I woke up to the sound of my refrigerator opening.
…
No.
Not opening.
Being raided.
There was a distinct difference.
I rolled over and looked at the time.
10:57 AM.
Far too early for my liking.
A second later, I heard a cabinet slam shut, followed by another, then another.
At this point, there were two possibilities.
The first was that I was being robbed.
The second...
I sat up and looked towards my kitchen, seeing a hungry Mio scavenging through my cabinets with trash on the counters and chips sticking out of her mouth.
Unfortunately, it was the second option: a hungry Mio awake and in food-hunt mode.
I dragged myself out of bed and walked towards the kitchen, finding Mio rummaging through my fridge with one of my drinks in her hand.
“Morning,” She said, closing and opening the fridge like something would appear there the next time she opens it.
I stared at her hand, “That’s mine.”
She looked at me, took a sip of the drink, then closed the fridge.
No shame, no hesitation, no remorse.
At this point I was starting to wonder if I was in her apartment instead.
“You’ve become way too comfortable for someone who originally came here just to take a bath.”
“I know,” She said, walking past me and turning on the TV.
I noticed a hoodie of mine swung over the back of my chair, with some socks hanging over the fan above my bed.
She had made herself at home, even wearing my clothes instead of the ones she brought herself.
I opened the fridge and saw her efforts plastered everywhere. My drinks were moved around, my leftover food was gone, and she even consumed the entire whipped cream bottle.
The sound of three quick knocks echoed throughout the apartment.
Mio, without a word, walked towards the door, placing her drink and chips on a nearby table.
Who’s visiting at this hour? I thought.
Then I remembered Zak was coming over and he had no idea that Mio stayed over last night.
Mio opened the door, revealing Zak holding bags of snacks, drinks, and some board games.
Zak froze, locking eyes with me, then staring at Mio, then back at me.
Without a word, he pointed at her then at me.
Mio stared at the bags of snacks and drinks.
Zak then nodded and closed the door.
“WAIT!” I yelled, rushing towards the entrance.
I swung open the door, “Get back in here.”
Zak stared at me, then nodded as he walked in, leaning towards my ear, “Congrats on graduating to adulthood.”
After some explaining and setting up...
“Ah, I knew it couldn’t be true!” Zak said, chuckling.
For some reason, that response angered me.
“So Mio, lucky for you, I bought more snacks than I should’ve!” Zak mentioned, rummaging through the bags he brought.
Mio’s eyes lit up with sparkles as Zak took out a small collection of cupcakes and burritos from a local taco shop.
Zak passed me a smaller bag rolled up while he set up the drinks and food.
I undid the bag to find an unopened deck of cards, “Is this mine?” I asked.
“A little gift for you,” he said.
Several hours later, the apartment looked like a disaster zone.
Cards, snack wrappers, empty cans, and half-finished drinks.
“YO THAT’S CHEATING!” Zak yelled.
“It’s called strategy.” Mio replied.
“You just hid cards under your leg, I saw you.”
“Strategy.”
Zak looked at me and I looked at him.
Neither of us had the energy to argue anymore.
“You’ll get used to it.” I added.
“I’m sitting right here by the way.”
“We know.” Zak and I said in unison.
“Rude.”
The three of us laughed, and for a brief moment, things felt normal.
No Yuna, no Haruto, no cheating, no betrayal, and no loneliness.
Just cards, food, drinks, and three idiots talking.
And to be honest, I missed this feeling, more than I realized.
“We should go to the beach sometime, it’ll get cold soon and I want to experience the sea one final time for this year.” Zak mentioned, as he collected the cards on the ground.
“I’m down, just hit me up whenever.” I answered.
“Me too.” Mio replied immediately.
I looked at her, “No.”
“What? Why?”
“You’re not invited.”
“I invited myself, and you said it in front of me.”
“That’s not how invitations work.”
“Well, now I know the plan, so you have to invite me or else I’ll feel left out.”
I exhaled and sighed, holding my head up as I looked down.
...
“You can come, but I’m not buying you any food.” Zak added.
“WHAT!?” I yelled.
“I haven’t been here long, but I learned so far to not argue with her.”
“Ugh, then you’re paying for your own stuff Mio.”
“We could also do a camping trip at the beginning of next year.” Zak added.
“Ooh.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Too bad.”
“Why are you like this?”
Mio grinned.
Eventually the conversation shifted.
Someone mentioned relationships, then breakups, then Yuna, and that was when the mood immediately dropped...
Not enough to ruin the day but just enough to remind us why we’re having this get-together in the first place.
Zak leaned back, “Honestly... I don’t really care what happens to them anymore.”
...
For a moment, nobody made a noise.
Then I nodded, “Same.”
Surprisingly, Mio nodded too and lifted her drink, “To karma.”
Zak and I laughed, raising our nearly empty drinks, “To karma.”
The three cans clinked together, making a stupid little toast.
Even with how dumb it was, it still felt like we were finally putting a chapter of our lives behind us.
At least... that’s what I thought.
A few hours later, Mio fell asleep on my bed, mumbling about churros and soda.
Zak and I talked at the table nearby, laughing about old memories, and at some point, I realized everything started to feel normal again.
Beside me, Mio’s phone buzzed.
I glanced towards it absentmindedly, but froze when I saw a familiar name.
> Haruto.
