Heartburn • Rin x Miku

Chapter 25

I couldn't believe what I just read. All this time, Gumi tormented me because she felt... jealous?? I didn't understand anything of it. I am not as rich as she was, not to mention not as pretty. How could she have been jealous of me?

Oh right. Miku. Somehow she is involved in this.

And based off of what was written here, I can only assume one thing: Gumi actually liked Miku. Like, like like. This was a crush she was battling, and yet somehow Miku ended up gravitating towards me. I feel proud, but at the same time, I can't help but feel pity. She's dead now, so I guess I shouldn't worry about it anymore, but still, if I was in her shoes and my crush was talking about her crush that wasn't me, I'd be destroyed.

And then there's the evidence of Nikita not giving two shits about Gumi. How could a mother be so... cruel? It was almost unbearable to believe that Gumi was being abused by her own mother...

And speaking of abuse, she fell to the abuse of Jake Kashami. Miku tried to save her with the solid advice of breaking up... That could be the reason why she ended up dead. She tried to break up with Jake. So all this time, she was maneating... to get back at him.

But that just brings me to my next point- why?? Why is Jake the one who was mad? He did the same exact thing. His infidelity is just as evident as Gumi's. Why is he so mad that she cheated on him with Len that night?

And on top of that, he threatened me as well. Trying to hit on my girlfriend back a couple months ago in the cafeteria, with a pizza to his face... That was when I met Jake. And ever since then he just seems to want Miku just as badly as I did. Ew.

Figuring out the whole jigsaw puzzle in front of me just seemed so clear to me, now. Jake was controlling, manipulative. Gumi was victimized, due to her lack of support from her mom. Gumi had a crush on Miku. Miku was the only person in her life that wasn't toxic towards her... but it wasn't enough.

And that day, during the science fair, when she helped me out... That was her giving up. She knew it was no use trying to go after someone who isn't yours, and she let Miku go to me. I felt like crying. I treated her so poorly... ...well, I mean, she was a bitch towards me, but... it makes so much sense now.

As for the money, and the time lapse between the scandal Len got caught up in and the performance at the Christmas party... What was she doing? Jake must have done something to her. He must of done something to everybody he has encountered.

A few tears roll down my cheeks, feeling so remorseful towards all of this. What has this world come to? Why is there so much evil in the world? Why? Just why??

Just then I hear a knock on the open door. I turn around with alarm, seeing Nikita's figure leaning on the frame. "What are you doing in here?" She asks angrily, and at the moment I felt too shocked to continue crying.

"I, uh... I was actually just on my way out! Thank you for the dinner okay bye!"

And from there I pushed past her, and ran for the life of me down those stairs, and out the house. I guess I'm never going back there ever again...

My ride back home felt so long. I was thinking about this situation so deeply. Gumi was being abused but to keep staying strong she acted like she owned the world. She had a right to. And I hated her right. It just seemed so inhumane. If I had known that she was being abused... Well no, it was fated for her to hate me. Her crush on Miku is evidence of that.

When I make it home, I felt way too exhausted to do anything else. I can't wait to take a warm bath and sle--

Why is my mom crying??

"Mom??" I call out, closing the door and chasing to her aid. She just shook her head. "Mom, you have to talk to me," I say, and she just cries harder. I have never seen my mom this upset before... I felt so useless. I don't know what to do.

She shook her head again and pointed towards the TV. The news channel was on, and it was showing a report on Jake's broken nose. Apparently with his broken nose, they somehow were able to convict him of Gumi's murder. I guess they interrogated Yian and he confessed to his brother doing it.

As happy as that made me feel, I still couldn't grasp why my mom is crying.

"Mom, you need to tell me with words. What's wrong?" She blew her nose on her sleeve and just coughed out more tears. I don't know what's happening...

"That... that boy... H-he..."

I couldn't comprehend what my mom was saying. "Mom, you need to relax. Breathe. In and out." I say, hoping to relax her. At last, she moaned out her troubles.

"That's the boy who ruined my marriage!!"

At first I didn't understand, but then my mind made sense of it.

I gulp, and I prep myself for another question. "W...Why did you leave me?" I ask, my lips trembling and my eyes watering. I can't believe I'm showing vulnerability to my ex-father right now.

"It's... It's a misunderstanding... And I wish it never happened... But we all aren't perfect, right? I guess I screwed up." I got angry at that point. He wasn't making any sense! "That doesn't answer my question!" I yell, tears jumping off my face as I pounce to my scream.

"Rin... Let me explain, please..."

I was breathing heavily, my anger going nuts on a scale in my heart. I sighed, and I wiped my face with my hand.

"I just want to start off with this; you aren't going to be punished. You can go home and not to my place as you wish, and your mother will be okay with that.

"What's that got to do with anything?" I ask.

"Well, I don't know if you remember anything of that day at all but... It turns out your mama was raped."

She pointed to the screen... The idea of my mom being... raped... She couldn't have been... Not by the Kashami twins... Right?

"Mom, you need to relax. You may just be thinking of someone who looks like those boys..." I say, panic in my heart. My mom just wouldn't stop crying. I was getting annoyed. This can't be true, it just can't.

"He... he called me tuts like it was some sort of cute name," my mom said, shaking her head. "He... he pushed me down... carried me to my room... He took off my clothes..."

I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe any of this.

"M-Marther came in... That boy brought me to finish by force..."

My eyes widened, feeling my tears intensify.

"That's... That was the argument, mom?" I ask, disturbed by this new piece of information I am recieving.

"He thought... He-he thought I wanted to... I wanted to have sex with that boy... It was against my will... He hurt me... Slapped me..."

I felt my tears rolling down my cheeks. Everything is becoming clear to me now. And I hate it.

"Mom, mom, please relax," I say out of my own tears, and finally my mom seemed to listen. "That was long ago... My dad hit you... You can't go back to a man who hits you. Okay? Jake didn't ruin your marriage." I say, hopefully ro debunk what bothered her the most.

She nodded her head, still frowning with her work-day make up all ruined.

"As for Jake himself, he's going to be interrogated. I... I actually had a fight with him. I'm the reason why he has a broken nose."

My mom piped up at that information. She put her hands on my shoulders, looked at me with eyes of bewilderment. "Oh, sweetheart," she said, observing my now uncovered scars. I smile meekly.

She then pulls me into a tight hug, crying in my arms. I hug her back,  tighter than ever.

After she let go of the hug, she looked at me, with brighter eyes and a relief to her face:

"Thank you, Rin."

~~~•~~~•~~~
A/N: I'm going to keep this chapter short because I feel like the next few things that are coming up deserve to be individual chapters. I hope that is okay with you all. ;) Stay tuned~!