The Ones I Love

An internal struggle. Chapter 10

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

I continue looking out the window and slowly walk closer to it, not knowing whether it is okay for me to look for him. On the other hand, I was fully aware that the brothers knew of his presence since the moment he had entered the premises with Shin. I place my hands on the sill and look farther in the distance to see him casually walking away with his hands in the pockets of his pants. Unsurprisingly, the door to my room opens and in comes Kou with worry written all over his face. 

"Who was here?!" He asks as he walks closer and stands by my side, looking out the window for any signs of an intruder. I sigh and roll my eyes, walking away from the window to sit on my bed while he continues looking around. 

"No-one, Kou-kun. You all must've been too busy with Yui to notice what your sister was actually doing, anyway. Why would you notice me talking to my friends all of a sudden?" I cock my head to the side as I wait for his response, instead, he looks towards me silently, almost as if he was at a loss of words.

"What do you mean? Anna-chan, you know we would never forget about you-"

"Well, you did. Tell me, did you even know I was gone for about three hours? Well, maybe you did, did you care?" I cross my arms across my chest and Kou walks closer to me to sit next to me. 

"Of course, I did-"

"But not enough to even question what was going on with me." I continue looking ahead when he stops himself from speaking any further. "If you don't care, then leave me alone to deal with my own problems. I don't need you barging in and trying to pretend you care." I get up and walk out of my room without any further exchange between us.

I might be overreacting, but this is not the first time they seem to have neglected me. It's been over four years, you would think they would begin to care like family. 

I continue walking down the corridor with my gaze glued on the carpet and my arms crossed across my chest. I stop in my tracks when I see Yui walking in my direction with neatly folded clothes and a towel in her hands. Without any exchange of words, we simply smile as we walk past each other but after reaching the end of the hall, where her room was, I stop and look back to see her gone.

Doesn't she have a bathroom in her room, though?

I tilt my head in confusion and look at the door to her room and, hesitant at first, twist the knob after deciding to apologize to her later. I look around her room briefly before going to the bathroom door, only to find the doorknob jammed. My eyes narrow in confusion as I knew most doors in the mansion were unlocked and were properly working, and this door should've been one of them. With a hard tug, I am able to twist the knob enough to work properly again. With that, I walk out of her room immediately and hear a piercing scream that could only belong to a female- unless it was actually Kou. I look in the direction Yui went in and begin to quicken my pace as I reach around the corner and a little further to see a bathroom door open. 

"Yui!" I yell as I push my palm against the door frame to stop myself from running into it only to see a giant blocking my way. "Yuma!" I yell again and bend my body sideways to see Yui trying her best to cover herself up as Yuma turns around to look at me. "What the hell are you thinking?" I say as I grab his arm and drag him out of the bathroom and close the door behind us, muttering a silent apology to Yui who nods in appreciation. Right after, I turn to the giant brother behind me and smack his chest harshly, making him hiss and back away from me, a look of shock crossing his face. "What is wrong with you, seriously? If I was taking a bath, would you just barge in like that?!" I point to the door Yui is now trembling behind and his eyes instantly widen at the question.

"What?! No! Why would you even think I would do that?" He crosses his arms and looks away with a pout. 

"Then why would you do that to Yui?" I ask with a straight face as I mimic his posture and cross my arms as well. When he keeps quiet in response, I sigh while rolling my eyes and grab his upper arm to drag him further away from the room when the door opens and a fully dressed Yui walks out timidly, hugging the walls behind her with her back. I let go of Yuma and walk over to Yui and hold her gently by the shoulders. "I'm sorry for my brother being an obliviously idiotic jerk to you." I mutter loud enough for Yuma to hear and in return, he simply scoffs and walks beside me, looking at Yui patiently as she nods in his direction, making me clearly confused.

"Uhm, Yuma wanted me to help him in the garden..." She trails off, hoping that I understand the reason behind the little exchange between them but when I scoff, Yui seems to physically relax under my touch.

"You expect her to help you after the stunt you just pulled? I don't think so." I push my lips together as the comment leaves my lips. 

"Listen, I'm sorry, okay? I won't do it again-"

"Oh, you better not!" I look at Yui to let her know that it's her decision whether she wants to go but when her gaze fearfully meets Yuma's intimidating ones, I already assume the answer and let her shoulders go. 

"I-It'd be better if I went along." She looks down at the ground timidly and rubs her upper arm, not sure whether it would be better for her to stay or help Yuma. Though, I knew she was only trying to save herself from whatever Yuma was capable of doing to her later if she were to refuse. I sigh but nod my head in understanding and step away, keeping my hands at my hips as I see Yuma start to walk away. Soon after, Yui begins with her small steps and follows him closely behind.

How am I supposed to help you if you won't give yourself the chance to be alone, Yui?