Best Mistake (Iwaoi)

Chapter 20

Chapter 20:
The Darkest Secret

Iwaizumi slammed the shot glass hard on the countertop, making the people around him cringe, as he flailed his finger to get the bartender's attention. "One more," his voice was tipsy, his surroundings began to spin as a soft grunt escaped his lips.

"Iwaizumi-san, you're drunk. Let's get you home." Noya had a hint of concern in his voice. He draped an arm around Iwaizumi's shoulders, as he tried to help him stand up, but the stubborn man wouldn't budge.

"Leave me alone, Noya!" He gibbed, gulping the alcohol down his throat as his eyes stung, welling with tears again.

It's day three hundred sixty-five...

Iwaizumi hadn't lose count since the day he left. It's been a year already since he was left hanging, suspended in thin air. Iwaizumi still remembered the pain and anxiety he felt when Oikawa vanished without a trace. It was as if that day was yesterday. Everything was fresh, the heartaches, and whatnots. He kept questioning himself: Where did I go wrong?

Did Oikawa stop loving him? Did he grow tired of him? Did he do something wrong?

Iwaizumi's head felt like it was about to explode, as he tried to seek for answers once more. He never felt so betrayed and confused in his whole life. He never felt so alone and isolated.

For three hundred and sixty-five days, he kept asking himself. For three hundred and sixty-five nights, he drank the pain away and cried himself silently to sleep.

It's quite ironic how someone can feel so heavy, when he knew he was empty all along.

"What the fuck did I do, Noya-san?" Iwaizumi started to sob, his face was buried on his forearm, as he asked himself the same question he had been asking himself for a year already. "What the hell happened? Why did he leave?"

Nishinoya's eyes widened, his mouth falling agape, not knowing what to say. He sighed as he patted his superior's back. Nishinoya saw how broken Iwaizumi was ever since Oikawa vanished. He was never enthusiastic again; he was back to being the stone-cold and lifeless Iwaizumi Hajime. The Phoenix was reborn, he was stubborn once more, he only devoted his time to his work and nothing else. He never saw him smile again, never saw him laugh, he never saw his jolly expression anew.

"I cannot answer that," he smiled bitterly. Seeing his good friend hurting like this was too much for him to take. "Maybe he had his own reasons."

"And it would take too much of his time to tell me them?" Iwaizumi slurred. His expression turned sour, as he flashed a mean stare at Nishinoya.

"I don't know," he replied casually. "He loves you, Iwaizumi-san, and I'm pretty sure vanishing like that was never easy for him."

"I should've known before I got back with him. He was just trouble waiting to happen again." Iwaizumi clenched his jaw as his finger ran in circles around the brim of the shot glass. "Getting back with him was nothing but a mistake. He already left me once, so what made me think that he couldn't do it again?"

Nishinoya's face collapsed into a melancholic frown. He tried to take the shot glass away from him, but Iwaizumi was quick to react.

"Just let me be, Noya!" He snapped, making the young man cringe, as he sighed in defeat. Iwaizumi demanded for a refill, as he felt his head pound so hard he thought it was gonna explode. There was nothing but bitterness and hatred within him. He reverted to the monster he once was, and it was all because of his best mistake - the worst decision he has ever made. It was all because of one choice. The choice of giving their love a second shot. The choice of believing in always and forever.