Heart Strings|GirlxGirl

Get Away

Axel sat on the edge of the couch, her legs stretched out, eyes unfocused, staring at the empty space ahead. The room around her felt far away, the people within it, even further. She was there, but she wasn't. It was as if the walls had closed in, the lights too bright, the noise too loud. Everything felt distant, out of reach, like she was floating in a space that wasn't really hers.

The conversation around her was muted. She could hear Freye talking, Rika laughing, and Lia's voice rising above the others at times, but it was like she was listening from behind a thick glass wall. The words didn't make sense; they didn't matter. Her mind, wrapped in fog, couldn't process what was happening around her. She could see their faces, but it felt like she wasn't really seeing them. They were people in a dream, distant, unimportant.

Axel pulled her knees closer to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. She tried to focus, but the harder she tried, the more everything seemed to slip through her fingers. The weight of everything-the betrayal, the silence, the hurt-was too much, and yet, it felt like nothing at all. She wasn't sure where the world had gone, but it wasn't here with her.

"Axel, you alright?" Mino's voice broke through her daze, and Axel blinked, finally acknowledging him as he leaned against the doorframe. His face was concerned, though he kept his distance, not wanting to push too much.

She didn't answer right away, unable to form the words. Instead, she gave him a small nod, though it was more of an automatic response than one she truly meant.

Mino's eyes softened. He stepped into the room, slowly closing the door behind him, before walking over and sitting beside her. He didn't say anything immediately, just sitting quietly, as if giving her the space to breathe.

For a while, there was nothing but silence between them, the kind that felt heavy in its stillness. Mino watched Axel, his gaze careful but patient. She could feel him there, his presence grounding in a way that nothing else could, but she couldn't find the energy to reach back.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Mino asked after a long pause, his voice gentle.

Axel stared at the floor, the words stuck in her throat. What was there to say? How could she explain the emptiness she felt inside, the way everything felt like it was slipping through her fingers? She wanted to scream, to shout at the world, but all she could do was sit there, numb and lost in her own head.

Mino reached out, a hand resting on her shoulder, a quiet gesture that felt both comforting and distant. She didn't pull away, but she didn't respond, either. It was as though she couldn't. Like she was too far removed from everything to care.

"They didn't mean to hurt you, Axel," Mino said softly, his tone almost soothing, though Axel couldn't find the will to process his words. "You know that, right?"

Axel didn't move, didn't even acknowledge him. She wanted to say something, but it was like her mouth was glued shut. Instead, she just nodded, a small, silent movement that seemed to say everything and nothing at once.

Mino let out a sigh, his thumb brushing against her shoulder in small, steady circles. It was the only thing in the room that felt real, the only thing that wasn't slipping away. "You can't do this alone, you know. I'm here. They're here. We're all here for you."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Axel allowed herself to feel something-just a flicker of something real. But it was fleeting, like a wave crashing against a wall, only to dissipate before it could truly touch her.

"You don't get it, Mino," Axel muttered, her voice low and strained. "I don't even know if I want them here anymore. I don't even know if I want me here anymore."

Mino's hand stopped, and he turned to face her, his gaze steady. There was no judgment in his eyes, just understanding, like he had been waiting for her to say something-anything.

"You're not alone in this, Axel," Mino repeated. "You can't push everyone away, even when it feels like everything's falling apart."

Axel wanted to argue, wanted to tell him that she was fine, that she didn't need anyone, but the words wouldn't come. She just sat there, lost, her chest tight, her mind a jumbled mess of thoughts she couldn't grasp. She was drowning in her own silence, in the numbness that enveloped her, and there was no way out.

The room felt too small now, the walls pressing in. She needed to leave, needed to escape. Without saying a word, Axel stood up abruptly, her legs shaky as she moved toward the door.

"Axel, don't do this," Mino said, his voice catching her before she could reach the door.

But Axel didn't stop. She didn't know where she was going, but she needed to be away from everyone. She needed space, air, anything to break the suffocating bubble she had trapped herself in.

As she stepped into the hallway, the cool air of the outside world hit her like a slap to the face, but it didn't bring relief. She kept walking, her feet moving on autopilot, the world around her blending into a blur of colors and sounds she couldn't connect to.

In the back of her mind, she knew Mino was probably following her, but the thought didn't matter. She was too far gone, too lost in the space between her thoughts and reality to care.

Somewhere in the depths of her mind, Axel understood that she couldn't keep running. But for now, all she could do was keep moving, keep pretending that the world wasn't closing in on her.