I'm Still Here (Hiro x Reader)

Chapter Seventeen

| Your POV |

You stop by Cass's house on your way home from school. Your mom asked you to buy a large deli tray at the local grocery store to bring to them. When you open the door to the cafe, you see her closing up shop.

"Closing up early?" you ask her.

"Yeah," she says, "I've been really tired all day. I didn't get much sleep. I'm just so worried about him." She sits at one of the tables and hangs her head in defeat.

You swallow and nod. "Me, too. How have you been, Cass?" You set the plastic tray down and take a seat next to her.

"I'm hanging in there," she says, a sad smile on her face. "It's kind of hard to make two plates of dinner instead of three and to not hear them fighting upstairs. It hits pretty hard sometimes. He was just an important part of our lives. He was Hiro's everything and I just wish that I could go back in time and not let them go off without us." She sighs and wipes underneath her eye, catching a tear. Shaking her head, she says, "Anyway. Enough about me. How have you been?"

"You guys suffered a bigger loss than I did," you tell her.

"I know, but you two were still friends."

You nod. "It hurts to wake up and know that he's not going to send me a text to invite me over or pick on me while I'm here." You smile sadly, too. "I just wish that I had forced him to stay. I let him go." The guilt consumes you and you bite your lip.

Aunt Cass hugs you. "Never forget that you're still welcome here."

"Thank you, Cass. I'm sorry that I haven't been over sooner. I had a lot of school things to get through."

"I understand completely," she says. "Did you come to see Hiro?"

"And drop this off," you say, pushing the tray to her.

"Oh, thank you, sweetie." She takes it upstairs and you follow. "Would you mind helping me make a sandwich for Hiro?"

"Not at all," you say. Aunt Cass takes out a plate and two slices of bread. You put turkey and cheese on the slices.

"If he'll even eat this," she mutters.

"He hasn't ate?" you ask.

"He had about half of his omelet two days after the funeral and a couple bites of pizza two days after that, but he's mostly just pushed it around his plate. He tells me that he's tired but he doesn't even sleep." She rubs her eyes. "I'm so worried."

You pat her back. "I'll go talk to him." She nods. You pick up the plate and head up the stairs. Hiro is sitting on the floor against his bed. He's staring at the ceiling. "Hey," you say softly.

He looks at you. "Hey."

"I brought you a sandwich," you say. You hand him the plate.

"Thanks," he says. He sets the plate on the ground beside him.

You take a seat on his other side. "How have you been?"

"Okay," he replies. He doesn't look at you.

"Hiro," you say gently. His gaze meets yours. "Don't tell me that you're okay unless you really are." His eyes fill with tears. You throw your arms around him and pull him close. "I'm here for you. Don't ever forget that. Do you hear me?" You can feel him nod on your shoulder. His arms wrap around your waist and he pulls you closer against him.

"Don't leave me, too," he chokes out before drawing a shaky breath.

"I won't, Hiro. I promise." You tighten your grip around him. "I'm here as long as you need me to be."