Pieces of Us (SatoGou)

Chapter 10

"Tokio called me last night," she says quietly. My stomach sinks, and I dip a little deeper into the water, letting it lap over my shoulders, trying to relax. "He wanted to talk to you."

I watch Goh's jaw twitch. "Why?"

She shakes her head. "I don't know. He wouldn't tell me. I guess maybe to fix things?"

"He ended it. Why would he want to fix it now?" He scoffs, confirming that Tokio left him, not the other way around. Goh was likely still completely invested in the relationship. He probably still is, and his face gives away everything. Already his whole demeanor has changed.

"Why did he break up with you?" Dawn asks gently. I see her steal a glance at me, but I won't look back at her. I can pretend that none of this bothers me.

He visibly tenses up. I feel completely dejected, and just want to go back to the truck. I frown, looking down into the water, my eyes feeling kind of heavy. Goh takes a few seconds to answer. "I didn't love him."

My eyes shoot up, and I imagine my expression matches Dawn's. She looks shocked. "You didn't? After so long?"

Goh shakes his head, frowning down, lost in his own thoughts. "No. I feel really guilty about it," he admits, sighing. "I couldn't pretend anymore, and I guess he figured it out." He smiles then, but it's regretful. "He said he knew the whole time."

"He knew you didn't love him?" Dawn asks. Chloe's quiet, likely because she already knows it all.

"He knew he was a placeholder," he clarifies. My throat has gone dry, and I swallow hard. "I didn't think of it that way until he said it, but I guess he was right. He knew I was waiting for the right person to come along."

I reach back and push myself out of the water, needing air. "I'm gonna call Marnie. I'll see you back at the truck," I say, deliberately not looking at any of them, and gesture for Pikachu to hop on my shoulder. He seems to understand, and jumps up, frowning at me. I don't give them time to respond before heading to get dressed.

I do call Marnie, just because Dawn will ask me if she's going to be in Spikemuth, and I won't know the answer unless I actually ask her. She's super hungover, and still in Wyndon, and says she won't be there for a couple of days, because she has a tournament to compete in. I wish her luck and hang up, sitting alone beside Pikachu in the front of the truck, watching the sun sink slowly in the sky in silence.

It's not long until they join me. They're all smiling when they climb in the truck, the conversation about Tokio seemingly forgotten to everyone but me.

After dinner, I drive the truck down the road that Dawn mentioned. It's up in the cliffs, the view out of the right window a stunning stretch of sand and sea. There's no one else around but us, and Dawn puts on more mellow music, and we enjoy the drive in a comfortable silence. Chloe and Dawn fall asleep twenty minutes in, their heads resting on one another. Goh and I listen to her playlist, neither of us speaking until I pull off onto the side of the road and park the truck, spotting a good clearing along the edge of one of the cliffs to camp at. Dawn and Chloe don't wake up, so I silently open the door and close it as quietly as I can, wanting to stretch my legs. I hear Goh follow me out as I wander over to the cliff edge, looking down onto the beach. The sun is setting, making the earth glow shades of coral and peach. I watch the waves lap gently over the sand and suck in a deep breath, clearing my head.

Goh comes to stand beside me, his face stoney. I wonder if he's thinking about Tokio. I'm torturing myself. I turn to face him.

"Why did we really fall out?" I ask quietly, so it doesn't sound like an attack.

"I pushed you away," he says, but he's already said that before, and I can tell there's more, so I wait for a few seconds until he sighs and speaks again. "I wasn't in a healthy mindspace. I... I relied on you too much. More than anyone should rely on one other person."