For Better or Worse

Nonononono!

Shit!

This wasn’t supposed to happen! My parents weren’t supposed to be back for another week!

“Dad,” I start to talk but he raises a hand abruptly to silence me.

Kyo was sitting up on his knees while I was sitting up clutching onto the bedsheets in fear, he scooted closer protectively. I looked over at my mother who was shocked and at my sister who looked worried.

“Who. Are. You?” Dad’s voice took a menacing turn.

My hand found its way into Kyo’s, he gently squeezed my hand in reassurance that everything would be okay, but I knew nothing was going to be okay.

“Dad,” I repeated and this time I got up and slowly walked towards him.

He looked down at me in pure rage, if there is one thing my Dad cares about more than anything is his reputation, I attempted to hold his hand but he pulled it away abruptly.

“Ichigo, you dishonour me.”

“We didn’t do anything,” I told him.

“I don’t care!” he yelled making me flinch back.

I felt a presence behind me and knew it was Kyo.

“And you,” Dad turned to Kyo, “What’s your name?”

“Sakurai Kyo,” he stated.

“Sakurai…?” Dad enunciated before turning towards me angrily, “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

“No,” I replied, bluntly.

“What do you mean, no? Why are you with him?” he asks.

“Because I love him,” I replied, gaining a bit of confidence.

Dad let out a bark of laughter, “Oh really?” he then turned to Kyo, “And what about you?”

“What about me?” he asked.

“Do you love, Ichigo?”

“More than life itself,” his reply made my heart flutter.

“Yeah right,” Dad laughed.

“May I ask, why that is hard to believe?”

“Because there is no way a guy like you would want to be with my daughter without some ulterior motive,” Dad pointed his finger accusingly.

Kyo chuckled, “Pray tell, Akabane-san. What ‘ulterior motive’ would I have?”

“Finding out about my business and using it for yourself,” Dad pointed out.

Kyo let out a laugh, “With all due respect, I don’t give a shit about your business I don’t give a damn about my father’s business either. I hate wine! But I do love your daughter, and that is a fact.”

“Love?” Dad laughed, humourlessly, “I know what boys like YOU are after.”

“I’m not after anything,” Kyo shrugged, “Is it a crime to love your daughter?”

“Oh, come on. Do you think I was born yesterday? You think you can come here with your flowers and your cocky attitude and think everyone is going to eat out of the palm of your hand? You might have fooled my daughter but you aren’t fooling me. A guy like you doesn’t date a girl like Ichigo, because he likes her,” he spat.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kyo took a daring step forward, I could feel the anger radiating off of him.

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I mean. Guys like you chase the pretty ones, not the nerds who focus on their studies and keep to themselves. Stay the hell away from her!” Dad yelled.

This time it was me who laughed, “Oh really? Since when do you care?”

“What?” Dad asked, confused, “I’m trying to protect you, that’s what Fathers do!”

I let out another humourless laugh, “Oh really? Okay, Dad if you want to go there then was all this protection when your friend sexually assaulted me? Weren’t your exact words ‘Suck it up because these things happen everywhere’? At that moment I was hoping maybe you would be there for me, maybe you would protect me, but nope unfortunately I was wrong.”

I shook my head and angrily wiped the tears that had unknowingly escaped my eyes, “You know what, Dad, a father is supposed to be a girl’s hero, but you? You were nothing but a disappointment.”

“Ichigo,” Dad warned.

“No, Dad this time I’m going to talk and you’re gonna listen. I spent the past 17 years trying to be the perfect daughter. I did whatever you told me to, without asking why. I went wherever you told me to, without asking why. And now that I’m finally happy, who the hell are you to ask me why?!” I sniffed before continuing again.

“Ichigo,” Kyo whispered.

“For the past 17 years, you never had any interest in my life so why now? Oh, because I’m dating your rival’s son? Well, guess what Dad, hell will freeze over before I leave him, so do whatever you want, because I’m not breaking up with him!” I made myself clear.

Dad looked livid, “How dare you!”

He raised his hand to hit me, I flinched back, heard my mother’s scream and covered my face in fear, but when I didn’t feel any pain, I opened my eyes to see Kyo holding Dad’s hand. His red eyes are even more red in anger and I could see the veins popping out of his arms and neck.

“If you touch a single hair on her head, yours’ will be on the ground next,” he threatened before pushing Dad back who quickly regained his footing.

Kyo exhaled sharply and ran a hand through his hair, “You know, I’m getting pretty tired of people assuming, Ichigo dating me is like her winning some sort of prize when it’s the other way around. And that’s exactly why I like her, unlike everyone else she doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not”

He looked towards both of my parents, “It’s a damn shame you and your wife can’t appreciate the incredible person you brought into this world for everything she is instead of what she isn’t, lucky for me I don’t have that problem.”

