CHAPTER 38: YOU WERE SO CLOSE, HOW DID I LOSE YOU? ╰⁠(⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠´⁠꒳⁠`⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠)⁠╯

They got off the elevator from the suite and stood at the hotel lobby entrance...

Rika turned to Sarah and Leo as they were quietly putting on their shoes by the door of the lobby. The morning was still and cold...

"I’ll drop you both off," she said, her voice cutting through the moment...

Leo shook his head without looking up from tying his laces. "No need. We’ll take a taxi or something."

Rika rolled her eyes upwards, her usual impatient energy returning. "I’m not coming with you, dummy. It’s just my driver. You’ll be more comfortable, and he can take you wherever you need to go. It’s easier."

Leo hesitated, straightening up. He didn’t want to feel indebted to her, not after everything. "Still..."

"It’s not a big deal," Rika insisted, her tone softening slightly. "Seriously. I’ll just tell him to stop wherever you want. It’s the least I can do."

Sarah looked at Leo, her expression pleading silently with him to just accept the offer. He let out a quiet sigh, the fight going out of him. He nodded. "Fine. But we’ll be getting off at the train station, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Rika said, waving her hand dismissively, though he could see the relief in her eyes. "Whatever makes you feel better."

They all headed out together, a small, somber procession walking through the hotel lobby...

The black SUV was already waiting outside the entrance. Rika’s driver stepped out and opened the back door for them without a word.

Leo helped Sarah into the back seat first, making sure she was settled comfortably before sitting beside her. Rika spoke briefly with the driver, giving him the address to the main train station.

Once everything was set, she leaned into the open window, her usual playful grin replaced by a look of genuine concern...

"Sarah, text me when you get there," she said, her eyes focused on Sarah.

Sarah nodded, managing a small, weak smile. "I will. Thanks, Rika. For everything."

Leo gave her a short and stiff nod. "Appreciate it."

Rika stepped back from the car, the driver pulled away from the hotel, leaving her standing on the curb...

Inside the car. The noise of the engine was the only sound for a while. Sarah leaned her head against the glass of the window, watching the city streets pass by in a blur...

Leo sat beside her, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes fixed straight ahead. The space between them felt both wide and incredibly small...

After a few minutes, Sarah spoke up, her voice soft. "Babe, I’m kinda nervous."

Leo looked at her, his expression unreadable. "You’ll be fine." His voice was flat, but she knew he was trying to be reassuring.

She didn’t say anything else, and he didn’t push her to. The ride continued in a silence that was calm on the surface but heavy with everything left unsaid by both of them...

After what felt like minutes, the car slowed to a stop in front of the bustling train station. Leo opened the door and stepped out first, the morning air cold against his skin.

He reached back in to help Sarah. She took his hand, her grip light but steady, and followed him onto the sidewalk...

The station was already alive with the movement of a city waking up... people dragging luggage on wheels, announcements echoing over the speakers in the station, the distant rumble of an arriving train...

The driver stayed in the car, his hands on the steering wheel. Leo turned back and looked at him, then at Sarah. "This is far enough," he said, his voice firm. "We’ll take it from here."

Sarah nodded. She glanced at the car, then gave a small wave to the driver through the window. He gave a polite, almost imperceptible nod back...

They walked into the train station, stepping onto the platform together, their luggage rolling slowly behind them. There wasn’t much to say...

They just moved forward, side by side, the silence between them now feeling more comfortable, more unified. Their train to Akihabara, the first leg of their journey to her parents’ house, would be leaving soon.

Leo glanced at the large clock on the wall. Sarah pulled out the tickets she’d booked on her phone. They scanned them at the gate and passed through into the waiting area.

Inside the train, they found their seats near a window. As soon as they sat down, the exhaustion of the last twenty-four hours seemed to hit Sarah all at once. She leaned her head gently against Leo’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t move. He just let her rest...

Outside, the last of the waiting passengers boarded, and the doors slid shut. Then, with a low hum, the train began to move, pulling away from the platform and into the orange and red morning light.

The city buildings slowly started to give way to stretches of green suburbs...

Sarah kept her head on Leo’s shoulder, her eyes half-closed. "You think they’ll be okay?" she asked softly.

Leo didn’t need to ask who she meant. "Yeah," he said, his voice low. "Rika’s a smart girl. And Himari... she’ll be okay too. Yuto’s not as useless as he pretends to be."

Sarah smiled a little. "You’re never nice to him."

"I was."

She chuckled softly; the laugh was a small comfort on the train. "Barely."

There was a pause, the kind that didn’t feel heavy anymore, just quiet and contemplative.

"I didn’t want to leave," Sarah murmured, her voice thick with regret.

"I know," Leo said. "Me neither."

She finally sat up a bit, turning to look out the window at the passing landscape. "It feels like everything changed so fast," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

"It did," he agreed. "And it was unexpected."

Sarah glanced at him, her expression serious. "Do you ever regret saying yes?"

Leo turned to meet her gaze, his own eyes unwavering. "To this trip? No. To you? Never."

Her lips pressed together in a thin line, and her eyes softened. She looked away, back out the window. "I’m scared, Leo."

"I know," he said again, his voice gentle. "But I’m with you."

Sarah hesitated, her voice quieter now, almost afraid to ask the question. "Please go easy on my parents."

Leo didn’t answer her right away. He stared ahead, his expression unreadable, his jaw tight.

She didn’t ask him anymore. Maybe she already knew the answer....

Outside the window, the city blurred past, different smears of color and light. The train sped on...