Under the Umbrella

Chapter 16

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The sun had already gone to sleep, allowing for the moon to rise and stars to glimmer in the night sky. The car ride was quiet, no one dared to speak. The beautiful scenery was now engulfed in darkness, yet you can faintly see the flicker of fireflies on the fields.

[Name] sat in the back of the car with Mikey on the other side. Her eyes were swollen with the tip of her nose tinted red. A part of her was thankful for him, it was until today she realized how much she missed having a shoulder to cry on. And the other part? Embarrassed that he got to see her so vulnerable and weak.

"Thank you.." she muttered out, her eyes still focused on whatever passed outside the window. Mikey turned to look at her, his eyes turned soft yet his heart still ached. The sadness in her eyes still lingering.

"Was this why you weren't free today?" he asked, earning a small hum from the girl beside him. Her gaze then turned down on her hands, fiddling with her fingers as she tried not to let tears escape once again.

"It's my parent's death anniversary." A dry chuckle left her mouth before she continued, "I-i wasn't aware of you coming here too."

His lack of response got the girl to finally look at him. For the first time, she saw the emptiness he had in his eyes. And with that, she understood. Noticing his hand in the middle seat, she gently placed hers on top of his. Causing Mikey to look down.

"I'm sorry," she said with sorrowful eyes. His heart began to beat faster, his breath hitched from his gentle voice. [Name] kept her hand on his, closing her eyes and leaning her head on the door. If only she knew how much it killed him to keep silent about his feelings for her.

It wasn't long until they had arrived at her apartment. A tired [Name] invited her friend to come over for dinner, just a quick bite to thank him for yet another ride home. With that, Mikey accepted her invitation, telling his driver to wait for him.

His eyes widened at the state of her apartment. It was small, yet comfortable. It was tidy, everything was kept in place. However, his curiosity peaked when he noticed the lack of TV in her house. He was almost sure that she wasn't able to keep up with the news about Bonten.

They ate dinner peacefully, Mikey loved how delicious the food was. Deep down inside he missed having homecooked meals, especially the ones that were cooked by his sister, Emma.

"Thank you again for earlier. You don't know how grateful I am. I didn't realize how much I needed to cry." Her voice hitched at the last sentence, causing Mikey to look at her. He noticed how unusually nervous she was, yet he chose to listen to whatever she needed to say.

[Name] told him about her past. Her family business, her struggles, her loss, everything. Her friend in front of her didn't say a word as he knew what she needed right now was someone who could listen. Deep down, he realized how almost similar they were.

They both dealt with so much loss, felt the same emotions. Be that as it may, they chose different approaches to their problems. Her courage to push through made him fall in love with her even more, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her. Mikey knew what a monster he was.

[Name], on the other hand, finished talking. Only to receive a small smile from Mikey. It was the first time she had seen him smile and something in her started to flutter. He knew she was going through a hard time but wasn't an expert at comforting people.

"It'll all be okay." That was all he said, he didn't know why he said it, but it felt right. Maybe he remembered how Baji would say something similar when they got into a bad fight. Or maybe when Shinichiro would tell him that whenever he got into some trouble of his own.

Mikey also felt somewhat guilty, he knew how much she trusted him. He has been lying to her this whole time, knowing, too, that he has put her in danger by being able to contact him freely. Enemies may be lurking by. Nonetheless, nothing can hurt more than the sharp words of truth.