Purple Ink (SatoGou)

Chapter 17

I'm not anxious when I knock on the door to Goh's flat. Tired, yes, but if Bede has a problem with me being here, I'm more than ready to put him in his place.

It's the other guy, Hop, that answers the door, though. He blinks at me, trying to remember if he knows me or not. "Hey," he says, nervously. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I'm here for Goh's stuff."

He blinks. "Goh's stuff? Why?"

"He's moving back into our flat." I step past Hop without waiting for permission, into their hallway. "Which room is his?"

Hop seems taken aback, and stammers, pointing to the one in the middle of the hall. When I head towards it, he jumps, and tries to keep up with me. "Um, why isn't Goh here himself to get his stuff?"

"He didn't want to see Bede," I say, frowning. It's true. After we finally made up, and finally managed to peel away from one another, Goh had gotten anxious, saying he couldn't go back to his room, couldn't face Bede. I, on the other hand, am happy to face Bede. Especially after learning he used Goh, then left him alone in an absolute state. I wonder if Bede even realises that Goh never came back to his room last night. So I offered to go and get his things, even if it took a few trips back and forth.

When I push open the door to Goh's room, which was already unlocked, movement catches my eye. It's Bede, standing up from where he'd been sitting on the edge of Goh's bed. He turns towards me, face contorted with obvious fake worry, until he realises it's me, and drops the act. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you?" I ask, walking in. Just like Goh said, his boxes are still packed- the only things out are his bedding and laptop, like he still wasn't sure if he was staying here or not. Luckily, when we went down to the front desk to ask, they didn't care if he moved back into our flat, and gave him his old key back.

"What are you doing?" Bede snaps when I pick up Goh's laptop.

"You're gonna have to find someone else to manipulate." I pack it into its case and put it in the closest box. "Because Goh's not coming back."

"Get out of my boyfriend's room." Bede takes a step towards me.

"We both know he's not your boyfriend. He never was." I turn to glare at him. "And if you really cared about him, you wouldn't have pressured him into drinking so much then left him on his own when he was wasted."

He scoffs, like I've offended him. "I would never-"

"You did," I snarl. "And if I ever see you come near him again, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

He glares defiantly back, but only for a second, because then he's storming out, mumbling something on his way past, shouldering past Hop, who's standing white-faced at the threshold. Hop hesitates for a second before chasing Bede down the corridor, calling his name. I sigh, shaking my head, and grab the nearest box.

— — — —

It takes forty minutes to move all of Goh's things back to his old room. On my fourth trip, when I have the last of his things in my arms, Serena and Cilan are there, walking out together. They both pause when they see me, the box heavy in my arms, and I smile over the top of it at them.

"Been on a shopping spree?" Cilan asks, eyebrow raised, peering into the box.

"Goh's stuff," I say, adjusting the weight of the box. "He's coming back."

Serena squeals and throws her arms around me, almost knocking me off balance, and I fight to stay upright, but she doesn't seem to care. "Please tell me he's done with Bede."