One for Three

Chapter 37

I sat down hesitantly in my seat, with Mamoru to my right, Seiya to my left, and Motoki sitting across from us. The air was so thick that it seemed to suffocate me, leaving me breathless. A heavy silence fell upon us, and no one dared to utter a word. My heart raced wildly in my chest. Seiya's hand rested tensely on my thigh, and I could feel his vigilant gaze fixed on Mamoru.

"The usual, Usa?" Motoki asked softly, his voice a timid attempt to break the oppressive atmosphere. My lips moved on autopilot as I mechanically nodded. "Yes."

Then Motoki turned to Seiya in a professional manner. "And for you?"

Seiya's response was curt: "Coffee, black please."

It didn't take long, and Motoki handed us our drinks. When he slid a chocolate muffin towards me, I immediately knew it was from Makoto. She was a talented baker, and under normal circumstances, I would have enjoyed the muffin with delight. But given the current situation, any appetite had vanished. I couldn't even stomach a single crumb. The worry for Mamoru and the hardened glances exchanged between him and Seiya stirred up great unease in my stomach.

After an endless while of silence, Motoki tapped me on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a moment? Alone."

I glanced from Seiya to Mamoru, who were still locked in their unwavering stare. Could I really leave the two of them alone? But Motoki didn't wait for my answer. He already held the kitchen door open. Summoning my courage, I hesitantly stood up. "I'll be right back," I whispered to the group, but there was no reaction, neither from Seiya nor from Mamoru.

As soon as the door closed behind me, Motoki stood before me with his arms crossed. His gaze was serious, and I could see the numerous questions he had for me reflected in his eyes. "What's this, Usa? You know exactly how he feels, and yet you bring your new guy here..."

A wave of anger gradually engulfed me. "Stop! Back then, he didn't care about how I felt when he let Rei live with him. I won't take the blame for that now, Toki. Besides, do you really think it's a good idea to leave them alone? Did you see their looks?"

Motoki sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. "They won't tear each other apart, they're grown men. Back to you. I guess I don't even want to know what you were thinking... Two men... at the same time! Usa, how could you! Mamoru spent half the night talking to me about it. Do you even realize how important you still are to him?"

An involuntary eye roll escaped me, luckily Motoki knew nothing about Diamond. That would probably completely derail him. So far, I had been like a little innocent sister to him.

"Yes, he told me that multiple times yesterday... to be precise, for almost the entire way home... but it changes nothing. Toki, there's nothing left of that relationship. We both screwed it up. Me with Seiya, and him with his secrets and Rei... Even if I wanted to, I couldn't give him a chance right now."

As I mentioned her name, a slight shiver ran down my spine. I had almost managed to push her tragic fate out of my mind again. But what kind of relationship could it be if you couldn't trust your partner? Sure, we had said we would remain friends, but was that really feasible?

Finally, Motoki's defensive stance subsided, and he placed a hand on my shoulder. A look of deep concern filled his eyes. "You really love this singer, don't you?"

Without thinking, I immediately responded, "Yes, more than I ever thought possible."

Motoki sighed heavily once again. "But Mamoru needs us. Both of us. Can you imagine what he's going through right now?"

Of course, I had been racking my brain about it since yesterday. It was just a shitty situation, but before I could answer him, a loud crash from the café interrupted our conversation. Panic-stricken, I pushed past Motoki and yanked the door open again.