The Ones I Love

Distractions. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the picture above and have only done basic editing.

After a much-needed sleep, I walk around my room as I get ready for school and once I have made sure I have everything, I walk out of my room with my bag dangling from my shoulder. I go down the stairs to see all the Mukami brothers acting as if nothing had changed. Yuma and Kou were arguing about shrimps, again, and Ruki was getting the rest of the meal ready for us. I sit next to Azusa who was quietly staring at his empty plate when Yuma gives him the remaining shrimp.

"Kou-kun! It's the first thing in the morning, stop yelling." I rub my ears as he looks back at me, ready to argue back.

"Well, it's not the first thing for me, Anna-chan! I've been awake for much longer and have experienced quite a bit of life." I roll my eyes at his exaggeration and take some of the shrimp that was newly brought by Ruki when the girl, who I finally remembered the name of, enters quietly and Ruki tells her to take a seat with us.

"How do you feel now, Yui?" I ask her as I focus on my plate and continue eating but she timidly replies with a 'good'. I lightly sigh at her dullness but ignore it nonetheless, knowing I will fill in for her quietness with how loud I am. 

"I suggest you eat quickly since we need to get going soon." Ruki directs his gaze at Yui, who looks up in confusion.

"Why? Are we going somewhere?" She asks, completely oblivious.

Did the Sakamakis not take her to school or something?

"We will be going to school today so we need to leave early." Yuma explains monotonously as he finishes his meal and places his dishes in the sink. This brings a smile onto Yui's face as she leans forward.

"So does this mean I will be going too?" She asks lightly, her eyes beginning to sparkle but before I can respond to her, Ruki answers her sternly.

"No, you will be staying home with Azusa to take care of you." I narrow my eyes at him, not understanding why he was continuing to keep Yui with us like a fugitive. I lift my finger to protest but Azusa quickly grabs onto it and pulls it down, under the table without a single word exchanged between us.

"O-oh, I see." The conversation pretty much ends there and we all eat whatever is left of the meal in silence. 

"You know, leaving her with Azusa-kun was the worst decision you could've made." I cross my arms and legs as I look out the window of the car that takes us to the school. When I get no response, I turn my head towards Ruki and attempt at a more dominant tone. "Did you not hear me or are you simply too arrogant to realize your own mistake?" I tighten my arms around my chest and see him physically tense up as he continues avoiding eye contact. "That poor girl, she has no idea what she is going to be dealing with. You're basically keeping her hostage here- don't you think that's too much? Anyone of you?" 

Instead of a verbal response, I feel a hand place itself gently on top of mine, which now rested on my thigh, and I look to my right to see Kou looking at the ground while his hand continues to grip mine. I sigh in frustration but keep quiet for the rest of the ride as Kou succeeds in calming me down the way he did.

The whole night in the school is spent by me worrying about the girl staying her first night at our home alone with Azusa. I look out the window with my elbow on the desk as my palm props my head up; the gentle, chilly breeze brushing against my cheeks as they flush slightly in response. My blank stare bores into the darkness of the trees as the teacher's voice in the background begins to fade into the distance and my mind starts to wander around the situation Yui might be in. Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, an old memory tries to make its way back into the depths of my mind.

"Will you just let me go?!" I yell as the two men holding onto my forearms lift me up, high, in the air, taking me back towards the alleyway I ran away from. I flail my legs in a pathetic attempt at escaping but it amounts to nothing as they throw me to the ground, back at my starting point.

"If you try to leave this place, we will make sure you don't get out alive. Be glad your pathetic parents didn't want you to get hurt before they left you with us." One of the men, slightly less muscular, spat as his face was shadowed from the darkness in the alley.

'I could take him out', I think but restrain myself from even taking another step towards them as they begin to walk away. As their footsteps fade, I prop myself up against the nearest wall, holding my torso in pain as my abdomen begins to bruise because of the kick I had received not too long ago. I wince at the sight of the purple-blueish skin and pull my shirt back down, not wanting to look at the wound anymore.

"Why won't you let me go? What have I done to you?" I mumble to myself as I sit there silently, listening to the thunderstorm in the distance.

"This is wrong..." 

"Is something the matter, Anna?" I look up at my teacher's voice, suddenly surrounded by my classmates in my classroom, as I stumble upon my words. She stands in front of the blackboard and waits patiently for my response.

"Uh- um, yes- no. I just got an answer wrong." I tap my pencil against my open notebook while my anxiety starts to take over me. 

"And what book do you have open on your desk?" She folds her arms with a sympathetic smile as I look down and then back up at her again.

"Maths?" My confidence drains as her smile grows and she shakes her head.

"Perhaps you would like a moment to recollect yourself: we are in History class." Some snickers erupt in the classroom and I look down again, unable to maintain eye contact with anyone.