My Ex-Girlfriend’s Sister Ran Away to My Room, and We Can’t Stop Making Mistakes. - Chapter 33: Umbrella.

Umbrella.

Vanilla didn’t say anything for a while after I finished talking. Her cigarette had grown incredibly short, and the filter was just beginning to sizzle and char.

“What happened after that?” she asked.

“Right after that, Ayumu dropped out of high school.”

I wasn’t able to attend her father’s funeral. I wasn’t able to see Ayumu, either. Even when I reached out to her, I never got a reply. Eventually, the pain became too much, and I stopped trying to contact her altogether.

I simply no longer knew what words I was supposed to say to her.

“It was quite a while after that when I heard she was getting married.”

“To who?”

“Someone about twenty years older than us. I don’t know his name. But out of nowhere, a foreign luxury car started parking outside her house. It was a rare sight around there.”

At first, I thought it was her mother’s new husband.

But rumors quickly spread through the neighborhood that it was something else entirely.

“Apparently, he was the owner of the place where Ayumu worked her part-time job. Though, I didn’t even know she had been working.”

“And so she got married at eighteen or so?”

“In exchange, the debts her father left behind were wiped clean. And the house that was supposed to be sold off remained theirs.”

“So, people looked at her like she was only after the money.”

“That’s what everyone whispered. That she did it for the money.”

Ayumu’s marriage saved their home. That was an undeniable fact.

“But honestly, I don’t even care about that. That man did what I couldn’t do.”

I told her we should run away, but I failed to take her away. I couldn’t hold onto her hand and pull her through to the end. I ended up coming back halfway.

I caused her to lose everything. And I couldn’t give her a single thing in return.

“It was so frustrating and pathetic… it reached a point where it just hurt too much to look at her. I was the one who stripped her of everything, yet I couldn’t do a damn thing for her.”

I couldn’t stand the rumors flying around either. People condemned her for marrying a man that old; they gossiped behind her back about it being a marriage for money.

When none of them knew a single thing about what Ayumu had gone through.

“But I couldn’t defend her, I couldn’t support her, I couldn’t take responsibility, I couldn’t bless her… and I couldn’t even tell her that I hated the idea of it. I just ran away. That was the only thing I was capable of doing.”

“Yeah.”

“And even now, I keep making the excuse that I couldn’t. It’s not that I couldn’t. It’s just that I didn’t even try to.”

Vanilla nodded silently. Keeping her hands shoved deep into her pockets, she exhaled a breath of white mist into the air.

“That’s everything.”

When I actually put it into words, it felt like such a petty, insignificant story. There must have been countless ways I could have handled it. In the end, I did nothing.

I just ran away, and I kept running.

“And yet… I still can’t let her go.”

“So you finally admit it.”

“Yeah, I admit it now. I’m still in love with Ayumu.”

Ever since the day I took her hand and told her to run away with me. No, since long before that. There hadn’t been a single day where I forgot about her.

The fact that I wanted to make her happy was real.

“Maybe it was worth it just to finally realize that much.”

When I said that, Vanilla stood up and looked up at the state of the rainclouds. No matter how far you looked, the sky was completely blanketed in grey.

“The rain doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.”

“Yeah. The forecast said it’s going to pour straight through the night.”

Lowering her gaze, she seemed to fall deep into thought. Then, turning back to face me, Vanilla spoke with deliberate slowness.

“Hey. Saki-kun, do you want to try dating me?”

“Huh?”

“Want to be together with me?”

My mind went completely blank. It took my brain a moment to process what she was even saying to me.

Vanilla stared at me, her gaze unwavering.

“Why…? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

“No real reason. I just thought it might be nice.”

“Might be nice…?”

“I mean, Ayumu-chan is a married woman, right? And when you’re around Mii-chan, it just forces you to remember Ayumu-chan. You’re completely stuck in a dead end. So, why not with me?”

“That’s not… there’s no real reason in that.”

“A reason?”

“A reason for you to date me, Vanilla-san.”

She tilted her head, then slowly stepped closer to me.

Droplets of water trickled from the ends of her hair, quietly dampening the collar of her shirt.

“Do you really need a reason to be with someone?”

Standing right in front of me, she pushed herself up onto her tiptoes. She brought her face close, her lips drawing near. A smooth, slender hand brushed against my cheek. In an instant, my vision and sense of smell were completely overwhelmed.

But her lips pressed against my forehead.

“You’re exactly the same as when I first saw you.”

Her hand pulled away.

“Just like a soaking-wet, abandoned kitten,” she whispered in a quiet, serene voice. “See? You don’t need a reason.”

“Are you mocking me?”

“I’m comforting you. Because you look so incredibly pitiful.”

“Pitiful…?”

“You are. Because you’ve been wearing that agonizing expression this entire time. I think I can understand, in a way, why Mii-chan collapsed.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she spun gracefully on her heel.

“And on that note, I’m heading home.”

“Wait, it’s pouring out there. An umbrella… should I go borrow one for you?”

“No need. My place is close by.”

She stepped right out, exposing her body to the heavy downpour. From her head down to the tips of her shoes, she gradually became drenched. Without seeming to care in the slightest, she continued speaking.

“Give the umbrella to someone who actually needs it.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“For example, well…”

Vanilla cast her gaze toward the hospital windows.

“…Someone like Mii-chan.”

“I don’t have a single thing I can give to her.”

“Why don’t you just tell her how you really feel? Professionally, honestly.”

She patted the pocket of her coat a couple of times.

“Give Mii-chan my best. Make sure you tell her what needs to be said. And if you ever find yourself in trouble, call me. Promise me.”

Looking down at my own pants pocket, I realized her LINE ID had been slipped inside.

My forehead, where her lips had just touched, felt cool and wet from the rainwater. Deep in my nose, the lingering scent of Marlboros continued to smolder.