderous, and all I could feel was the way it vibrated underneath me. Though, I couldn't quite focus on that or anything happening around me…
Not when Riku was so close I could smell his shampoo.
And definitely not when I could feel how firm his abdomen was under my fingers…
Despite having wanted some time to cool off, it ended up being a good thing that Riku showed up so early.
I don't know what it was, but something about his presence was… calming.
The moment he appeared, I felt at ease. Like he washed away all my worries and soothed my soul…
The further we got from the house, the further I felt from all my familial nonsense. By the time we arrived at the coffee shop, all the anger I felt before had drained away. Everything with my family felt distant. Like the wind had carried it away as we flew down the streets…
Now it was just me and Riku… And the coffee he bought for me…
Even though it was cold out, we decided to sit outside and talk. I don't know exactly how Riku felt, but he didn't seem to mind. I just figured it would give us more privacy. I kept my drink clasped between my hands though in an attempt to keep warm. Meanwhile, Riku left his on the table as he leaned back in his chair.
"So, what made you want to come out with me?" Riku asked.
"Oh, um… I guess I just wanted to get to know you better. Plus, it's a good excuse to get out of the house and away from my family." I was trying not to sound annoyed, but I couldn't help grumbling that last part.
Riku only chuckled though, completely unaffected by the sour tone in my voice. "Rough home life?"
"You could say that…" I looked off, feeling a bit timid, before asking, "What about you?"
"Me? I uh… I don't talk to my parents anymore. And I only see my brother when I have to."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Let's just say they weren't too pleased when I came out to them…" he answered with a bittersweet smile.
"Oh! I-I'm so sorry to hear that…" I could feel my cheeks warming in embarrassment, but Riku shook his head.
"Don't worry about it. They weren't good parents before that either. It was more like a last straw kind of situation by the end. Plus, I moved out after that, so I really don't think about them much these days."
"Oh… Did they… kick you out?"
"No. I just couldn't stand being there anymore," Riku explained. He glanced around the building for a moment, then added, "Don't get it twisted though. If it weren't for the fact that they were trying to keep up appearances, they would've kicked me out in a heartbeat."
"Well… at least you're better off now." I wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say in this situation, but Riku didn't seem bothered. Instead, he smiled at me.
"Yeah. I am."
I smiled as well, my cheeks warming again as I thought about what a nice smile Riku had. I tried to push that thought away as quickly as it came though and took a small sip of my drink to clear my head.
"So, um… why did you agree to come out with me?" I finally asked, despite the nerves swirling around in my stomach and making me feel nauseous.
Riku's head tilted to the side as he raised a brow in question. "Why wouldn't I?"
I shrugged as I tried to keep from meeting his gaze. "I don't know… I guess I just got the feeling that… you didn't really want to be around me."
"Oh… no. No, of course not." Riku seemed far more concerned now as he sat forward in his chair. "If I'm honest, it's quite the opposite."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I want to be around you too much. I didn't want to freak you out though, so I've been trying to keep my distance…"
"Is that why you won't tell me about your job?" I teased.
Riku chuckled and quickly shook his head. "No. Believe me, if it were my choice, I'd tell you all about it."
"I'll keep that in mind," I said with a wink and a cheeky grin.
"I'm sure you will," Riku said as he grabbed his drink.
Things were quiet for a moment, then I added, "You know, just for the record… I wouldn't mind if you wanted to come around more. In fact… I enjoy your company."
As I admitted that, I heard Riku choke on his coffee.
"Really?" he asked in a strained voice.
I chuckled. "Yeah."
"Even after finding me half dead?" he joked.
"Oh, especially then. I mean, who else is going to stop you from bleeding out in front of Moog-mart late at night?" I shot him a cheeky grin and he burst out laughing. A real, loud laugh too; not one of his quiet, barely audible snickers.
The sound alone was enough to set my mind on fire.
"Well, I'm glad to know I didn't completely traumatize you," he said.
Honestly, I was just glad to know we could joke about this. I worried Riku might try to pretend it didn't happen or something. So, the fact that he wasn't felt like a huge win.
Of course, once we were on the topic, I couldn't help myself…
"On a slightly more serious note… what did happen that night? If you don't mind me asking of course…" I said.
Thankfully, he didn't seem bothered by the question. At most, he appeared resigned, as if he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid it.
Riku let out a small sigh as he drew patterns with his finger into the frost on the table. "I don't mind per se. I just don't know if the answer is going to be satisfying for you."
"That's fine," I said with a shrug. "I'd still like to hear it."
He hummed in thought, then gave a small nod as he sat back in his chair again. His expression still seemed soft and relaxed, but there was an underlying seriousness in his eyes now.
"The truth is… I got stabbed."
My eyes widened in shock. "Seriously?! By who?!"
"You know I can't answer that."
I rolled my eyes and huffed. "Fine. Then, how did you heal yourself?"
"I can't tell you that either."
"Well… what can you tell me?"
His head tilted to the side as he smiled in mild amusement. "Didn't we agree that we wouldn't talk about work?"
"Oh, come on, Riku. Can't you indulge me a little bit?" I pleaded.
