Night Exile || 𝗞𝗮𝗲𝘆𝗮 𝘅 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗼 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗔𝗨

|05| Broken Barriers

Kaeya hesitated for a good few minutes before he, still unconvinced, pressed the doorbell. This act was primarily driven by an older man in his seventies who stared at him from the window of the next-door apartment as if he were the most dangerous criminal.

Under normal circumstances, Kaeya probably would not have even noticed him, but it was the only lighted window, and the guy himself was glued to the glass like a moth to a lamp. Do these people really have nothing better to do? Besides, even if he was a thief, how brainless would he have to be to walk into someone's front door after ringing the fucking bell? No problem, next time he will send him a letter, arranging a date for the theft.

Kaeya rolled his eyes, annoyed by the lack of response, pressing the doorbell again. And then again.

Just as he was about to give up and walk away like a loser, he finally heard feet shuffling across the floor and fiddling with the lock on the other side of the door.

"Hey, Rosaria." Kaeya smiled the prettiest he could at the silhouette emerging from the black corridor to avoid her fury.

Rosaria blinked a few times in dumbfoundedness, completely ignoring his attempts to charm her. "Kaeya, what the fuck? Do you know what time it is?!" She opened her mouth to yell at him even more but silently narrowed her eyes at his face, lit only by the distant street lamp. "Your eyes are red. Were you smoking or crying?"

Kaeya quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, gradually feeling the heat of his cheeks rising in embarrassment. "None of these." He grunted under his breath, staring at the wall.

He actually did cry. He was drowning in his own tears like a baby, which he wasn't proud of at all. In fact, his eyes still stung from the constant tears that pooled in his waterlines, but he was very reluctant to show her this side of him; and he was even more reluctant to tell her she was right.

After all, real men don't cry, or so he'd been told as a kid. Besides, he didn't even have the right to cry in this situation, especially since he was the one who screwed it all up.

"Liar." With a faint smile, Rosaria leaned her hips against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're all readable like an open book, genius."

"Just shut up and let me in, will you?" Kaeya didn't even wait for an answer and immediately pushed through the front door, nearly knocking Rosaria down.

"Whoa, calm down a little, buddy. What are you, a dog afraid of New Year's Eve fireworks?"

Kaeya just gave her a murderous look as he headed for the living room, plopping on the couch moments later. Even though he felt horrible mentally, he still couldn't help but snort a little laugh as he watched Rosaria trail him in her pajamas like a monk. Next time he would have to make it up to her for waking her up in the middle of the night and wandering around the apartment like his own. Buying her a drink at some bar or a cigarette will do the trick; she is not that picky.

As Kaeya rested his head on his hands, Rosaria joined him at the edge of the couch, looking oddly worried.

"Can you finally tell me what happened? You never cry; it must be something serious."

Her voice sounded horribly monotonous. Probably from fatigue, but Kaeya still felt like a ball and chain. Kaeya took a deep breath, regretting more and more that he had decided to visit her in the first place.

"Never mind, forget about it." Kaeya waved his hand casually in the air to avoid further questions.

Rosaria tensed all her muscles, then grabbed a nearby pillow and slapped Kaeya in the face, which made him jump and rethink all his life choices. "You come here unannounced, wake me up at 4AM, and just tell me to forget?! Don't even annoy me and talk; better now, or I'll kick you out of the house."