Koe

Chapter 6 - Torn

Our first big fight created a big rift between the both of us. And then it went downhill from there.

"Hey!" I called out to him when he answered his phone. "Are you free to meet tomorrow?"

"No. Sorry. I have a family meeting going on and I have to be there."

"Oh well. That can't be helped. How about next week?"

"Yeah, that should be fine."

Since I couldn't meet him, I decided to go out with Tomomi for a BFFs date. We were planning to go shopping and grab dinner together.

"Hey, didn't you say Ryota had a family meeting?" Tomomi asked, as we were walking through Harajuku.

"Yeah, that's why he couldn't meet me today."

"Well, that sure looks like him over there." She pointed to a figure standing outside of a shop on the other side of the road. I looked closely, it really was Ryota. As I was about to wave to him, a beautiful woman came out of the shop to hug him. My jaw dropped as the woman slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow. He appeared slightly uncomfortable with this, but he didn't remove her hand. How dare the two of them...

I angrily stormed across the road, not noticing the oncoming traffic. It was lucky that Tomomi pulled me back. 

"Mami! Watch it. There's a traffic light over there. Let's cross there."

I felt tears welling in my eyes, just standing there, at the traffic light, looking at him. My anger had dissipated almost immediately, now I just felt despair and dread. I could only think how much more beautiful she was then me. The traffic light turned green for pedestrians and Tomomi pulled me across. It was all I could do to keep the tears from falling. 

He was suddenly in front of me, and our eyes made contact. And then I could hold the tears back no longer. I blinked briny tears from my eyes, thick lashes stuck together in clumps as if I'd been swimming. The tears made wet tracks down my face and dripped from my chin. Clear watery snot streaked from my flaring nostrils down to my open quivering lips. My hands open and closed, rhythmically clenching as if there could be some violent solution to my pain if only I could find it.

"How could you..." Tomomi said to him.

"It's not what you think it-" 

I slapped him mid-sentence and cut him off. He said nothing more, but the look in his eyes told me he felt so betrayed. I ran home, Tomomi chasing behind me, trying to comfort me.

===============

I sat at home alone, Tomomi had left several hours earlier. I was glad that she had followed me home and comforted me. She had bought me comfort food and rented a movie for me to watch. 

I stared blankly at the TV, phone in my hand. My phone had been buzzing nonstop since I got home. I didn't know what Ryota was thinking right now, but I didn't care. I laughed cynically to myself, a several million thoughts still running through my head. I just couldn't focus on the movie, so I shut it off and fell asleep right there on my couch.