My Childhood Friend Who is My Girlfriend was Stolen by My Best Friend. From Now on, I'll Flirt with My Ex-Best Friend's Little Sister! - Chapter 43

Childhood Friend’s Comeuppance (4)

“I’m going home…”

Seeing the sudden change in my childhood friend, Sasaki says so as she stands up from his seat.

To be honest, things have gone exactly as I intended.

Sasaki has misjudged my childhood friend and completely believed her.

Showing Sasaki who she truly is and putting the distance between them—that is the main reason I brought Sasaki here.

I didn’t expect it to go this smoothly, but it has been a pleasant surprise.

With a complicated expression of disappointed and sad, Sasaki picks up his things and leaves the living room.

My childhood friend is in a complete daze, she doesn’t have the strength to stop Sasaki from leaving.

“Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing.”

When I bow my head, Sasaki does the same in return.

Sasaki has nothing to do with this situation. He just simply got caught in the mess between us.

If I had handled things more calmly, I probably wouldn’t have dragged Sasaki into all of this mess. I feel guilty, but for now, I should push that feeling aside.

Once Sasaki leaves the living room, it’s just me and my childhood friend left.

She sits on the floor, lowers her gaze to the floor, and mutters in a barely audible voice.

“Haha…everything I do just keeps backfiring on me…”

That’s not quite right. She’s only doing things that are bound to backfire.

I let out a sigh and head towards the living room door.

“…where are you going?”

Just as I’m about to leave the living room, my childhood friend turns to look at me.

I don’t owe her an answer, but…I decided to tell her anyway.

“Your room. I told you— I’m going to get rid of every memory we have together.”

“…stop! Don’t do that! And, besides, going into someone’s room without permission—”

“That’s rich coming from you. You think you’re in any position to complain after stealing a spare key and breaking into my house?”

“…but please, don’t throw them away! They are really important to me!”

With tears streaming down her face, my childhood friend pleads with me.

However, I have no intention of stopping.

I turn around and head towards her room without hesitation.

I’ve said everything I wanted to say. Now it’s time to take action.

As I climb the stairs, I hear my childhood friend’s footsteps following close behind.

“W-Wait! Please, I’m begging you!”

She is desperately trying to stop me.

But I’m not listening. Right at the top of the stairs is her room.

I turn the doorknob and step inside.

It looks like a typical girl’s room, with a bed, closet, desk, and bookshelf.

I glance around, searching for anything connected to me.

I spot it almost immediately—a box with the name ‘Toshi-kun’ written on it in large letters.

“So, this is where everything’s kept. Guess I don’t have to search too hard.”

“…n-no, don’t! Those things are really important to me.”

She tugs at my sleeve.

Her eyes are swollen and red. Her long black hair, reaching down to her waist, brushes against the back of my hand.

“I don’t care. To me, it’s just a nuisance.”

“Y-You see…I thought that by putting everything related to you into that box, I’d be able to move on. If I kept them out where I could see them, I’d just cling to them…”

“Then it’s better to throw it away, don’t you think? Besides, I think it’s weird that you put the box in such a visible place.”

“Yeah, I suppose so…but having it nearby makes me feel calm…anyway, I just need it, okay? Please, don’t throw it away!”

“That makes no sense to me. I’m getting rid of it. Don’t try to argue.”

As I brush my childhood off coldly, even more tears well up in her eyes.

Then, she lowers her head and continues,

“If you throw away our memories too, then…there really won’t be any connection left between us, Toshi-kun.”

“That’s the point. It ends today.”

“N-no…I don’t want that! Please, think again! I’ll do everything you say, Toshi-kun! I just want to stay by your side! I can’t do anything without you. Walking behind you is where I belong. If you’re not here, I won’t know where to go!”

“Enough already. You’re so persistent!”

I shake my childhood friend who is clinging to me. In my sudden reaction, the box I’m holding hit the floor, and its contents scattered everywhere.

What comes out of the box are a bunch of photos of me. There are also some random things I gave her when we were in elementary school. Then, there are some presents I gave her for her birthday.

My childhood friend sits down and picks up one of the photos that have fallen on the floor.

“Look, Toshi-kun…this one is from our middle school field trip. I bought it because it has both of us in it. I bought two copies, just in case one got lost.”

It’s a photo taken by a professional photographer. In it, both my childhood friend and I are smiling and making peace signs. It is indeed from our middle school field trip, but it’s the kind of photo that you can take anywhere.

“And this one…I took it myself using my smartphone during the recent sports festival. I printed it out to make sure I’d have it even if I lost the digital copy.”

It’s a photo of me running. I didn’t know she took that photo.

“This one is…”

“I don’t care. Don’t just start reminiscing by yourself.”

She keeps picking up one photo after another, trying to reminisce the memories of the past.

I take the photos from her and without hesitation—tear them up.

“……”

My childhood friend is not saying anything, but tears start to stream down her cheeks.

Unlike the uncontrollable crying from earlier, this time her tears trace a quiet line down her face.

After a brief silence, she kneels down and bows her head deeply towards me.

“I was wrong all this time. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. I won’t cling to you anymore, Toshi-kun. Please, just don’t throw this away. It’s really important to me…”

Seeing her like this, I feel pain deep within my heart. I don’t want to see her like this as well.

However, I have made up my mind. No more half-hearted actions.

“How can I believe you? In the end, after some time passes, you’ll change your mind again. The fact that you’re clinging to memories with me is the same as being obsessed. It’s better for you if there are no things related to me around you.”

I have made my decision.

Today, I will sever all ties with my childhood friend.