𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝟑𝟖𝟏 [𝘛𝘰𝘫𝘪 𝘍𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘶𝘳𝘰]

𝐀𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞

You end up walking out of the store empty-handed. There was the perfect coat for you in the clearance section but for some odd reason, you couldn't stand being in the store for any longer. Not with Momoko there at least. Your eyes kept lingering on her, and you couldn't even breathe properly with her there. You don't understand why, you don't care about Toji– At least not romantically.

Toji can go to any woman he pleases, you don't care. You were only slightly annoyed that he lied to you about working when he was just going on dates. You really don't care about Toji... But your blood is boiling, your bottom lip quivering as you think about Toji's girlfriend.

You stand outside of the store and take a deep breath. You still need your coat but you begin to walk to the bus stop to go back home, you're not in the mood to go to another store. You're thinking about a lot at once, and while you're watching out for people while walking, you don't really look at them. You don't care to look at anyone's face until you hear your name, causing you to come to a stop. You turn to look at the person who called out your name, and you roll your eyes when you see him.

"Satoru... Can I help you?" You look at the man that steps closer to you. The last thing you need is to talk to him of all people but you don't have the guts to send him to hell, at least not at this moment.

"Just wanted to say hi." Satoru says, and it doesn't seem in character for him so you're able to smell his bullshit quickly. You cross your arms and look him up and down, he doesn't need to ask what that look means; he grew up with you, he knows. "Don't you wanna get a cup of coffee? It's pretty cold."

"You know what? Might as well." You tell him, knowing that your bus won't show up for the next thirty minutes. You're not waiting for that long in the cold, nor are you walking back home. Satoru gives you an awkward smile before nudging his head in the direction he wants to go. You follow behind him, and luckily, you don't have to walk much before you're at the place that Satoru was thinking of.

He offers to get your coffee, and you hum in response since you don't want to stand in line. While he gets your coffee, you take a seat. You look out the window while you wait for Satoru, thinking about Toji. Not only was he lying about working, but he also has a girlfriend. You're realizing that you care so much because you... No, you don't like him. You just feel betrayed– What if they were already dating while you were sleeping together? Granted, you only had sex twice, but that's still considered cheating.

You get so lost in your own thoughts that you're startled when Satoru places the cup of coffee in front of you. You mutter a thank you before taking a sip from the cup. Satoru takes a seat, and you sit in silence. Until Satoru clears his throat and says, "How have you been holding up?"

"Do you actually care or are you asking because of formality?" You respond, and Satoru furrows his brows. He's confused by your question.

"What kind of question is that?" He asks. He watches you take a sip of your drink before you open your mouth to speak again.

"We both know you don't care." You end up shrugging, and he squints, pursing his lips together. He tries to think what you mean, and he ends up sighing when he can't figure out what you mean by it.

"What do you mean by that? We've known each other for years, of course I care." He questions, and you scoff. You absolutely hate how he's completely clueless.

"You knew my husband for years and you still refused to help him when he was asking for help. Why do you suddenly care?" You bring up, and it's as clear as day for Satoru.

"He was asking for an absurd amount of money, how could I lend that to a dying man?" He argues, and you feel your blood boiling. Your face gets hot with anger, and you have to take a deep breath to calm yourself down. You have to think logically. "You have to see my point of view, would you lend that much money to me if you knew I was dying the very next day?"