CotE : La Douleur Exquise [ONESHOT]

𝙻𝙰 𝙳𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙴𝚄𝚁 𝙴𝚇𝚀𝚄𝙸𝚂𝙴

𝙻𝙰 𝙳𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙴𝚄𝚁 𝙴𝚇𝚀𝚄𝙸𝚂𝙴

As I stood motionless in the vacant, poorly lit aisle, my eyes were glued to the screen of my phone. As if a piercing, burning knife had been plunged straight into my rib cage, twisting and turning, my heart ached with excruciating agony.

My hands perceptibly quivered, and my eyes flared marginally in the faint hope that this was all a nightmare.

This is a nightmare, right...? I don't like this...

It can't be... right? This... Kiyotaka would never... He promised he would protect me, right?

The words were concise, yet they stung me, shattering my heart into a million pieces. Trying to be in denial, I repeatedly reread the message, but the truth persisted as clear as day.

    "I'm breaking up."

I laboriously squelched a scream, biting down firmly on my quivering lips as a scorching torrent of tears cascaded down my cheeks.

The flow seemed never-ending, each droplet falling to the ground like a remnant of my shattered heart. Finally, I wiped away the vestigial tears from my devastated face, feeling a deep and irreparable agony that pierced my soul.

Without thinking twice, I stormed out of my apartment and careened down the hallway, my steps staggering like those of an inebriated alcoholic. My heart throbbed relentlessly in my chest as if trying to extricate itself from its confines.

As I was sprinting, that image of them flowed through my mind. Vigorously shaking my head, I kept running.

The students around me gazed at me as if I had committed the worst of crimes, though I blanked everything around me out. Right now, what matters most is...

At that instant, I arrived at the door and hammered against it, my heart racing quicker and heavier with each passing second until the door cracked open, exposing his profile.

Sorrow, agitation, and other related emissions gushed up through me and overwhelmed me at that moment, leaving me at a loss for words.

    "K-Kiyotaka... It's... I'm sorry... " I stuttered, choking on my words due to my shuddered breath.

Tears threatened to erupt at any moment, and I felt the weight of the world bearing down on me.

Without enunciating a word, he pulled me into his apartment, closed the door, and stared at me. His expression was imperturbable, as always, which only enhanced my nervousness.

    "Why are you apologizing, Karuizawa?"

Karuizawa...?

The shivering in my hands intensified, my eyes fluttering open as I slowly digested his words, hoping I had misheard him, but his icy stare contradicted my aspiration.

    "I will call you Kei from now on."

As if it were yesterday, I recalled that sentence, the rush of joy I felt, and foremost, the significance. Desperate to hear him call me by my first name, I opened my mouth.

    "Call me Kei! I am Kei! I am not Karuizawa!" I promulgated, my voice jittering and unsteady.

In response, he shook his head with still no emotions on his expression. Although this was normal for Kiyotaka, it hit me at that moment.

    "It's over, Karuizawa."

The future I imagined between us every time I fell asleep and the moments—independent of beauty or misery—crumbled in front of my eyes like a sand castle.