This Side of Paradise - Tsukishima Kei x OC

Chapter 29: I'm Sorry

Chapter 29:

The next morning, Kei rang the doorbell of Mizuki's mother's house. He spent the whole night tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to his anxiety and concerns over the fight he had with his wife. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten their anniversary and he wished that he was more attentive to what she needed.

The door swung open, revealing Mizuki's brother, Jun, eating a bagel.

"Good morning, Tsukishima-san!" He beamed.

"Hey, Jun..." Kei mumbled.

"Come in!" Jun grinned, "How was your night? I'm assuming it was... uneventful."

"The opposite, actually..." He sighed as he removed his jacket, "It was... ugh..."

"My sister and Hana are upstairs in her old room..." Jun stated, "You must've really screwed up if she decided to sleep here instead of at your house."

"I did... mess up..." Kei admitted guiltily.

Kei placed the bag of chocolate and strawberry scones on the dining table and jogged upstairs to apologize to Mizuki. He decided that he wouldn't leave until she at least talked to him - it was the stubbornness in him that made that dumb decision. Even if she didn't accept his apology, he needed at least a sign that everything would be okay.

Kei knocked on the door and when he didn't hear a reply, he slowly and quietly opened it. Mizuki was fast asleep, however, it seemed that Hana was already awake as she was chewing on her shirt in silence. His heart twinged, and he strolled over to them instantly.

"Hi, sweetheart..." Kei whispered softly as he picked up Hana.

Hana babbled with glee and clung to him tightly. She seemed to have missed her father. Finally, Mizuki stirred awake. When she realized that Kei was in her old room, she remained silent. She felt so numb at what happened the night before - she hated feeling so unbelievably angry, especially at Kei, and yet, she couldn't bring herself to talk to him.

"Hey..." Kei murmured nimbly.

"Hi..." Mizuki mumbled.

Hana was oblivious to her parents' stiff conversations.

"I brought some scones for breakfast..." He cleared his throat, "They're downstairs..."

Mizuki wanted to thank him but no words came out when flashes of the horrible night before enveloped her mind. Instead, her gaze traveled to Hana, who seemed to have missed her father's affectionate hug.

"Where's your mom and step-dad?" Kei changed the subject, desperate to hear her voice.

"They both got called into work..." She explained softly.

"Oh..." He nodded.

Mizuki abruptly sat up when Kei suddenly grabbed her arm, startling her.

"Can we talk, Mizuki?" He murmured apologetically, "Please..."

Before she could say anything else, Jun strolled into the room, breaking their one-way, strained discussion.

"Hana-chan!" Jun exclaimed cheerfully, "Come and eat breakfast with your cool uncle!"

"Jun, not now..." Mizuki sighed.

"Work it out, will ya?" Jun took Hana from Kei and before he could protest, Jun already left the room with her.

Kei and Mizuki were left alone with each other and with their somber thoughts.

"I should've told you..." Kei broke the silence as he sat beside her on the bed, "I should've told you about the job... I'm sorry..."