ENG - My best friend's sister ᵐᶦᵏᵉʸ ˣ ᵒᶜ

83

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After I get out of the shower freshly showered, I put on Kei's fresh clothes, which he lends me as we are here at his house. But I won't be returning the sweatpants and sweater. After all, I want to keep something of his to remember him by when he's in America. As I blow-dry and comb my hair, I notice how quickly it suddenly goes. With my long hair, it would normally take me at least twenty minutes to blow-dry it.

When I finally step out of the bathroom and sit down on the couch with the others, Kei's eyes fall on my hair. A proud expression appears on his face, accompanied by a beaming smile. "For someone who's never done this before, I've really done an amazing job," beams my best friend. He gently strokes through my hair, looking for areas that may need to be re-colored.
"It looks so unusual," he whispers as he continues to look at me closely. "If I was into women, I'd date you," he adds with a mischievous grin.
"But not you, you're probably the most unattractive person in the world to me," I tease him and stick my tongue out cheekily. With feigned shock, he clutches his heart and pretends to cry. "Oh, my poor heart."

We spend the rest of the day and night together. We don't want to sleep because these are our last hours together. The past week has passed far too quickly, and although I was angry with him at first for not telling me about his trip sooner, I'm simply enjoying the time we have left.
"I'll write and call you every day!", I sob into his shoulder as we find ourselves at the airport. We say goodbye until the last second, until he finally disappears behind the door. Chifuyu, who is also there, kisses him goodbye and suddenly I have to think about Mikey, which makes me even sadder than I already am.

[...]

When I get home, I want to disappear straight into the bathroom and take a shower. But to my astonishment, my brother is already at home and speaks up. His skeptical gaze fixes on me and he asks: "Tell me it's just a wig."
A broad grin creeps onto my face as I sit down opposite him and shake my head. "No, it's real. I was in the mood for something different. I didn't want to wait until my birthday, and besides, I wanted Keikei to see it before he left," I serve him a white lie that comes to mind on the spur of the moment and it sounded logical.
His skeptical look gradually fades and his expression changes from skepticism to amusement. Finally, he says dryly: "Doesn't suit you at all." A sigh escapes his throat as he says this. Rolling my eyes, I fling one of the sofa cushions at him. "You just don't have any taste!" I protest with a hint of defiance.

While we're still teasing each other and throwing pillows at each other, my brother's cell phone suddenly rings and he answers it, annoyed. "Again?" I ask as he speaks into the phone and frowns. "What's going on with him lately?" His words sound frustrated. "Yeah, see you in a minute." He ends the call and puts the phone aside.
I'm not sure if I should ask, but my curiosity just gets the better of me, so I ask, "Everything okay?"
My brother leans his head back and rubs his temples as if he has a headache. "Not at all. Mikey's been on a weird trip for a few days now. He's beating people up randomly, getting drunk in clubs and picking fights with everyone. According to Emma, he doesn't come out of his room during the day, disappears at night and comes home with injuries. He even behaves like an asshole towards Emma and his grandparents. Maybe I should knock some sense into him," Kenny tells me. A heavy lump forms in my throat and I start to tug nervously at my top.
"Do you... know why he's behaving like this?" I dare to ask cautiously. But my brother just shakes his head. "I don't know, but I hope he doesn't relapse. That would be pretty exhausting," he sighs and stands up.
"Mitsuya asked if I could come over, as Mikey must be stressing out. So I'll see you later," my brother waves, then disappears without me being able to say anything back, and shortly afterwards I hear the front door slam shut.

I remain sitting on the couch and ponder what has been said. Although I want to know how Mikey is doing now and what's going on with him, what I've just been told overwhelms me a little. Again, as so often, tears well up in my eyes when I think about him. We weren't together for long, but every time I think of him, it feels like my heart is falling to pieces. Every time.
So before I cry my eyes out on the couch, I go into the bathroom to take a shower, just like I was planning to do. As the warm water flows over my body, I close my eyes and try to distract myself from the disturbing thoughts of Mikey. But it's hard to banish his presence from my mind now that I'm no longer distracted by my best friend. The memories of our time together, of his laughter, his words and his touch, flood over me like a wave. I can't help but shed a few silent tears amidst the veil of water.
As the soothing water of the shower trickles over me, I try to calm the thoughts and feelings inside me. But despite the relaxation that the warm water brings, I can't get Mikey out of my head. The images of his angry outbursts and self-destructive actions haunt my mind. I feel a mixture of worry and sadness spreading through me like a dark shadow. And the question of why he is doing all this won't go away either.

Every thought of Mikey triggers a stab in my heart and I wonder if I will ever get over it.

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