Chapter 608 - Her Trauma (2)

Her grandmother. The crux of how she escaped went into that visit of hers.

It was supposed to be a short visit. To check on her granddaughter that her late son left behind.

That bastard stepfather of hers acted like a gentle and kind man upon seeing her. However, on the side, he threatened Serizawa-senpai that if she revealed something to her, he would start by killing her grandmother.

Naturally, she was frightened once more. But the chance came when the bastard had no choice but to give them some time alone.

Perhaps her gut feeling informed her that something was wrong with her previously cheerful granddaughter, so she talked to her about that stepfather of hers.

At first, she was worried for her grandmother so she flowered up her words to make him appear kind.

“Grandma caught my lie and noticed my trembling body. She checked my body and saw the bruises I still had at that time.” Serizawa-senpai continued with her story.

Considering the threats, she’s probably too afraid to even implicate her grandmother.

Nonetheless, from the way she told me what happened, her grandmother was quite a smart woman. She only needed to ask her a few questions to get the gist of what’s happening.

Serizawa-senpai being threatened and she worries about her mother’s well-being.

When that bastard stepfather returned, her grandmother acted nothing wrong. The pair of grandmother and granddaughter successfully fooled him.

As for what happened next, Serizawa-senpai simply had no idea.

But that night, her stepfather actually tried to molest her. No, not just molest... He’s about to take her by force.

As for what went through his head, Serizawa-senpai also had no idea. But that night firmly rooted her fear. Her fear of men. From the way she described it, what happened that night was still vivid in her mind.

His rough hands touched her sensitive areas. She was crying but she couldn’t ask for help. And all she heard was that man’s maniacal laugh talking about how he bided his time and how he couldn’t hold it anymore because her mother was being cold to him for the past few months. Furthermore, he’s finding it insulting that her mother allowed her grandmother to visit. He’s comparing himself to Serizawa-senpai’s late father.

However, before he could succeed in what he planned to do, Serizawa-senpai’s consciousness waned and before she lost it completely, she heard a loud thud.

When she opened her eyes that morning, her grandmother was sleeping next to her.

She was actually not informed of the actual steps her grandmother took to protect her. The next thing she knew, that bastard stepfather disappeared from their house and she was sent to a doctor and psychiatrist to check on her condition.

And a week after that, her grandmother brought her to this country with the blessing of her mother.

That was around five years ago.

Unfortunately, because of another accident, her grandmother died before she entered high school.

Her mother tried to take her back but, in the end, she refused. Serizawa-senpai admitted that wanted to forget everything that happened there as well as, she wanted to take care of her father and her grandmother’s tombstone.

That’s why her mother arranged for her place to stay resulting in her living alone.

But even if everything got resolved in the end, the trauma and the fear of men that lodged onto her heart never got resolved. Until I showed up before her.

Ah no.

Perhaps it’s not necessarily me. It just so happened that Haruko was the one she’s depending on these days. She had a sense of security with her. And with Haruko possibly marketing me to her, she got the courage to try it with me... and the result was this.

I became careful with her and showed her that I wouldn’t do anything to her

“I’m sorry that has to happen to you, senpai. And I also apologize for having you relive it in your memories again.”

“It’s alright. I d-decided to tell you my story by myself. With you, I-I can erase this fear and move past this trauma...”

“You’re so confident in me, senpai.”

“Y-you said it yourself. Are you lying?”

“No. Of course not. I’m just trying to make you flustered.”

I did that to clear the heavy atmosphere surrounding us. I then smiled and tightened my hold onto her.

And perhaps feeling the comfort I was bringing her, Serizawa-senpai did the same.

There were some things I wanted to ask her, like about her grandmother, her mother and her plans when she successfully got released from her fear. But let’s leave that for another day

At this moment, all I had to do was to reinforce the sense of security she’s feeling with me.

-

-

“Well then, senpai. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We already stood up from the bed and instead of circling outside to knock on the Poem Appreciation Club’s clubroom, I used their door here that led to that storage.

“T-thank you.” She answered. She’s still hugging me tightly and I was the same.

However, after a while, she reluctantly separated from me. It’s time for me to go after all. She’ll return to Haruko while I will meet Mina and perhaps Himeko beyond this door in front of us.

“Mhm... I decided to take care of senpai so expect to see my face every day from now on.”

“I... I’ll do my best not to be scared when you’re looking at me from afar.”

“Yes, you do that. And I’ll whittle away even for a bit all your fears whenever you use me as a hug pillow.” Instead of kissing her like earlier, I just endearingly patted her head.

Earlier, that was just my means to calm her down as well as to convey my decision to take care of her. She surely wouldn’t like it if I did it again just because. There’s a lot of time and even though I had already learned her story, I felt like I still had a lot of things I wanted to know about her.

Well, I decided to take care of her. After curing her fear then... I would then work towards making her fall for me.

With that, I watched Serizawa-senpai’s back as she returned to the soundproofed room before I opened the door.

Although surprised that I used this door to come in, Himeko pleasantly smiled seconds later. She stood up and unhesitatingly hugged me before inquiring why I appeared from there.

Mina, on the other hand, clicked her tongue as she stood up and went to her workspace where the teamaker was placed.

Nonetheless, she perked her ears when I began narrating why I was there.

And that produced another annoyed expression from Mina as she spat, “This shameless guy got his hands on Edelweiss-senpai. How hardworking can you be?”

Well, she’s not wrong. So, I just wryly smiled as I went to her side, trying to appease her for my tardiness.

Nonetheless, even when I was about to leave the clubroom after evaluating her tea, she remained annoyed and refused to kiss me despite allowing me to hold her ever since I went to her side.

As for Himeko, she’s having a good laugh watching our interaction. There’s no such thing as jealousy in her eyes and if I wasn’t wrong, she’s already used to this sight. Haruko used to flirt with all of them after all.

Well, I also already flirted with her before going to Mina so she’s already satisfied.

Nonetheless, perhaps to further tease Mina, Himeko went to my side and asked me to also give her the kiss that I was going to give Mina if the girl refused it.

I rode along with her play and pulled her to me, letting Mina watch us be intimate with each other.

By the time I left the clubroom, my bladder was about to burst again because Mina used the tea to pour her frustrations away, making me drink more than half the contents of the teapot.

That girl sure is cute. And let’s not forget Himeko.

Spending that time with them was truly blissful that it made me forget that I was late for nearly an hour to our club activity.

When I reached the Literature Club Room after relieving my bladder, Ishida-senpai’s narrowed eyes greeted me followed by Otsuka-senpai sticking her tongue out, Kana shaking her head and Rae smiling in defeat.

“... I’m at your mercy, Ishida-senpai.” I immediately bowed my head in apology.