SWNOVELXO Chapter 21
“Once again, it’s been a while, Meg, Yamamoto-kun.”
As we settled down in the living room, drinking the barley tea I had offered, Kasahara spoke up.
Indeed, it’s been a very long time since I last saw her. Facing each other like this, memories of high school seem to faintly resurface.
“Yeah, it’s been a while. Sorry for causing you to worry.”
“Really. You suddenly disappeared, and we couldn’t reach you. I tried to contact you every day.”
“I see. I’m sorry, my phone was broken.”
I had previously told Kasahara everything that had happened to Hayashi from the time she graduated high school until today. The story of domestic violence, the arrest of her boyfriend, everything.
So, I also told her that Hayashi’s phone was destroyed by her ex-boyfriend, but as soon as Kasahara heard the story, she grimaced a bit. She was probably empathizing with the painful experience her close friend went through. Well, of course. Even I, who was practically a stranger to her in high school, felt an incredible anger when I heard what had happened to her.
“Really, it would’ve been dangerous if I hadn’t met Yamamoto at that time.”
Hayashi, who seemed to have completely overcome it now, laughed with a slight touch of humor.
“Yeah. Yeah. …That was good. Thank you, Yamamoto-kun.”
“Well, I just… did what was obvious.”
“But really, I was surprised. Not just about the domestic violence, but the fact that you were hiding at Yamamoto-kun’s house afterward, I never thought of that.”
“The same here. She had nowhere else to go. Well, she probably didn’t like this small room, but it was the situation.”
With a complicated face, I looked down. Suddenly, I noticed the suspicious gaze of the girl next to me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I asked Hayashi the meaning of her gaze, but I couldn’t get a clear answer. Well, if she says it’s nothing, it’s probably not worth worrying about.
“So, what I’m most curious about is… Is there no longer any risk of Meg being a victim of domestic violence?”
“The guy was arrested, so it should be alright for a while.”
“A while… what do you mean?”
“It means that when he is released from police custody in the future, there’s no guarantee he won’t seek revenge.”
I shrugged and said calmly. At first, I thought Hayashi would be okay once the guy was arrested, but I don’t know if he would harbor resentment against Hayashi when he gets out of jail after some time has passed.
When I realized this, I told Hayashi about it. At that time, she had a slightly frightened look on her face.
The reason I told Kasahara about it here.
While part of it is because she asked about it, the main reason is to ask her to protect Hayashi as well.
“Poor Meg.”
“Hey, I’m not some weak woman, okay?”
“But, you didn’t fight back against your ex-boyfriend, did you?”
Kasahara, you’re hitting where it hurts.
The expansion of domestic violence is ultimately due to the victims encouraging the offenders. Of course, this doesn’t mean the victims are to blame. But they should have done their best to defend themselves. There are quite a few people who say such cruel things. Kasahara’s words were exactly that.
Hayashi was visibly upset.
Despite being a victim of domestic violence, she felt responsible for her ex-boyfriend’s arrest. Having those feelings brought up again must have been tough for her.
“Enough with that, Kasahara.”
I warned her, sensing the atmosphere had grown heavy.
Kasahara looked slightly taken aback, but then nodded.
“Sorry, Meg. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know,” Hayashi muttered, her gaze downward. The smile she had worn earlier had completely faded.
Seeing her like this, I felt a pang of regret. Maybe it wasn’t the right choice to bring Kasahara here after all.
“But,” Kasahara started again, this time her tone more gentle. “We’re here for you, Meg. Whatever happens, you’re not alone anymore. Remember that.”
Hayashi looked up at her, eyes glistening. She nodded, managing to smile a little. “Thank you.”
Looking at them, I realized that no matter how much I tried to protect Hayashi, there were things only a close friend like Kasahara could do. A burden shared is a burden halved, as they say.
At that moment, I felt a strange sense of relief. Despite the harsh realities we were facing, maybe we could really overcome this. Together.
“Yeah. I’m sorry, Meg. I didn’t mean to tease you.”
“…Then don’t say such cruel things.”
“But if I don’t say them, you might end up in the same situation again, right? You’re so kind, Meg. Sometimes you need to harden your heart and protect yourself.”
Neither Kasahara nor I can protect Hayashi all the time, everywhere. Kasahara already has a past where she couldn’t protect Hayashi, and as for me, from Hayashi’s perspective, who has a wide circle of friends, I’m barely a blip on her radar.
That’s why Kasahara said that Hayashi should learn to protect herself, because she can’t always rely on us.
The only surprising comment was… perhaps that Kasahara called Hayashi kind. I don’t want to deny that Hayashi is a kind woman.
However, knowing her from high school, I’d never thought of her as kind. Perhaps because she had seen her up close, Kasahara was able to perceive Hayashi’s kindness.
I wonder how many of her friends from high school were able to perceive her kindness. It’s impossible to know now, but I have a feeling that it was only a few.
“I’m getting hungry. Should we go eat?”
“I’m good. I’ll cook.”
“Eh, you can cook, Meg?”
“Totally. Yamamoto’s cooking is rather rough around the edges.”
“…Well, it just happened that way.”
“Hee. I want to eat, I want to eat.”
“…Ah, but there’s almost nothing in the fridge.”
“Then let’s go shopping.”
“Shall we?”
“There’s a man here, I’ll go too.”
I got up, following the two girls who had just risen from their seats.
At that moment, I noticed Hayashi giving me a strange look again.
“What is it?”
“…Nothing.”
Hayashi turned away from me with a huff. I wonder what that was about. I have no idea. However, we soon left the room to go shopping, the three of us together.