CIRCLE - Chapter 10

 CIRCLE

Chapter 10


I sit on the bed in Eri’s room. Koharu is sitting next to me and Eri is lying on the bed crying.
“Eri, what happened between you and her?”
She keeps crying.
“She told a lie about it, right?”
“No… it’s not a lie… but it’s not the truth, too!” She cries out.
“So what happened?”
She keeps quiet for a while. But finally she breaks the silence.
“It happened a few days after the day I broke up with you…” She dries her tears. “That time… I was really in a bad mood… I didn’t want to hurt you, but I really hurt you. I felt so bad about that…”
“I know…” I hold her hands.
“That night she came to my room and asked me for it. I was not in the mood to do that you know?? I told her that I had just broken up with you, and I felt bad because it was like that I betrayed you… But she ignored me. I couldn’t enjoy it, you know? And I finally cried!”


I lean to hug her.
“I see, Eri. It’s just a misunderstanding… She’ll comeback to you soon… Don’t worry.”
She cries on my shoulder.
“No, Sayu. I had explanted to her many times, but she didn’t trust me! What should I do now? I don’t know what to do… She means everything to me. I can’t stand seeing her being with another…”
“You should have told me about this earlier… Why do you always hide your feeling? I’m your friend. Everyone is your friends, too. Don’t keep smile when you really want to cry, Eri…”
She holds me more tightly.
“Sayu… I think… I can’t sing anymore…
“DON’T SAY THAT! Everything will be ok soon. I’ll help you. I’ll talk to Reina.”
“What should I do now… Sayu… Please don’t leave me alone…”
“I won’t. I’m here with you.” I stroke her hair gently to calm her down.

Suddenly, she bows her head and put her hand around her neck.
“What’s wrong? Eri?”
“It’s so hard…”
“Eri?”
“So hard… to breathe…” she says weakly with her tearing voice. “I can’t… breathe…Sayu….”


“What’s wrong with you Eri? Are you in pain?” I feel so scared. It’s like that she is having difficulty with breath.
“KOHARU-CHAN! CALL AI-CHAN AND GAKI-SAN!”

Koharu quickly open the door and run away. I hold Eri in my arms. I try to stroke her back and calm her down, but it can’t be helped. She breathes heavily. Her tears can’t stop dropping.
“Eri… how do you feel?...” My eyes begin to tear, too.
She just holds me tightly without saying a word. It’s like that she doesn’t have ability to talk now.

“What’s wrong with Eri?” I see Ai-chan, Gaki-san and Koharu running to us.
“She can’t breathe…” I cry out. “What should we do now?..”
“Call an ambulance, Koharu!!!” Ai-chan yells.
“No, don’t call anyone.”
Ai-chan looks dazedly at her girl friend.
“Maybe it’s excess breath.”
“Excess breath? What the hell is it?” I scream out.
“She needs CO2, Sayu”
“CO2?”
I really don’t understand anything.
“Koharu, go to find a paper bag.”
Koharu nods quickly and leaves. I gaze at Gaki-san.
“Gaki-san, what’s wrong with her?”
“She must be very tense… don’t worry too much, Sayu. This will not make her die. She’s hurt very much, but this cannot make her die.”

I hug Eri. It’s like that she’s going to die now. What should I do? I’m her best friends and now when she’s hurt I can’t do anything for her?
“You said she needs CO2, right?”
Gaki-san looks at me with surprise.
“Yes… she’s hurt because she breathed too much Oxy”
“What we breathe out is CO2, right?”
“Sayu…” The two older girls look at me dazedly.
“Call Reina to come here, please!!” I scream out.
“No… Sayu…please don’t call her…” Eri catches my hand. She looks so tired.
“But only she can help you now!!”
“No… Please don’t….”

What should I do? How can I help her? I must help her. No matter what, I must help her to get rid of the pain!

I put my hand to cover her nose. I lean to cover her mouth with mine. I blow to her mouth. Then I break the kiss to breath and do it again and again.

Koharu suddenly returns.
“Sorry I can’t find any…”
She stops saying when seeing the scene.
“It’s OK, Koharu-chan. You needn’t find it anymore.” Gaki-san says to Koharu. “Sayu is helping her. Eri will be ok soon.”

A few minutes later, Eri seems to feel better. She can breathe now. I stop and embrace her to calm her down. She’s still crying. I know how much she loves Reina. That Reina dates with Jun must hurt her a lot.
“Everything is ok now. You two can return your room. I’ll look after her.” I say to Ai-chan and Gaki-san. They nod and leave the room after saying goodbye to me.
When Eri seems to stop crying, I let her lie down on the bed and cover her with a blanket.
“Koharu-chan, I’m sorry. I think tonight I have to stay with her…”
“I know. You needn’t worry about that.”
“You can go to my room to sleep.” I take the key from my bag and give it to Koharu.
“Thanks…”

I follow her to the door. When we get out of the room, I close the door and turn to look at her. She looks at me hesitatingly.
“Ano…”
“What’s wrong, Koharu-chan?”
“Can I ask a question??”
“Of course.”
“If… if Kamei-san still has feeling for you… And… If Kamei-san and Tanaka-san break up… What should I do…?”
I smile and come to embrace her.
“Baka”
I put both my arms around her waist.
“You don’t have to do anything, Koharu-chan. Because I’ll never let them break up. I’ll keep supporting them until Reina comebacks to Eri.”
She says nothing at all.
“You don’t have to worry… Eri is just my friend now. I only help her. I’ll never fall in love with her again.”
“I know.”
She smiles and gives me a quick kiss.
“Oyasumi.”
“Oyasumi.”
I stand to see her leaving for a few seconds before turning back to open the door and come in.


Koharu-chan,
Because I always look everything through colors of pink spectacles
So I didn’t realize that your smile is just a fake one.
I didn’t notice that you stopped walking and turned back to look at me at that moment.