chapter 85: pieces of a broken heart

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The following days blurred together for Kaori. The sun still rose and set, the clock still ticked relentlessly on, but everything felt distant, out of reach. The world outside her apartment window continued to spin, but Kaori stood still in the midst of it, unable to find her place. She felt like she was sinking, drowning in the weight of a heartbreak too deep to comprehend.

She had never truly understood the depth of grief until now. The empty space beside her on the bed, the hollow echo in her heart where Kaito's laughter used to be, it all gnawed at her. And even though the tears had slowed, even though her friend Yumi had been there, offering comfort and understanding, the silence was unbearable.

No matter how many times she told herself she would move on, that time would heal her, she couldn't seem to believe it. How could time heal something so profound? How could she move forward when everything she had known and believed in had shattered like glass beneath her feet?

Sitting by the window now, Kaori stared out at the city below. The streets were busy with people, their lives unfolding as though nothing had changed. And yet everything had changed for her. She wondered if anyone else felt the way she did—like she was adrift, lost in a sea of endless noise, a ship without a rudder.

The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. It was beautiful, in a way. But it also reminded her of the sunsets she and Kaito used to watch together. They would sit by the river, their hands brushing, their laughter mingling with the evening breeze. It felt like another lifetime. Another world.

What happened to us? she thought.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. She hesitated, a twinge of apprehension crawling through her chest. It had been days since she'd seen anyone outside of Yumi. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face the world yet.

But the knock came again, more insistent this time. Kaori pushed herself to her feet, wiping her hands on her jeans, and moved to the door. When she opened it, standing before her was someone she hadn't expected to see—Kaito's best friend, Haruto.

"Kaori…" Haruto's voice was soft, full of concern, but his eyes were guarded, as if he wasn't entirely sure how to approach her.

Kaori opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She had been bracing herself for this moment—she had known that eventually someone would come to check on her, to see how she was doing—but she hadn't known it would be Haruto. It felt like a betrayal, in a way. Haruto was Kaito's best friend, the one who had always been by his side. And yet here he was, standing in front of her as if everything were normal.

"Can I come in?" Haruto asked gently, his gaze flickering to the empty apartment behind her. "I... I want to talk."

Kaori didn't know if she was ready for this, but she stepped aside anyway, allowing him to enter. As Haruto crossed the threshold, a sense of coldness settled over her. The air felt heavy, as though everything that had been left unsaid was gathering between them, waiting to be addressed.

"Is it true?" Haruto asked, his voice barely above a whisper, but the words cut through the silence with brutal force. "What Kaito said… about you two breaking up?"

Kaori's throat tightened. She nodded, though it was hard to speak. Her heart ached all over again, the sharpness of the pain threatening to choke her. "Yes," she whispered. "It's true. We… we couldn't make it work."

Haruto's expression faltered for a brief moment, and Kaori saw the flash of something in his eyes—sadness, regret, maybe even guilt. But then it was gone, replaced by the careful neutrality that he always wore around her. "I never thought… I never imagined this could happen." He stepped forward, his hands shoved into his pockets. "You two were always so perfect for each other. I thought nothing could come between you."

Kaori closed her eyes, trying to steady herself. But the flood of emotions came crashing down, just like it always did when she was reminded of their past. "I thought so too," she murmured. "But sometimes, things just fall apart, no matter how hard you try to hold on."

She felt the weight of Haruto's gaze on her, and it made her want to shrink away. "Do you still love him?" he asked, his voice low, but the question was sharp, demanding an answer.

The question hung in the air, impossible to ignore. Kaori hesitated, her chest tightening as the truth settled heavily within her. "Yes," she whispered. "I still love him. I always will."

Haruto didn't say anything for a moment. He just stood there, looking at her with a mixture of sympathy and something else—something she couldn't quite place. "Then why?" His voice cracked slightly, and Kaori could hear the frustration building beneath the calm. "If you love him, why let him go?"

Kaori's hands clenched into fists at her sides. "It's not that simple, Haruto," she replied, her voice quivering. "We… we tried, but it wasn't enough. We hurt each other more than we realized. I couldn't keep pretending that everything was okay when it wasn't."

Haruto stepped closer, his eyes softening with a hint of understanding. "But love is messy. It's never easy. You can't just walk away from it because it's hard."

"I had to," she whispered, looking away, unable to meet his gaze any longer. "I had to, because staying would've been worse. For both of us."

There was a long silence as Haruto took in her words, his face unreadable. He seemed to weigh something in his mind before speaking again, this time with more conviction. "I don't know what happened between you two, Kaori. But I don't think Kaito would want you to suffer like this. If you love him, if he's still important to you, maybe there's a way to fix this. Maybe you don't have to be alone."

Kaori shook her head, her heart sinking with the hopelessness of it all. "It's too late. He's already gone." Her voice was barely a whisper, as if saying the words aloud would make it all the more real.

Haruto looked at her, his expression softening for just a moment, before he turned toward the door. "If you change your mind, if you ever need someone to talk to… you know where to find me."

With that, he left, the door closing softly behind him.

Kaori stood there for a long time, her mind racing with the weight of everything he had said. Maybe I don't have to be alone… But could she really fix something so broken? Could love, in all its messy, complicated glory, ever be enough to put the pieces back together?

For the first time in days, Kaori felt a flicker of something inside her—a small, fragile hope. But even that felt like it could slip away at any moment.

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End of Chapter 85.