10

Chapter 10

"Okay... So Phichit wants you to come over later tonight for dinner and stuff." Mari repeated her brother's suggestion to Yuuri, as she grabbed a bowl of cereal from the cabinet above her head. She was currently sitting on the stool on top of her kitchen counter, eating her breakfast before going to school. The fact that she was sitting there eating cereal instead of listening to their dad, was a huge testament to how tired she was feeling that morning. The last couple of days had been a big mess, and she had barely slept at all last night. Not to mention the fact that she spent most of that day running around frantically looking for her boyfriend only for nothing to turn up. The only thing keeping her awake was the hope that Victor was still alive somewhere, waiting for her to come back and tell him that everything was fine and everything was just fine... She couldn't afford losing another fight with Victor over what she had found out. She just couldn't lose her temper anymore. They needed each other to pull through this together. Even if Yuuri didn't say it out loud, she knew he felt exactly the same way.

"I know," Yuuri mumbled quietly as he walked past his sister towards the stairs, hoping to avoid answering further questions. After yesterday's events, he wasn't sure he wanted to talk anymore either. All he wanted to do was sleep and forget everything about what happened. He still felt horrible and embarrassed about it, which was why he was trying to avoid being around anyone else as much as possible until he was fully ready to face everyone.

Mari sighed as she finished up her last bite of cereal before she set the empty bowl on the counter. "Please don't ignore me. There are things we both need to say to each other… And I want to help you sort this out between us too." She stood up from her seat, grabbing her backpack and following after her younger brother. "Please… I hate seeing you sad." She pleaded with him. She wanted him to stop feeling guilty about all this, if only because she knew he felt awful. "I know you're worried about him too. And even though I was surprised at first, and maybe a little hurt, I don't hate you either for what you said. I don't expect you to just immediately change because you apologized to me. And I don't want you to think that I expect you to completely forget about what happened. But it doesn't mean that I wouldn't accept any apology you make and it doesn't mean that I would never forgive you for what you've done."

"I'm sorry for putting you through all this… I'll try harder to remember that you'r just a child and that I have to treat you the same way I treat Vicchan whenever I see him."

"No… Don't you dare ever call me Vicchan ever again. If I had anything to say about it, you never will." Yuuri said sternly with a sigh. As soon as he had stopped thinking about Victor it was easier for him to think about how he was acting. How could he keep pushing the people around him away like he always did? Yuuri couldn't understand why Victor hadn't given up on him yet…

As Yuuri began walking upstairs to get ready for work he felt a light tug on his shirt as he passed the living room where he noticed a note that Victor had written to him. He picked it up and stared down at it curiously while he reached up to fix his hair as well. The piece of paper was folded in half and held loosely in his hand so that Yuuri couldn't read it unless he turned it over.

I'm sorry… for everything I said to you… I should have told you sooner about who I am.

Yuuri's face flushed red as he realized that the note Victor wrote was probably meant as an apology for snapping at him earlier in the morning and he suddenly regretted telling the truth to Victor so that he would finally admit that he liked Yuuri. He couldn'