On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Hands

"Ahaha... I was spacing out..."

"Wha... That's the one thing you shouldn't be doing when you're holding a knife!"

"I can't help it! I keep thinking about how good this soup's gonna be! Those potatoes were the final thing we wanted to put in!"

"That's still no excuse!" He huffed as he finished up. "Put the kit back. I'll take care of the rest."

"Eh? Why? It's just a small cut, I can still help!"

"Putting the potatoes in the pot is a one person job. You've done your part in helping prepare all the ingredients, so I'll finish mine and make sure it's perfectly cooked."

Well, he had a point there.

When he let her go to return to the kitchen, she shivered. She didn't remember the air being that cold.

Another time she remembered was the weekend of the worst birthday of her life. Well, the day itself wasn't bad, but all the events that led up to it made it hard for her to enjoy it.

It went as far as her needing to run away from home. She thanked her past self for not ever mentioning where her best friend lived despite being friends with him for so long. Though she had to be extra careful when going out, especially around the afternoon. Her family knew her routine of heading to the park or the hospital around that time, so they moved their schedule to morning and got back by lunchtime.

However, it was only for that weekend. After talking to both brothers, they had decided to keep the details from their parents. Not that they knew all that much in the first place, but they had managed to convince her to go home, even with her friend's reluctance.

Or rather, they thought they did. In reality, she had been feeling bad for burdening them for the past couple of days. She was already thinking of going back just to give them a sense of peace, but didn't have the courage to. Their encouragement was the last push she needed.

They told his parents about it during dinner, and they agreed that they'll drop her off at the train station while his father drove him to school. She'd be taking the first train of the day.

"You sure you want to go back this fast?" He only asked once they were inside his room.

"If I don't, I might end up staying here forever." She tried to joke, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't smile. The pain on her back was still present.

"Well... Still..." He let out a sigh, sitting beside her as she tucked herself in his blanket. "You have my number, right?"

"Mmhm."

"Then, call me if anything happens." He pressed his lips together before parting them again. "I'm not saying that I don't trust your family, but... Just let me know, alright? If everything goes well, then I'll just wait for you at the usual place."

"And the usual time." She nodded in thanks, but before he could move down to the futon, she grabbed hold of his arm. "Kyou... can you stay up here again tonight?"

She really didn't need another nightmare kicking in and wavering her resolve.

He shrugged before turning off the lights and diving under the covers with her. Positioned face to face, he laid with an arm under the pillow while his other was hanging loosely.

She pulled it between them and held it with both of her hands. Without needing to ask, he locked their fingers together.

She stared at them for a moment before looking up at him. "Hey, Kyou..."