Adored [Free!] [KnB]

67

He wasn't sure how long he'd been running, all he knew was that he was officially off their property. He didn't know where to go. He was never allowed beyond this point by himself; Alex was the one who took him everywhere. He just started walking down the road through the neighborhood.

This area was easy enough to navigate since Alex drove the same way to his school every day. He wondered if Alex would be looking for him. He didn't think his father would care enough, not after the way he was brushed off at the party.

He kept walking down the main street and all the other fancy properties in the area. He started to get to a point where he could see the houses from the main road, even that little difference put these people on a different social standing than what his father had. Kagami wondered if these families actually spent time with their kids. Kagami wouldn't mind not having all the luxury his father provided if it meant he could have his mom alive and a dad who actually cared for him.

A car roaring down the street and suddenly slowing down got Kagami's attention. He stepped back on the sidewalk, away from the dark car. He hated to realize it, but the car was definitely Alex's, or at least the one she was supposed to use for family business like taking Kagami to school.

The window on the car rolled down and Alex leaned through it, her long, blonde hair falling out of the window. Kagami refused to look at her. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking down the street. Of course, she kept the car going and following him step for step. She finally said, "Taiga. How about you get in the car and we can go home?"

Kagami didn't look at her as he shook his head, "I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Why not?" Alex pressed.

Kagami stopped, turning towards her in the car. She wasn't quite ready for that and it took her a second to stop. She got out of the car, walking over to Kagami on the sidewalk. Kagami stared up at her, the rims of her blue glasses glinting from the streetlight. "I tried to tell my dad that Tatsuya tried to rape me. He said 'he didn't actually do anything? Don't bother me with something like that'. I'm not going back."

"I'm sure he just didn't understand what you meant." Alex stepped closer, squatting down to be at Kagami's eye level. "The party will be over by now, you can talk to him again."

"No. He won't listen to me." Kagami tried to turn away but Alex caught his arm.

Her grip was tight, holding him firmly in place. "You don't have to talk to him, just come home." Kagami grit his teeth, fighting to get his arm free. Alex tightened her grip, digging her fingers into his skin. "I'm afraid, I have to insist."

"I can't go back there!" Kagami could feel tears streaming down his face. He hated that he was crying over this, but he just couldn't handle it. "Tatsuya will–"

"Tatsuya won't do another thing to you, I promise." Alex took hold of Kagami by the shoulders, making Kagami look her in the eye. "It's my job to protect you, and I will, at all costs." Kagami completely broke down in tears. Alex didn't say anything, she just pulled Kagami into a tight hug.

[AN: I hope you like this update! :D is it starting to become more clear about Alex's role in Kagami's life? Don't worry, she'll be in more of the flashback stuff! I might skip ahead more in the flashbacks, I don't want to spend too much time here and not enough back in the main story, but you let me know what you think! ^^]