> “I love you, I’m going out with some friends today, so I’ll come by tomorrow.”
...
The room suddenly became very quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet where you start hearing things you normally wouldn’t.
The hum of the refrigerator, the air conditioner, the crunch of Zak eating chips, and even my own heartbeat.
The phone buzzed again, replaying the same unopened message.
> Haruto5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDFfKXWoPzN
> “I love you... Tomorrow...”
My stomach twisted.
No.
No.
There was no way.
My eyes drifted towards Mio.
Still asleep.
Still wrapped in my blanket.
Still looking completely at peace.
The same girl who called me pathetic.
The same girl who told me I should’ve left.
The same girl who said I deserved better.
...
Then why?
Why was she doing the exact same thing?
I stood up.
“No...”
“There’s no way...”
I walked towards the bed.
“Ren?” Zak asked, but I ignored him.
I stood at the side of the bed, nudging Mio’s shoulder.
She mumbled incoherently.
I nudged her again, “Mio.”
A groan escaped her as she turned over towards me.
“Mio.”
“...Hm?...” Her eyes slowly opened.
I held the phone in front of her face.
Her sleepiness seemed to have faded instantly.
...
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Ren, I-”
“No.”
I exhaled sharply, “You called me stupid.”
She lowered her gaze.5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbO0wzCCqfU
“You called me disgusting.”
“I know...”
“You told me I should’ve left.”
“I know.”
“Then what the hell is this?”
Silence followed my question.
The answer took too long...
And somehow, that hurt even more...
“...I can’t stop going back...”
I laughed, a short but bitter laugh.
“Of course you are.”
“Ren...”
“Get out.”
Her head snapped up.
“What?”
“Get out.”
“Ren, listen-”
“No.” I grabbed her bag and dirty clothes.
“Ren, wait-”
I swung the front door open and threw all her stuff out onto the walkway outside.
I grabbed her wrist.
Harder than I meant to.
“Ren-”
“Out.”
I pulled her toward the door as she winced.
She stumbled outside.
My eyes lingered on the wrist I had grabbed, and for a split second, I regretted it.
Then I slammed the door shut.
The apartment fell silent for a few seconds.
Bang.
“REN!”
I sat down on my bed, holding my face in my hands.
Bang.
“REN, PLEASE!”
Good, she should know how it feels.
She should know what it’s like to trust someone, then be cut off and dropped.
Bang.
“I’m sorry!”
The crying started.
On the table nearby, Zak quietly ate another chip.
Crunch.
I looked at him.
He looked at me, “What?”
“Nothing.”
“Fair enough.”
Another knock echoed through the apartment, but this one was weaker.5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwO2uS892oq
“Ren...”
I clicked my tongue, then walked over to the door, leaning against it.
“Did you lie about the power outage too?”
A long silence...
“...Yes.”
I closed my eyes, “Why?”
“I didn’t want to be around him.” She answered, which was followed by more crying.
“I know he manipulates me, he even forced me to stay...”
Sniffle.
“I know he lies.”
Sniffle.5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq5Gd9BbhRv
“I know I should block him.”
“Then why don’t you?”
“...Because every time I try...-”
“-...I go back.”
...
All I heard for a few moments were heavy breaths.
Then, “I hate it.”
A sob followed.
“I hate myself for it... I really do.”
I sighed, because as much as I hated hearing it, I understood it way more than I wanted to.
“Do you want to get rid of him?”
Her crying stopped.
“...Yes.”
“Really?”
“...Yes.”
I turned around and stared at the door.
“Are you telling the truth?”
“...Yes... I promise... I don’t want to be with him anymore...”
I unlocked the door, seeing Mio on her knees with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.
I held out my hand, “Give me your phone.”
“...What?”
“The phone, now.”
For the first time since I had met her, she didn’t argue, joke around, or fight back.
She handed it over as her gaze dropped.
I took it and reached out my hand.
She looked up at me with confusion.
“Grab my hand, I have to fix up where I hurt you.”
She took my hand and I pulled her towards me, walking towards the bathroom.
I opened the door, turned on the light, then opened a cabinet and took out a tube of cream.
“Hold out your arm.”
She held out her hand gently, slightly trembling.
I applied a cream to her wrist, “I’m sorry, I was too rough when I pulled on you.”
She looked down and gave a soft smile.
“...Thank you...”
“Don’t mention it, go sit on the bed, I’ll get something else first.”
She walked out of the bathroom, and headed towards the bed as I went to the kitchen, using one of the small bags Zak brought and filling it with ice.
I applied the ice to her wrist, “Don’t use your wrist much today, let it rest.”
She smiled at me, “Thank you for doing this...”
I looked at her, “I caused this, so it’s only natural I try my best to fix it.”
Zak looked between us, then at the phone, then back at me.
“...Yeah.”
He stood up quietly. “...this is way above my pay grade, I’ll text you later.”
Zak then quietly exited through the door.
I then took her phone out of my pocket, “You should really have a passcode on your phone.”
I opened her messaging app as she stared at the floor.
“It’s going to be okay, I got you.”
I sighed.
“You can also stay again tonight.”
She slowly looked back up at me.
“...Really?”
“But, if I do this, you can never go back to him.” I said, looking at her phone.
“That’s... fine.” She replied quietly.
I hovered over the block button.
“...Let’s start with this.”
5Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PnanPz6Fv
and then Add to home screen.