Escapism °• | NANA Fanfiction

[Chapter 17] Rebound

Shin had never felt so on edge. Sitting on the kitchen counter, his leg his the cabinets below nervously as he watched Nanami, who stood by the window in her oversized hoodie and shorts, her phone pressed to her ear. Her posture was tense, rigid, like she was bracing herself for impact.

She was calling her parents.

Shin had enough context to know this was going to be rough. He saw the way she bit her lip, the way her fingers trembled as she held the phone to her ear. His heart ached for her, and he didn't know what to do or say to make it better. The reality was, there was nothing he could do. This was her choice to make; it would hurt, but he still felt grateful she decided to stay. 

Did that make him selfish? 

Probably, but he could live with that. 

The silence in the room was suffocating as he strained to hear snippets of the conversation, but her parents' voices were distant, muffled, filled with anger and disappointment. Nanami didn't say much at first, just a series of quiet, "Yes," and "I understand."

Then, in the softest voice, she said, "I'm not coming back."

Shin's breath caught in his throat. He knew this was the moment she had been dreading. The moment she defied everything her parents expected of her.

Her parents' voices grew louder, harsher, and unforgiving. Though Shin couldn't hear every word, he could feel the sadness radiating from Nanami; her shoulders slouched like she had been gravely injured.

She tried to defend herself. "I can't... I just can't live like this anymore. I need to live my life. I need to make my own choices."

But whatever she said was met with more yelling, more accusations. Shin could feel her walls crumbling, her resolve weakening. She kept listening, kept taking it in, like she believed she deserved every harsh word they threw at her.

His fists clenched as he watched her. Every part of him wanted to take the phone from her, to shout on her behalf, but he stayed rooted to his spot, knowing this wasn't his battle to fight.

"I love you," Nanami finally whispered, her voice trembling. It wasn't just a declaration. It was a plea. A desperate attempt to hold onto something.

But there was no reply. 

Only silence.

Shin watched as her face crumpled, her body sagging in defeat. He couldn't hear the final words from her parents, but he could see it in her eyes—the moment her hope shattered completely.

She hung up the phone, staring at it like she couldn't quite believe what had just happened. And then, as if everything inside her broke at once, she collapsed onto her knees.

The sobs that followed were violent, raw, the kind that seemed to come from the deepest part of her soul. Shin watched in horror as she shook uncontrollably, her body curling in on itself as if trying to protect what little remained of her heart.

"Nanami," he whispered, but his voice felt too small, too insignificant against the weight of her grief.

He didn't know what to do. He had never seen her like this—completely undone, broken in a way that terrified him.

She clutched her phone so tightly that her knuckles paled, her beautifully kept nails digging into her palm. The sobs kept coming, relentless and overwhelming, and Shin felt his own throat tighten with emotion.

He wanted to help her, to hold her, to say something that would make the pain go away. But he knew that this kind of pain wasn't something he could fix. It was something that had to be felt, had to be endured. He had gone through it once, and seeing someone else go through it was heart breaking.