Fate's Strings (2p! Hetalia x Reader)

Chapter Twenty

My breath was clearly visible as I took a deep breath in and out. I was wrapped in a warm, fluffy jacket to keep myself from freezing in the biting cold. Winter was here. This reminded me of the walks I would take with Zao. The last time...we were talking about how it was going to snow soon enough. He had said I would be there to see it...

I shook my head, pushing those thoughts aside. I was still here in my own dimension because there were things I had to do. And this was one of them...

"It's been a long time...Mom, Dad."

My back rested on their shared gravestone as I sat down. It really had been a long time...Casey and I had to drive back to our hometown in order to visit their grave. I hadn't been here since starting college. We had bought flowers at the closest store on our way, so I had placed them neatly in the display. It was empty, so that meant it had most likely been some time since anyone had visited.

"Being a good student hasn't gone very well," I let out a dry laugh. "I know I promised to...but I didn't expect to disappear again after the first time. But I actually had people looking for me this time. That's making it hard to decide whether to stay here or not. It's a hard story to believe...but I want you to know..."

And so, I explained what had happened since moving away, although leaving out some of the...violent parts. I really had spent a lot of time explaining all this in the past few days. It was a bit laughable.

"You probably think I'm crazy for considering going back there, but even though they're strange, they aren't all bad. But if I do go, I'm leaving behind a lot. I don't know what the right decision is. But I've got a few more days to figure it out, I guess."

"I really do have a bad habit of making wrong decisions...If I had started making the right ones sooner...things probably wouldn't be like this now. I don't know if I believe in fate...but the accident...couldn't have been fate..." I turned, my forehead pressed against the cool stone of the gravestone as tears slipped down my cheeks. "I know the accident wasn't my fault...but I can't help but feel responsible sometimes. If you both didn't have to pick me up that night...Mom, if I hadn't been arguing with you...you wouldn't have been distracted. You could have noticed the other car...and maybe this wouldn't have happened. I can regret it all I want, but it won't bring you back...so all I can do is try my best to do what's right now. Staying here and doing my best at school should be what's right...but I don't know. Casey wants me to be happy. She says I should choose whatever will make me happy. I know you would want me to be happy too, but also to do something good with my life..."

"What makes you happy is something good, right?" someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

I turned around to see Casey standing there, smiling gently at me. She had been visiting her grandmother's grave, but said she would find me once she was done. I wiped the tears from my face, smiling back.

"Well...I guess that's true enough."

"I'm sure they'll want you to do whatever that is. You aren't a bad person. You don't have to worry about things as if they think you are," she sat down beside me.

I nodded, leaning against her. She wrapped an arm around me in response. We continued to sit there in silence for a little while longer. I was focused on the supportive and loving feelings that were covering me like a blanket. Maybe it was from Casey. Maybe it was from my parents. I would like to think it was a combination of both. But either way, it was making me happy. As we sat there, we felt something cold drop on our heads. I glanced up to see snow was beginning to flutter down from the clouds.

"Snow...." I mumbled. "He's not here with me to see it..."

Casey held me a little tighter. She didn't know about it, but I'm sure she could guess that I was talking about one of the second players.