He then looked back at me and held my hand, “But, you’re right though, Akabane-san, Ichigo is all those things you said and then some, but that’s why I fell in love with her, and I’ll never leave her.”

“You’ll never leave her?” Dad repeated, rolling his eyes.

“Till death do us part,” Kyo smiled, looking into my eyes.

I smiled back and knew exactly what I needed to do.

“Let’s go,” I say while walking off.

“You leave this house and you’re dead to us,” I heard my Dad say.

“That’s fine with me,” I repeated, looking over my shoulder.

The two of us walked downstairs hand-in-hand, Yurie looked at me with a smile before coming over to us, “Take care of her, young man.”

“With my life,” Kyo replied to which Yurie smiled.

“I knew I had a good feeling about you,” she chuckled.

Kyo and I said our final goodbyes to her before we walked out of the house, thunder rolled overhead as we walked. the entire thing played over and over in my head. I fell to the ground as tears ran down my face.

“FUCK!” I yelled.

“Why did they do that? What did he gain from doing that? Doesn’t he care about me at all?” I asked Kyo, who had tears in his eyes.

I cried it all out and before I knew it, I was hyperventilating. It felt like everything was closing in on me, I felt claustrophobic, and before I knew it my legs gave away.

“Ichigo,” Kyo held me close.

I was finding it hard to breathe, my hands were shaking, and I felt hot and cold at the same time as well as dizzy.

“Ichigo, listen to me, we’re gonna breathe together, okay? Breathe in for me,”

I breathed in and held it for a few seconds.

“Good, now breathe out,”

I slowly let my breath go, we did that a few times before I calmed down. I know what happened, I’ve had panic attacks before.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his eyes held worry.

I nodded and wrapped my arms around his neck engulfing him in a hug, I let it all out all my pent-up frustration, sadness, everything. By now it had started pouring rain and the only thing that could be heard were my sobs and the thunder above us.

“Shh,” Kyo ran his fingers through my wet hair.

I placed my head on his chest as he held me close before he made a quick phone call, “Hey emergency can you come and pick us up?... Yeah, I’ll text you the address… and please hurry.”

“Who was that?” I asked.

“My brother, don’t worry okay,” he reassured me.

A few minutes later a car rolled up to us, and two people whom I recognised as Haruko-san and Aneko-san

“Let’s get you guys home,” Haruko-san told us as we piled inside the car.

Me and Aneko-san were at the back and Kyo was in the front with his brother, filling everyone in on everything.

“Fucking hell,” I heard his brother mumble.

“I know, and now we don’t know what to do,” Kyo ran his hand through his wet hair.

“Well for starters, you can stay for as long as you want, Ichigo,” Haruko-san told me

Aneko-san had her arm wrapped around me, “Shit! You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine,” I shivered.

“We’ll be home soon, Aneko there are a few blankets under the seat wrap one around Ichigo,” he instructed.

“T-thank you,” I shivered.

He had also turned the heater on so the car was soon warm, I saw Kyo shivering in the front seat and grabbed a blanket passing it to him. He looked at me worried before taking the blanket.

“Thank you,” he mouthed.

I smiled and turned my head so I was looking outside the window. I must’ve fallen asleep because I woke up to someone gently shaking my shoulder.

“Hmm,” I mumbled.

“Ichigo, we’re here,” Kyo told me as he opened the door.

I stepped outside but almost fell as my legs felt like jelly.

“Whoa!” Kyo held onto me.

“I’m sorry, I’m fine,” I told him.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded and wrapped the blanket tighter around me, Kyo also had a blanket wrapped around him. Aneko-san held onto me as support while we walked to the house, with Kyo and his brother walking in front of us.

We walked inside and saw that both Kyo’s parents were in the living room, they stood up and looked at us surprised before quickly walking towards us.

“What happened?” Kyo’s Dad asked.

“Let us come inside first, then we’ll tell you,” Haruko-san told them as we stood in the doorway.

“Come, Ichigo,” his Mum told me as she helped me inside, “She’s burning up.”

“I’m okay just a little cold,” I shivered.

“Aneko, please take Ichigo inside and Kyo you go as well, you both will catch your death if you stay here,” his Dad told us.

“T-thank you,” I smiled, weakly.

He nodded, smiling gently before turning to his eldest son who relayed everything that Kyo had told him, as we walked upstairs.

Maybe things will change for the good, maybe now I’ll be happy. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but one thing I do know is that I have the best boyfriend in the world.