Akane slowly opens her eyes; the light of the setting sun shining at her is enough for her to shut them again. Moments later, after turning her head a bit, she opens them again.
She finds herself neatly tucked into her bed, her scrawny and destroyed-looking clothes replaced by her purple nightgown.
She slowly sits up as she tries to remember what happened. But it's no use, the entire last night is a blur, only fragments remaining. But one thing she knows for certain, her head feels like it's about to explode.
She grabs her phone off the nightstand; the display shows 100% charge. Then, she sees the clock. Her face turns pale as her mission comes back to her mind — find Aqua.
"4:37 pm," Akane mutters in disbelief as she realizes that she just slept for over 12 crucial hours. Her hands start to shake as she puts her phone back down.
"That's not good at all." Akane finally gets up out of her bed. Her knees still hurt, just not as badly as they did yesterday. "I slept like a rock."
She takes a few steps towards her door, just when she is about to reach for the handle, she hears a voice from the other end of her room. "I thought you'd never wake up." The voice is soft with a hint of sadness.
Akane snaps around, goosebumps forming on her entire body. On her office chair, face slightly dipped in shadows, is her mother. She was silently watching over Akane for god knows how long.
"I took the liberty to get you out of these ripped and dirty clothes." The voice of her mother sounds cold — or maybe she's just doing her best to make it seem like that.
"Mom?" Akane sounds like a child who was just caught stealing from their parents, this, alongside a hint of confusion. "Why are you here?"
Akane hesitates for a moment. Then she pulls her hand away from the doorknob and sits down on her bed. Her mother does the same, sitting down on the other side of Akane's queen-sized bed.
"I am keeping an eye on you, waiting for you to wake up. I have a lot of questions. Starting with why the hell you're tumbling through the house in the dead of night, making it sound like someone is robbing our house," her mother says.
Akane's heart skips a beat. She can feel the stare of her mother bore into the back of her head, making her sweat profusely. "I- I was drunk," she stutters out. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now," She adds while hurriedly standing up and grabbing her phone, while her other hand already darts towards the doorknob again.
"LIAR!" her mother shouts. Akane freezes in place with the door of her room half open.
"You didn't smell like alcohol when I found you… You also didn't smell like alcohol when I got you out of your dirty clothes… You also didn't smell like alcohol when I cleaned you… And you also didn't smell like alcohol when your dad and I carried you to bed."
Akane is still standing in her doorway, just as unmoving as before, maybe even more so.
"So tell me the truth, Akane." Her voice is quieter again. "What is going on with you?"
Akane shuts her door again. But she continues to stand, completely still, while her heart is beating all the way up in her ears. "You're right. I wasn't drunk, just tired. But for now, I have slept enough." She tries to sound optimistic, but her body language is telling a completely different story. Her mom only sees her back, but Akane has her arms wrapped around her chest. Also, unless she is mistaken, she thinks she can see her daughter shake a bit.
"Akane…" Her mother's voice cracks slightly. "I know you were tired. But the question is, why were you this tired to begin with?"
The room stays quiet for a long moment. Sweat begins to form on Akane's forehead as she continues to face her wall. "I- I- Uh- Uhm- Uh- I-" She sighs, even she is unable to come up with an argument for it. "Aqua… you remember him, right? He needs help, a lot of it. And I am the only person who can help him."
"Aqua? That boy again? He seems to be a real pain. Why do you even keep up with his shenanigans?"
Akane's eyes fill with disbelief, and her gut feels like she was just punched. "Keep up with his shenanigans?… Do you even know what he did for me? He would die if I didn't help him… God damn it, Mom, I love him. I can't jus-" Akane freezes as she feels her mom wrap her arms around her from behind.
"It was hard for you, wasn't it?" Akane's mom whispers into her ear.
"You have no idea," Akane quietly admits. Her mom's embrace makes her feel a sense of comfort, which she really needed. It makes her feel appreciated for all the hardship she went through in the past weeks.
"And how much do you love this guy?" Her mom's voice is quiet yet gentle as she keeps pressing Akane for more information. But Akane doesn't mind; instead, she melts into the hug even more before responding.
"Really much…" She trails off, thinking about Aqua, about his smile. Asking herself if it ever was a genuine smile, or always just an act. "But it's not only because he saved me… It was that at first, but it's not anymore. Over the past months, I've found out so much about him… Stuff he wanted to keep a secret… Time on time again, he helped his friends. He did it even when it hurt him; he never even took any credit for it… And now that he needs help… None of them are there for him… It's just so sad."
Her mother embraces her even tighter. Even she starts to feel bad for Aqua as she listens to her daughter's words. "So you want to see him happy… The only question that remains is. Do you want to see him happy, or do you want him to be happy with you?"
She knows that she hit the mark when she feels her daughter's heartbeat increase.
The room stays silent for a while. Then Akane speaks, her voice determined. "I want for him to be happy, even if that happiness is without me…" She takes a small break. When he continues, her voice is quieter. "But it would also make me sad, really sad. I want to be with him when he's finally happy… I want to share that moment with him… I want it more than anything else."
Akane's mom tightens her hold around her daughter for a moment, taking in all her warmth before letting go of her. "Then go and help him… And don't forget, I want at least one boy and one gi-"
Akane interrupts her mom, raising her hands in front of her bright red face. "Mom! Stop it…" The room falls quiet for a moment before Akane lowers her hands again, her cheeks already starting to turn pale again. "... But thanks."