Ongoing Cycle

39

The next day, [Y/N] came to visit her new boyfriend again. With her head laying on Kuro's strong chest and feeling nice and cozy, she blankly stared at the TV screen. The close proximity to the boy was enough to make her not think straight. Her stomach fluttering, she glanced up at his face. His expression was nonchalant and he seemed as if he was focused on the show. [Y/N] bit her lip and softly sighed. She was more nervous about this than he was, which was not surprising, considering the amount of girls he'd been with before. Cuddling with a girl in bed was probably normal for him by now.

      Her thoughts drifted off to her parents. She wondered if she should tell him about them. After all, he had told her about his dad, so she had to make it fair. Shifting around the bed and catching Kuro's attention, he gave her a carefree smile. "Hello, love. You're not really watching, are you?"

     Surprised he even noticed, she slowly shook her head. "I've been thinking about some things."

     "About what?"

     Pushing herself upward and away from his chest, [Y/N] sat up straight. "About how I want to finally tell you about my situation regarding my parents," she whispered.

     His eyes gently looking over at her, Kuro also straightened himself up at the mention of this. "If you're not ready to talk about this, you don't need to force yourself to," he pointed out with an encouraging smile.

     "Thank you, but... I forced you to tell me about your dad, didn't I?" she told him, smiling regretfully. "No, I'm ready and you deserve to hear it."

     He nodded and gave her a smile of encouragement. Positioning herself so that she was sitting with her legs cross, she clasped her hands together tightly. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she began her story. "Like your father, my parents can be abusive sometimes. They want me to be perfect and be the good girl I've always been. If I make any sort of mistake, they would punish me.

     "Normally, I've been obedient, but this year... I was caught messing up twice. I went to that Halloween party of yours and then they found out I was talking to my cousin behind their backs, whom they despise. My... my mother, she did something I never thought she'd do: She shoved a bar of soap into my mouth... and that happened the day I made us go swimming."

     She didn't have to look up to see that Kuro was shocked. Nevertheless, she went on. If she stopped now, she was going to break down. "This is where you come in. I asked my mother if there was anything I can do for them to forgive my actions and she said I had to get a boyfriend, who is wealthy and has a high status. That was why I asked you to be my fake boyfriend. So... here we are now."

     She glanced at him and flinched a little when she saw his face. He was seething and his shaking hands were clenched so tightly, she thought they were going to break. "I will kill them," he hissed in the iciest tone she had ever heard.

     Chuckling softly, she could feel her eyes watering a little. "Am I crazy that even though they're this way, I still want to impress them?" This was the first time she finally voiced the question that had always been bugging her.

     Quick as a light switch, his anger dissipated before her eyes. All that was left was a wary expression. Reaching over to her, he pulled her into his arms. Her heart racing, she allowed herself to feel the warmth of his body. Leaning her head on his shoulder, she had the urge to cry again, but then she heard his muffled voice. "No, of course not."

     "What about you? Do you still care about your father's opinion?" she softly asked.

     She waited for his response, but it never came. That left a very clear message to her: that he did not. Tightly clenching onto Kuro's white plain t-shirt, she breathed in his wonderful smelling cologne. She wondered how he learned not to care for his father anymore. Could she do that too? Leave them and never give a shit about them ever again?

     "I will do anything to protect you from them, [Y/N]. I promise," Kuro whispered lovingly.

     They broke apart from their hug and she stared at him with a large grin. She could no longer hold her water works. A tear rolling down her cheek, she leaned forward and pecked his cheek. "Once we're both eighteen, we'll run away to a far away land and live happily ever after," she joked.

     He grinned back. "It's that easy, huh?"

     She nodded proudly at the same time her stomach growled. Her face grew red as Kuro laughed at her. "Shut up," she grumbled.

     "Somebody's hungry," he continued to tease her. Climbing out of the bed, he easily pulled her up along with. "Let's get you some food, shall we?"

     Still holding his hand, she agreed. Following him out of the bedroom and through the mazes of the huge house, they reached the modern-looking kitchen. Rummaging through the cabinets, Kuro offered all sorts of food and she finally settled for some donuts. Sitting at the large, wooden dining table, they munched on their sweet donuts.

     "That's not how you eat donuts, restroom girl," he said to her in the silence.

     Her mouth currently stuffed, she made a face at him. Once she swallowed her piece, she asked, "What are you talking about?"

     "This is how you eat a donut," he explained to her. Holding up his half eaten donut, he stuck out his tongue and slowly licked the powder off seductively. Ashamed, she could feel her heart lurch forward at the sight of it. Ignoring her stupid heart, she dramatically pretended to gag.

     "Ew, you disgusting pig," she exclaimed with a giggle. "I swear, you're so fucking annoying."

     He wiggled his eyebrows at her. "I know you secretly like what you see."

     [Y/N] punched his arm – hard, which caused him to pout at her.

     Loving every moment she was spending with him, she knew it was the right idea to tell him about her parents. Just like the day she spilled her problems to Miku – when she told Kuro about it, she felt less burdened by everything. She was no longer alone in this world. The support from her friend and her boyfriend was enough to keep her going.