CH 37

After dinner, I expected Mom to ask me a lot of questions, but Dad said that everyone must be tired today, so we decided to spend our time on our own.

I was reading a manga in my room for the first time in a while. The latest issue was not out yet, and I wanted to read the rest of the manga as soon as possible.

However, even though I was in a hurry, no manga would appear, so I picked up a different manga, and then someone knocked on my door.

“It’s open”

“Excuse me.”

She opened the door and walked in, however, hugging a cushion, her body trembling, and with eyes that looked as if she was about to cry, she walked into my room.

I couldn’t help but stare at the sight of Kaede.

“For now… sit down.”

“Yes…”

Saying so, Kaede sat upright on the floor. I thought she could have just sat on the bed, but the look on her face told me she wasn’t interested in that right now.

“What happened?”

“Just now…I was watching a movie in Hina-chan’s room…”

What kind of movie?

“I-it had ghosts and stuff….”

A horror movie huh, I didn’t have to think twice why she knocked on my door and came in with tears in her eyes.

“You got scared”

When I said that, the cute Angel nodded her head.

“What? But you were watching it with Hina, right?’

“Hina-chan fell asleep about 10 minutes after the start, and I couldn’t sleep…”

“Ah, so that’s what happened.”

At that moment, I dropped something from my desk with a clatter, and when Kaede heard the sound, she screamed, “Hyah!” but it was a very cute scream.

When I looked at Kaede in such a way, she became a little grumpy and said,

“Why are you laughing, don’t tell me you think it’s funny to see me scared?”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way…”

I did think it was cute, but I didn’t realize it showed on my face, and I was embarrassed that Kaede, of all people, pointed it out to me.

“Um…if you don’t mind, would you please stay with me?”

“Do you think I would refuse?”

“I don’t think Ren-kun will say no, he’s so sweet.”

“….I took a nap, so I’m not too sleepy, so let’s talk until you get sleepy, shall we?”

Kaede’s expression, which had been so sullen a moment ago, suddenly glowed with a sparkle.

“Okay then, please… I’ll do it.”

She was hugging the cushion tightly and her cheeks were blushing.

I think she really was prettier than any other woman. I wonder if this was what love was all about, but I was still unsure of myself, and I was afraid that I would repeat the same thing I did in the past.

I thought that unless I overcame this trauma, there was no way I could tell Kaede how I felt about her.

As I was thinking about whether it would be better to talk about my past, Kaede gently placed her hand on my hand.

“Kaede….?”

“If there is anything I can do for you, please let me know, okay?”

Kaede said, looking straight into my eyes.

I took a deep breath and exhaled. My lips quivered a little.

“This is me talking to myself, so don’t worry about it.”

Saying this, I told someone about my past trauma for the first time outside of my family. Kaede just listened in silence.

I told her about my ex-girlfriend, my best friend, and everyone in my class, and just when I thought I was feeling a little better, I heard a sniffing sound next to me, and when I looked at Kaede, I saw that she had tears streaming down her beautiful eyes.

Startled, I involuntarily hit my knee as hard as I could on the desk as I stood up.

As I was writhing in pain, Kaede pulled my face to her chest. At that moment, I felt the softness of her b*****s and smelled a nice aroma.

“W-What are you doing!”

“I’m sorry it was so hard for you…”

When she said that, I couldn’t say anything. I was really in pain, and I wanted someone to save me. I wanted someone to tell me that it was not my fault and that I was not the bad person.

“….”

“Thank you so much for telling me.”

Kaede then hugged me tightly. But there was no pain at all, on the contrary, the softness of her chest felt good.

“It’s been hard until now…but it’ll be much easier from now on…”

I really am no match for Kaede. Maybe I have been changing since the we first met.

I intended to comfort Kaede who was scared, but on the contrary, she comforted me.

After that, Kaede, who had cried my share, fell asleep on my bed soon after, perhaps tired after crying.

(The bed… and it’s taken…)

Even though I was a man, I was very grateful to Kaede, even though I wondered if it was okay for me to be so defenseless.

Slowly, I closed the door to my room so as not to wake Kaede, and headed downstairs to get a drink, and saw my father, Yusuke, sitting in the living room.

“Ren, it’s been a long time, why don’t we have a little father-son talk?”

“What? I don’t mind.”

With that, I sat down across from him.