Prophetic Entities (Complete)

Chapter 8

Takumi didn't stop walking, trying to stop the tears from falling, trying not to listen to Zack's voice calling behind her. But she didn't get very far before she felt him grab her arm, and then her heart skipped a beat. She covered her mouth, trying to conceal the sobs. "...What...?"

"Listen, Takumi, I just... I'm sorry, I..." Zack realized he was stammering. His head was swimming from moving so quickly. He started to chastise himself for drinking so much. He knew he should know better, but the tempting lure of the drink that had been in his hand was too strong to put down, "I-I don't know what to say, I wasn't in my right state of mind, I'm STILL not in my right state of mind, I just..." His vision was starting to tunnel from his efforts of talking, standing, and making an attempt at explaining away actions that he regretted so much in this moment, "I didn't know what was going on, she came outta nowhere... I know it all sounds like excuses... I don't even know why I'm trying to explain all this away, I just... I guess I just..." He shook the small strands of hair from his face, before he let go of her arm, and wrapped his own around her, pulling her into his chest, kissing her lightly on top of her head, lingering for only a few seconds, before laying his head on top of hers. "...I'm so sorry... Takumi..."

Takumi could feel the tears welling in her eyes again before she closed her eyes a moment, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. Then she slightly pulled away, the tears still rolling down. "...I... don't deserve... something like this... I don't... have the right to be happy..."

"I gotta tell you something, Takumi..." Zack spoke softly, his smile just as soft, "Personally, I deserve happiness. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm pretty great, and I deserve happiness. But I won't allow myself to be happy, if you're not there, smiling as well... Hell, even if I DID allow myself happiness, I still wouldn't achieve it until I saw your smile..."

Takumi didn't know how to slow her heartbeat. But the more that he spoke, the worse that she felt about this. She shook her head a bit, eyes averted from his, locked on the ground. "...Why...? Why do you... have to say things like this...?"

"Hmmm... Do you ask why I chose to speak instead of staying quiet, or why I have to say them to begin with?" He laughed, taking a hand up, putting it on her hair to run his fingers through.

She slowly closed her eyes, feeling just a little bit more at ease. "...Do you always act so forward when you've been drinking...? Or is this just you trying to get on my good side...?"

"You know, you ask that... but I'm just thinking, y'know... both are possible." He grinned slightly.

"...Why did you let her do that...?" She choked out. "I feel so... I don't know, I just... I hate her... She's... she's never gonna let me... stop feeling like this..." She shook her head a bit, feeling the tears starting up again. "Why do I deserve happiness... when I cause people like Emma so much pain...?"

"I didn't... LET her do it... it's more like, it happened, and I just happened to be there... My mind wasn't exactly in its peak... and, don't worry about Emma. Even if she never eases up about all this... then I'm sure something in life... can come along and make you feel so awesome, that you'll forget about all that." He nuzzled his cheek against her hair, "You didn't mean to cause her pain. And one day, she'll realize that. If everyone was punished eternally for all their mistakes... these worlds would be much different."

Takumi just buried herself in Zack's arms again, resting her head against his chest. "...Everyone... that has ever stayed around me, tried to find out about me... ended up leaving me behind..." She slightly gripped to his shirt. "...You're not gonna leave me too, are you...?"

"Nope!" Zack grinned, "You shouldn't act so happy about it, either. I can be a little nuisance sometimes." He beamed, "So, get used to it. Accept it. Embrace it. And work on your tolerance for patience, 'cause you're gonna need it."