Riku sighed and rolled his eyes, though his smile only widened as he met my gaze. "Fine. I assume you want to hear something I haven't already told you?"
"Obviously."
He paused to give it some thought, then said, "I suppose… I could tell you that my job is to protect something very precious. And it's a job that I've been doing for some time now, so I've gotten quite good at it. Though… it can be difficult, and sometimes I still make mistakes."
"And that's how you get hurt so often?"
"I might've exaggerated how often it happens, but yes," he said with a small nod. "Is that good enough for you?"
"I mean, I'd like to hear more~," I answered with a playful pout. "But I guess it's enough. After all, you didn't even have to tell me that much."
"I know I didn't. But I wanted to. Especially since… there's something I wanted to ask you," Riku said.
"Oh." I was a bit taken aback by that. I hadn't expected there to be something he wanted to know. But I guess it was only fair he got to ask his own, potentially difficult questions. "Okay, shoot."
He sat forward in his seat again, leaning on the table this time as he inclined his head towards me. "I wanted to know; what do you think of me?"
I blinked. "What do I… think of you?"
"Yeah. And be honest. I don't need you to spare my feelings."
"Uh… okay…" I paused, pursing my lips as I tried to think it over. Admittedly, I wasn't sure I had much of an opinion. I didn't quite feel like I knew enough about him yet to have an opinion…
"Well, you seem nice. Definitely mysterious, but… for some reason, I feel safe with you. I don't know why, I just… I get the feeling you're someone I can trust. Someone I can count on. And I guess that makes me want you around."
Riku's face went slack, and his eyes grew wide as he listened to me talk. Clearly that wasn't the answer he'd been expecting…
"That's… a lot more kind than I thought you would be…" he said in mild astonishment.
I gave him an odd look and laughed. "What, did you expect me to insult you?"
"Kind of. I mean… you did think I was stalking you when we first met. I wouldn't blame you for still thinking I'm a creep or something."
"I guess that's fair. But that was a misunderstanding. It would be kind of crummy for me to still think ill of you for something you weren't doing."
"I suppose you're right. Still, do you really trust me now?"
I shrugged. "As much as I can trust someone I hardly know."
"Well… thank you. I'm glad to know you think so highly of me already." Despite the smile on his face when he said that, I got the impression something was wrong…
I couldn't quite figure out why. There was just something about the interaction that was setting off alarm bells in my head.
But… it didn't feel appropriate to ask…
My brothers both tried to message me while I was out with Riku.
I guess they were doing my mother's bidding for her considering they both wanted to know my exact location. They even threatened to come hunt me down when I told them it wasn't any of their business.
It was frustrating to say the least. But I didn't want them ruining my time out with Riku, so I'd put my phone on silent and ignored them for the rest of the afternoon.
I knew I was likely to get an earful when I got home, but that didn't really matter to me. Especially since I knew I was going to get yelled at regardless of whether or not I ignored them. So, I figured I might as well ignore it and have fun while I still could. There was no point in letting them ruin my mood then when they'd have plenty of time to do so later.
Besides, I didn't see why this was such a problem to them. I'm an adult. I'm allowed to go out with whoever I want, whenever I want. They're lucky I even told them I was going out to begin with, because realistically, I could've walked out the front door without saying a word. And on top of it all, my brothers had nothing to do with that argument. They were only involved because our mother dragged them into it. So, I didn't understand why they felt the need to harass me.
It all just felt so stupid and tiring…
So, as much as it might suck to deal with later, they could wait.
Kairi: My shitty friends ask for my shitty relationship advice, then ignore it. -.-
That was the message I'd received at work last night. Though, I'd taken to ignoring it…
Honestly, I'd been having a hard time deciding if I still wanted to deal with Kairi. Which sounded kind of crazy. I never thought I'd feel like this about her. Not after everything we'd been through.
But… recently, the guilt I'd been feeling before had started turning into something more akin to disgust. And I was fairly certain that was thanks to Riku…
It had been almost a week since we went out together, and we'd been texting back and forth ever since.
Not every day of course. I didn't want to be a bother or seem over eager, but we had a few decent conversations over the past week. Conversations where we'd both been able to open up to each other a bit. To get to know each other, and joke around…
Mostly we'd been talking during work hours; which gave me some much-needed entertainment throughout the night. However, what I noticed the most when we talked was how good it felt…
Riku is funny, and kind, and just generally uplifting. I always had so much fun whenever we talked. Every time Riku's name popped up on my phone, I just felt this rush of excitement course through me. I looked forward to the nights we'd get to talk. And I looked forward to rereading those messages at the end of the night.
That was such a stark contrast to how Kairi made me feel…
Whenever we talked, Kairi would spend the majority of the conversation complaining about her life. Or putting me down for still feeling interested in her. Hell, she had no problem telling me how little she cared about me or that the only reason she still talked to me was because she was lonely.
It was downright cruel…
I wish I could say I hadn't seen it before, but… I had. I was just so desperate for some form of companionship and escapism that I was willing to turn a blind eye to it.
