Kronii had not read the message. She had not looked at the preview. She had tried, wherever possible, to forget the message was even there. "What message?" Is a thing she might say if someone asked about it. Which nobody did because for everyone else it didn't, and for Kronii it might as well not have. "I don't think this thing even does texts." She said to herself in the mirror one night where she definitely wasn't thinking about any hypothetical message from any hypothetical betrayer.
She lasted three days.
It was 2am, her stream long since finished. She sat alone in the living room, under the dim atmospheric lights Fauna had insisted on. Her heart beat hard in her chest. The bright glow of her screen shone the placeholder background she hadn't gotten around to changing into anything burning itself into her eyes.
She opened the messaging app, hit Fauna's name and let the thing she feared in.
Hey Kronii!
Great to hear about the room, Sana would want it to be used :) Thanks for all the holiday messages and sorry for the late returns, I just happened into an area with cell service :3 I'm good, it's really beautiful here but I'm starting to miss conversing with people rather than animals and plants ^^ Hope you're doing well too and I hope the new roommate is too! I should still be back in April!
See you in a couple months!
Fauna
Kronii placed the phone down. She wasn't sure how the message had made her feel but she definitely didn't feel the need to re-read it.
"Of course she wasn't screening them." She whispered to herself. "I knew where she was going. Of course they have no cell service."
She might have laughed at herself but there was no need. Instead she just, sat. Her heart still thumping away, keeping her awake as her mind and body tried to wrap things up.
"Kronii?" A gentle voice called out through the room. "Why are you still awake? It's past 6am!"
Kronii turned to look at Mumei who was half dressed with a work blouse and PJ bottoms. Her hair was down, and the first light of the morning was dancing through her tawny locks. She opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.
Mumei approached, her face changing from a playful smile into an expression of concern Kronii hadn't seen before. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah," Kronii stammered out. "I uh, guess I lost track of time."
This did nothing to assuage Mumei's look of concern. "Kronii, I've only known you a week and a bit, but I know for a fact you don't just simply lose track of time." She placed a soft hand on Kronii's own. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Kronii felt herself tremble just a little under the touch of Mumei, she'd not been touched in even the smallest way for so long. "I'm maybe not okay." She admitted falteringly. "But really it's nothing that you need to bother yourself with."
"It's okay!" Mumei said, squeezing Kronii's hand encouragingly. "What are friends for?"
"Huh? Are we friends?" Kronii blinked.
"Are we not?" Mumei looked a little dejected.
"No no! Er, I mean yes. I-" Kronii stammered. "I just figured we haven't known each other long. So I didn't want to assume..."
"Well I haven't really known anyone very long so maybe it's different for me." Mumei joked. "But, yeah, I kind of just assumed we were already friends."
"Yeah, I suppose that's fair." Kronii responded, managing a smile.
"So, feel free to tell me anything!" Mumei declared, smiling earnestly.
"Well if you insist." Kronii replied. "But it's kind of a long story."
5 years ago, three girls stood at the precipice of a house that would soon become a home, each full of hope and brimming with excitement for the future.
"It's finally happened." One said, almost in disbelief. "To be honest there was a period where I didn't think we'd actually be able to do it."
"I never doubted we'd do it." Another said beaming. "The three of us are forces of nature, there's nothing that can stand in our way."
"You say that, but you were the biggest obstacle." The third said with a wry smile. "Most places we went to you just declared as wrong without much explanation."
"Faufau!!" The second exclaimed in protest.
"Certainly without any real explanation." The first chimed in. "If we had a dollar for every time you said a place 'just felt wrong' we'd have been able to put down the deposit with it."
"You too, Kronini?" The second gave an exaggerated pout. "I just wanted to be sure we were picking the right place. You're the biggest perfectionist I know, surely you understand?"
"Well," The first smiled. "Maybe I can yeah."
"All's well that ends well right?" The third said with a giggle.
"Right!" The second said, pulling her friends into a hug. "Let's get in already!"
2 years ago, three girls stood on the other side of the precipice. One stood in the centre, her hands balled in fists, her eyes on the brink of tears.
"You don't have to leave. We can stay here forever." She pleaded.
The second stood in the doorway, one hand resting on the doorknob, the other on the handle of a packed bag. She smiled. "Maybe you can stay here forever. But I have to take this job, Kronini. It's what I always dreamed of."
The third stood back, she wore a look of understanding, but the pain in her eyes was unmistakable. She said nothing, not because she had nothing to say, but that she knew it wouldn't matter.
"Wasn't this what we dreamed of?" The first said.
They all knew what this meant.
None of them knew what this meant to the others.
"This," The second said, voice trembling just a bit. "This has been some of the most fun I've ever had, I love you both..."
"But." The first said the word that lingered unspoken in the air. She sighed. "But you'd just chuck it all away."
The third stepped forwards and placed a hand on the shoulder of the first, who was now trembling. She still said nothing.
"It's fine." The first turned on her heel, putting her back to the second and turning away. "I guess I had the wrong idea."
When she eventually looked back, the second was gone.
6 months ago, two girls stood in the doorway once again. One stood where she had a year and a half earlier, her expression less mad, her heart just as hurt. The other now stood in the doorway as their friend had done on that day. It's echo casting a grim pall over the room and mood.
"It's only for a couple months." The one who was leaving said, reaching out to place a hand on the arm of the one who was staying. "I'll be back before you know it."
The one who was staying sighed, placing her own hand on that of the one who was leaving. "Yeah, I know. It's just..."
It's just too much like that day. The day their home became so emptier than just one third.
The one who was leaving understood this, she understood it in a way that nobody else did.
"Hey, Kronii." The one who was leaving said, making eye contact with her friend. "I am coming back, okay? This isn't like... It's not like back then. I promise you."
It was quiet for a moment. The two girls locked in silent eye contact.
"You promise?"
"I do."
The one who was staying pulled her last friend into a hug. "Then I'll hold you to it."
3 months ago, one girl stood alone at the precipice of her home. One arm holding groceries, the other fishing for keys, when, by sheer chance she felt her phone buzz.
A message lit up the lock screen, covering up a part of the picture of herself and Fauna that had been her background.
Hey Kronii, Sorry but I'm going to have to stay out here longer than expected. We're mak-
The preview cut off.
She didn't open it fully.
She felt herself tremble.
She felt the tears that welled in her eyes.
She felt the crushing feeling in her chest.
She felt the quiet in her home where there ought to be laughter and joy.
She didn't open that message for days.
She didn't want to see it.
She didn't want to understand what it said.
She didn't want Fauna's apologies.
She wanted her friends back.
In the present, two girls sit on a couch. One is curled up, as she has been for hours. The other holds her gently with one arm. With her other arm she holds a phone to her head.
"Thanks for understanding Ina-senpai. Sorry for leaving it all to you." She said, hanging up and, putting her phone to the side, placing her now free hand around her roommate.
"Are you sure you're okay calling in?"
"It's fine! Ina owes me a favour and even if she didn't, how could I leave you after hearing a story like that."
"Thank you, Mumei." Kronii said, resting her head on her friend's shoulder.