SUPERMARKET FLOWERS ( t. oikawa )

05 | the streak of despair

You told me to go straight on and never look back. I'm doing exactly that

-even when you're screaming for my name.

before.

MANA HAS ERRANDS TO DO TODAY. It's a Saturday, a day free from school and a time where she faces all those consequences of living by herself. Her eyebrows furrow at the mostly empty fridge and freezer, hands callously touch the pitcher of water and five chicken eggs.

She's not going to survive with this. Her refrigerator must have been empty for a week now, she's been basically eating outside so she failed to notice this emptiness. It's a cloudy day today and she certainly doesn't feel like eating at a fast food joint or one of those classic restaurants her budget can afford.

It's times like this when she misses the company of a sister or parents to make the house lively and cook her breakfast.

Hungry stomach growls at the thought of food and her eyes water at the thought of her deceased parents so she clenches the handle of the fridge and when she's out of that momentary stupor, she shuts the door close.

Since eggs are basically the only thing she has for provisions, she makes scrambled eggs (added with mayonnaise) and pairs them up with two loaves of garlic bread she found on her cupboard.

She's munching on the last piece of the bread when her phone rings and the dialer turns out to be Oikawa. It's seven in the morning but she's figured out he's already practicing volleyball.

Oikawa was anything but pure when playing volleyball, all calculated smiles and words with double meanings, but his love for the sport, she could compare it with how angels loved their God and how the humans loved their stars.

Unreachable. Pure.

He's been practicing a lot harder ever since the freshman Kageyama Tobio begun gaining more attention. Mana is supposed to hate the devil, because of Oikawa's remarks but she strangely likes the raven haired boy. He's aloof, looks cool and reserved at first glance, but he actually doesn't think twice in helping someone.

Mana really likes him.

Slender fingers move quickly to answer the call but they freeze halfway when images of Oikawa kissing another girl resurface on her mind. It was the sixth time and even when she discreetly asks his teammates to confirm, they tell the truth and it crushes Mana to bits.

Her boyfriend is actually cheating on her and they're almost a year now. She doesn't know what to feel, her fingers tremble as the dial tone continues to blare throughout the four corners of her home.

A sigh escapes roseate lips. She's been meaning to confront Oikawa about it but after months and months of dating, she doesn't even know how to live without him. He's supporting her so much and she can't let go of him especially since the death anniversary of her family is on its way. Someday, somehow, she thinks.

But, all you can give are false promises, can't you?

The memories have begun haunting her, surfacing as dreams- or in the case of Mana- nightmares.

( Don't get too close
It's dark inside

It's where my demons
h i d e.
It's where my demons
h i d e. )

The flames that licked the curtains and the wood, the paper and sheets. The skeleton of the door falling on her sister, breaking her bones, nails scratching skin and blood spewing from mouth. Mana couldn't even scream because of the ash that smothered her lungs and when she could, Etsuko was gone. Her mother's insanity ringing throughout the burning house in laughter and wailing.