Spending time with someone who makes you feel good really has a way of opening your eyes though. And now that I was willing to acknowledge it, I felt so ashamed of myself for allowing someone to use me like that.
Still, it sucked. We'd known each other for so long. We were such a major part of each other's lives, and I couldn't help feeling sentimental in some way. Almost like I owed it to her to at least give her the benefit of the doubt.
But that was stupid. I should be able to just be mad at her. I should be able to hate her! She caused this after all. She's the one that stubbornly chose time and again to put herself in harm's way despite my protests. She's the one that chose to use and abuse me like a fucking toy!
So… why did it feel so hard to just… let her go? Why was I still holding on? Why… Why did I still have to care about her…?
I sighed as I closed out of my email for what felt like the millionth time and instead opened my text messages.
I wanted to text Riku. Mostly just to make myself feel better and to help me ignore the Kairi situation. That didn't feel right though.
Perhaps I was overthinking it, but I felt like if I texted Riku to make myself feel better, I'd just be doing the same thing Kairi's been doing to me. And while I know that's not my intention, I can't get the thought out of my head.
So, instead I decided to sit and reread some of our previous conversations again.
It's not like I had much else to do anyways. All there was for me to do at the moment was sit in the tense silence of Vanitas' truck and stare out the window.
Maybe the uncomfortable air between us was all in my head too. But after Riku drove me home last week, I ended up in another long argument. This time it wasn't just between my mother and I though. No, my brothers decided to join in as well.
Leon was mostly mad that I hadn't told our mother all she wanted to know about Riku. Along with the fact that I hadn't told anyone when Riku picked me up. He seemed very hung up on that latter point as he, and our mother, kept saying I could've been kidnapped for all they knew.
I still didn't entirely understand that logic, but it was exhausting trying to argue why that was stupid. So, I just let it be.
Still, Leon didn't even care that I had come home on the back of a motorcycle with a man he'd never seen. He just wanted me to respect our mother's authority. And admittedly, that's what I'd come to expect from Leon growing up. He'd always had this fierce loyalty towards our parents and generally took their side when it came to arguments, so I didn't think anything of it. I knew where Leon was going to stand from the start.
Vanitas was a different story though.
Growing up, we were usually on the same page. We'd always been each other's best friends. Even our mom often complained about how we were so close that if one of us lied, the other always covered for them.
But that night… I just don't get it.
Vanitas took her side, bitching me out and scolding me like I was a child. He even outright told me that if he ever saw Riku around here again, he was going to beat the shit out of him.
And that… that alone was enough to set me off…
That wasn't the end of it though.
Vanitas went on; saying how he was going to talk to our mutual friends and ensure they all knew they weren't allowed to hang out with me alone anymore. Not that we have that many mutual friends. Or that I was even that close to any of them. They were more Vanitas' friends that I also happened to get along with. Really, I felt like they only tolerated me because Vanitas and I had always kind of been a package deal. Still, the whole thing reeked of Vanitas trying to isolate and control me. Like he was trying to ensure I wouldn't have anyone nearby to rely on. And that was vile behavior.
In the end, I just walked away from the whole thing feeling betrayed…
I knew my mother, and maybe even Leon, still didn't see me as an adult with the ability to make their own choices. But I thought… at the very least, Vanitas had…
It was crushing to find out I was wrong about that…
So, I'd been keeping our interactions to a minimum. Meanwhile, Vanitas went on acting like nothing had happened. The only thing he did to, seemingly, try to make it up to me was invite me out with our friends that weekend.
I couldn't even be sure if he meant for that to be his half-baked apology, but if that were the case, it sucked. So, I declined.
The only saving grace I had after the whole mess was Riku.
Once I was finally allowed to retreat from the argument and run off to my room, I realized I had a text from him. He was just telling me that he'd enjoyed our time together, but I was so delighted by that simple text.
We spent the rest of the night talking after that.
I'd messaged Xion at the time as well, but that was only to complain about my family. Riku was the one that cheered me up though. And he didn't even know how much that night meant to me…
I smiled as I read over those messages now, but that joy was short lived.
I only had enough time to look up from my phone to process what was happening. Before I knew it, the truck rammed into the head of the metal guardrail on Vanitas' side of the car. Vanitas jolted and jerked the steering wheel to the right in a panic, trying to correct his steering and get back on the road.
That didn't quite work though.
Instead, the truck jerked over to the other side of the lane, the wheels turning the truck and taking it over the curb. I swore my heart jumped into my throat as the truck skid sideways to the bottom of the ditch we were thrown into. By some kind of miracle, the truck didn't roll over on the way down. It stayed upright all the way to the bottom, leaving trenches in the dirt.
Once it finally came to a halt, we both sat there in the silence, staring out the windshield in shock.
That's when I saw it…
A snowy white feather floated down the windshield, landing delicately on the hood.
I didn't even have time to think about what I was doing. I just shoved the door open and jumped out in a blind panic.
Vanitas didn't say a word, he just watched on with a blank stare, like he wasn't sure what to think.
As I turned to look at the truck, I caught sight of a humanoid form crouched on the roof. With big, white wings and silver hair cascading down their back.
He didn't even look at me before he disappeared in a flash...