An Unexpected Love (A Yuri Plisetsky Fanfiction)

Chapter 26: Forgiveness

Ugh... Where am I?

Ayumi Matsumoto woke up with a groan. Her head felt like a ton of bricks, and her body ached. Her eyes fluttered as she tried to make sense of where she was.

It looked like she was in a traditional Japanese room, lying on a futon laid out on the floor. She looked down and saw that she was wearing a plain green robe. She tried to sit up and rub her eyes, but her muscles protested with every move she made.

That's it, she thought. I am never drinking like that ever again.

She could see bits of the previous night on the back of her mind. The flashing lights. The thumping music. The smell of sweat mixed with perfume. The taste of vodka. The feeling of something biting on her neck.

"Oh god..." Ayumi said as she buried her head between her knees, arms wrapped around her tired body.

Wait, she realized after several minutes of silence. I can feel someone staring at me.

She slowly turned her head to the left, and sure enough, there was someone there. Kneeling not more than a couple of meters away and staring at her in anguish, was Yuri Plisetsky.

The girl curled up even tighter and quickly turned her head the other way. She refused to meet his eyes in shame. "Please, don't look at me. You can't see me like this. Go away."

Yuri did not say anything. He inched closer to her and laid out a glass of water and an Ibuprofen tablet.

"Take it." he commanded with a sharp voice.

Ayumi grabbed the pill with shaky hands and swallowed it.

"You are a fucking idiot," he continued. "What the hell were you thinking?! Alcohol? Have you forgotten you're only fifteen?! You're barely even close to drinking age, damn it!"

The girl was silent. There wasn't any excuse for what she did. What happened the previous night was her fault and hers alone.

"Your friend DIED. You've haven't had any decent sleep because you're woken up by your nightmares. You've been in so much stress, yet you chose to leave and go through it alone. You're a hypocrite. After telling me I shouldn't deal with all my problems alone, you go off and do the same damn thing?! Bullshit!!!"

Yuri was screaming at the top of his lungs. Ayumi's eyes started to water.

"I know okay?" she whispered. "I know how stupid I am. I've made terrible choices. I left everything. I left you. I don't need you to rub it in my face."

Yuri scoffed. "Oh, really? YOU KNOW?! Do you know how worried we all were when you disappeared? Do you know how many sleepless nights I went through waiting for any news on you? How broken I felt when I thought you were dead? How miserable the past four months have been? Do you really know?!"

He grabbed her shoulders roughly and shook her. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU IDIOT?!?!"

Ayumi gasped, her eyes as wide as she can make it. In front of her, Yuri was catching his breath after his outburst. He looked so frustrated and weary.

"Y-Yura..."

"I was so, so mad at you." he whispered. "I thought... I thought you left because you didn't care about me. I thought that after everything, I put more trust in our friendship than you did. I thought you were selfish; you only thought about yourself. You didn't think about how we would feel. I was hurt, and I didn't want to talk to you again."

Yuri paused.

"But all this time, you were thinking about us, weren't you? You left because you were afraid... afraid of hurting us. Me. You were afraid because you thought you were responsible for Miwako, and that you'd only end up doing the same to us."

Ayumi was stunned. "H-How did y-you—"

"Let me make something clear, Ayu. What happened to Miwako wasn't your fault. It was never your fault. You didn't know. And you don't have to worry about us. You have never been capable of hurting anyone. The only thing that hurt us was when you left."

She couldn't hold the tears in anymore. She lowered her head and cried after reining in her emotions for so long. "I am so, so sorry..."

Yuri gently lift her chin up and wiped her tears away. "Ayumi, you told me not to keep my problems to myself, remember? You taught me that it was okay to let go and trust someone. You became my shoulder to cry on... why can't you let me do the same for you?"

Tears continued to flow from her eyes as Yuri pleaded. "Please, let me in this time. Let me help you. I'm right here, Ayu, and I won't leave you alone. No matter what."

Her heart stopped when the words she said to him a year ago were thrown back at her.

Suddenly, she grabbed Yuri and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, enveloping him in a desperate hug. She was crying her eyes out at that point, her tears soaking his shirt.

"Yura... I am so sorry. I'm sorry I left you. I never wanted you to feel like that, ever. I was just so scared, and I—"

The boy's arms tightened around her waist. "Shh. I'm not mad anymore. Just don't leave me like that again, do you understand? Or I swear I will hunt you down and drag your ass back home."

Ayumi smiled a little through the tears. There was the crusty Yura she knew.

Having Ayumi back in his arms lifted so much weight off Yuri's shoulders. He knew it was going to be tricky—he did not expect her to go back to being chipper right away after everything that happened. But he decided to be with her every step of the way. He was going to help her get back on track.

He was so tempted to just go out and tell her that he loves her, but he decided against it. She's already been through so much. This isn't the time to confuse her any more than she already is.

He contented himself with burying his face in Ayumi's hair as she cried herself out.

They were gonna be okay.