ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜᴇ || тѕυккιуαмα ||

30

I winced in pain and flinched my arm back.

"Sorry.." Tsukki whispered and slowed his movement. I watched as he furrowed his eyebrows, something seemed to change in his expression suddenly. "... I should've killed that bitch." He decided on saying.

I gasped dramatically at the statement, whispering a shocked "Tsukki!!" And he chuckled softly—removing his hands on my arm and grabbing the roller bandage.

I felt a pang of guilt swell in my stomach.
"...m-my mom.. didn't do that to me." I whispered faintly. My left hand reached down to fiddled with the hem of my shirt for comfort.

Tsukki started wrapping the bandage around my arm leisurely. "Don't blame yourself over what she did.." he reassured softly.

"B-but—"

"You heard me, Tadashi." Tsukki tightened the wrap and slid his thumb against the last bit, securing it tightly. "She knew exactly what she was doing to your mind..." he trailed off, then stood up and turned to the sink.

I stayed silent. Watching him wash his hands quietly.
He still didn't have glasses, I noticed.

"Come on." Tsukki left the bathroom without glancing back and I followed slowly.

When we reached the living room, Akiteru smiled brightly at us. "The love birds have returned!" He cooed and I giggled, hearing an exasperated groan from Tsukki.

Then their mom peeked her head from the kitchen. "How many slices of pizza do you boys want?"

"Three." Tsukki said immediately and I stammered back a bit, not prepared for such a question.

She stared at me and I felt sweat build on my head for some reason. Why is this situation so tense? "U-uhm... two is fine... thank you."

"You got it!" She piped up before whipping around. "And sorry I had to get fast-food! Didn't have time to cook after work..." She said guiltily.

"N-no.. you're okay." I tried to reassure her, watching as she piled two pizzas on a plate for me and nudged it in my direction. "Thank you, ma'am."

She nodded and did the same gesture onto another plate, adding a slice. "Keeeeeeei~" she sang. "Come get it!"

A few hours passed of our occasional banter and their mom decided to call it a night. It was now 11:30, Tsukki, Akiteru and I were planning for tomorrow.

"Basically," Akiteru began. "It was all self-defense... we have the proof of her fingerprints on the gun." He handed me a stack of papers and I skimmed over them. "And photos of the rope tied to your bed.. and the smashed glasses and phone." Tsukki grimaced on the couch beside me and I flipped to another page.

"A-and, I have this.." I pointed to my forehead. "When she threw me.. against the floor." My voice got quieter at the end and Akiteru nodded slowly.

"Is she gonna pay for my new glasses or what?" Tsukki asked out of nowhere, earning a slap from Akiteru.

"Shut up, this is serious." He hissed.

"I am being serious, fucker. Don't touch me again." Tsukki glared daggers at his unbothered brother.

Then Akiteru brought his attention back to me. "Is there anything else we're missing?" He asked and I felt my heart drop.

Silence took over the room and I started fidgeting, deciding to finally tell him. But there's no way I could with Tsukki beside me. "C-can we talk in private?" I asked Akiteru, receiving a concerned gaze from him.

"Um.. yeah sure—"

I quickly stood up and paced to the bathroom, avoiding their bothered expressions. I just want to get this over with.

When I walked into the room, I felt someone brush up beside me and close the door.

"What's up, Yamaguchi?" Akiteru asked, sounding a bit anxious.

I took a deep breath and tried not to make it such a big deal. "I-I also have... these marks f-from her.." I quickly stammered out, turning to face Akiteru—although, not making eye contact.

I lifted my shirt slowly and closed my eyes, hearing a soft gasp from the boy in front of me. The room was painfully quiet, so I decided to further elaborate.

"Sh-she... she s-sexually assaulted... me..."

There.
I said it.

And I needed Akiteru to say something or I might lose my mind.

The silence was so ear-wrenching and my shaky fingers sped up against the hem of my shirt—only a few seconds went by, but it felt as if they were minutes.

Then I heard him let out a hefty sigh. "Yamaguchi.." he breathed and I flinched at the pitying tone of his voice, suddenly regretting my decision. "Can I?" I felt my shirt tug and tightened my eyes, nodding.

My shirt was lifted higher and I felt my face heat up unintentionally. "I-it's no big deal... but we can use this for Tsukki's ca—"

"It's a very big deal." He argued, dropping my shirt. "This was recent? Don't normalize this, Yamaguchi." The strict tone of his voice was something I'd never heard from Akiteru before, and it kind of scared me. "She needs to be locked up."

I opened my eyes and was met with his, almost enraged stare—making me flinch back in fear. He noticed my reaction and quickly soften his eyes.

"With this, I'm sure we'll prove Kei innocent and put that monster behind bars." He smiled at me and pet my head. "Come on." I watched Akiteru leave the bathroom.

Thank god that's over.

I followed behind him, letting out a much needed sigh before scanning the living room. Tsukki was on the couch, holding the stack of papers comically close to his face so he could read it.

"Kei." Akiteru slapped his head, earning an elbow to the stomach. "You got a big day tomorrow, go to sleep." Tsukki groaned and threw the papers against a table lazily. "And take care of that boyfriend of yours.." he teased and I saw Tsukki's pale face turn a light pink as he stood up from the couch hastily.

"Shut the fuck up." He strode around the couch and grabbed my hand in his, guiding me down the hall.

"Don't have too much fun you two!" I heard Akiteru call from the living room and giggled gently, peering at Tsukki's scowl.

Suddenly, I felt the need to tease along with Akiteru. "I didn't hear you oppose the whole boyfriend statement." I whispered as Tsukki opened the door to his room and close it.

Before I could tease him any longer, he pushed me against the door—one hand on my chest. "I said shut the fuck up." I gasped quietly and watched his eyes trace over my features slowly, feeling my body heat up.

Although, before anything could happen, Tsukki pulled away and slumped down on the bed.

Ah, almost.

~~~