"Bang!"
The words hit the floor with a sound.
Accompanied by Sophie’s nearly hysterical scream, it was like a tearing roar.
The water glass on the table was knocked over, shattering into glittering fragnts, leaving wet stains behind.
But after such a loud crash, the room fell into a profound silence.
Sophie knew this was a rare, even unprecedented, display of emotion from her.
It was almost as if she was screaming her lungs out, hysterical.
As if her emotions had collapsed in an instant, completely out of control.
It was an emotion she herself couldn’t manage.
She really didn’t know why, just by seeing this boy, her emotions would fluctuate so visibly, many of which were negative.
Yet the problem was, all these negative emotions couldn’t stop them from eting again and again, deepening their relationship each ti.
Those feelings of disgust, dislike, anger.
It seed they couldn’t outweigh the monts that made her smile, the monts her heart raced.
This... perhaps was the crux of the issue.
It was a territory she was temporarily unable to touch, unable to grasp.
In this mont, it seed everything shattered—the days of not speaking, maintaining silence, the cold treatnt, the pressure and gloom, as if all were venting out now.
Not just Sophie’s scream, but also the breaking of the glass.
Sam looked at her.
"Don’t move."
Sophie just stared at Sam, who quickly grabbed so paper towels and a trash bin, then picked up the larger pieces.
He then swept up the smaller fragnts with a broom.
The final step was using a mop.
To clean up those tiny, but equally sharp fragnts, and the water stains.
Sophie of course understood what Sam was doing, but what she didn’t understand was why he was doing it.
Was this his way of showing concern that she might get hurt?
Why choose to do this now?
Sophie didn’t understand, but she didn’t stop him until Sam had finished everything.
He stood up, taking a deep breath. "That should do it, but still be careful not to walk barefoot on the floor."
Sophie frowned.
"What... what are you really trying to do?"
Sam answered as if it were obvious.
"It’s just part of the bet, wasn’t it said that household chores are included? It’s pretty normal."
"I an, what have you been doing since just now?!"
Sophie couldn’t help but say it directly.
Sam looked back at her with an even stranger gaze.
"Shouldn’t it be you who’s been doing sothing odd? What I’m doing is perfectly normal, isn’t it? Seems like you’re overthinking."
Hearing Sam’s words, Sophie was taken aback.
Indeed, she did seem strange.
But why was it strange, didn’t Sam understand that himself?
She clenched her teeth, about to say sothing when Sam suddenly spoke. "Sophie, are you curious?"
His words stopped Sophie’s prepared speech abruptly, and the room fell silent.
So silent it seed only their breathing could be heard.
"Curious about what?"
Sophie was puzzled, but she didn’t want to be led by the nose by Sam, could a simple sentence really change the dynamics of their interaction?
She didn’t want it to be that way.
Sam smiled.
"You’re curious about what I’m really doing, wondering if I completely misunderstand you, or if I’m playing dumb, pretending not to see what happened last ti?"
"...You are playing dumb, is there even a need to discuss that? I was just informing you what our relationship will be like from now on... I don’t need your agreent."
She deliberately appeared calm, but at that mont, many thoughts were intertwining in her mind.
Sam said with a smile, "I rember when you declared we were friends, it was you who announced it, right? So why do you get to decide everything... You seem quite arrogant."
"That’s different, don’t twist my words!"
Sophie tried to say sothing to prove she wasn’t that kind of person, because if she was, wouldn’t that make her just like that woman, Angel? She certainly was not!
She had always thought of herself as selfish, but not to the extent of imposing on others, at least not interfering with their decisions.
But with Sam’s remark, she felt as if she involuntarily revealed more of her flaws, even the worse aspects of herself, on this boy.
There was no reason for it.
Sam took a step forward, closing the distance between them. Sophie, startled, instinctively stepped back, trying to avoid any contact.
But Sam didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping, continuing to advance.
He pushed her back step by step until there was no more room to retreat, and Sophie found herself against the wall.
Sophie crossed her arms defensively, not hiding her wariness and the discomfort of the mont.
As Sam’s breath grew closer, she could almost feel his burning body heat.
Her cheeks flushed rapidly.
Her eyes wary and tense, she watched Sam.
There was no way out now, her heart beginning to beat uncontrollably.
What the hell was this jerk doing?
Sam observed her reaction and lowered his head.
"What’s the difference? And... please don’t be so defensive about sothing you don’t have."
"...What do you an sothing I don’t have... jerk!!"
Sophie slightly lowered her head and imdiately understood what Sam ant.
She was also aware that, compared to many of her peers, although she had long legs and wasn’t short among girls, her breast developnt was indeed pitiful.
That’s why she had always been sensitive about this topic, not allowing anyone to ntion it.
Sophie instantly wanted to push this boy away.
But unexpectedly, Sam seed to have anticipated her move, quickly grabbing her raised wrist.
Sophie was no match for him in terms of reflexes.
"Let go!"
"You think I’d let go when you’re trying to hit ? I’m not crazy."
"You’re not crazy? Aren’t you the craziest one here?!"
Sam held her wrist firmly, his smile seemingly laced with mischief.
"How am I crazy? Cooking for you, cleaning for you, doing chores—how does that make crazy?"
"When did I ever ask you to do those things? Why are you always like this!"
The girl, unable to struggle, spoke with a tone that even seed unfamiliar to Sophie herself, almost tearful.
Sam’s expression softened slightly.
"Like this... what do you an?"
"You’re always like this! You never understand what I really want from you. Why do you eagerly do the things I don’t need? Did I ask you to cook, to clean? I just wanted you to quietly leave my life. Why must you play dumb?!"
Sophie, nearly hysterical, couldn’t help but have her eyes redden.
It seed to be the first ti Sam saw her so vulnerable and helpless, enough to make any guy feel utterly guilty.
Sam’s gaze dropped.
His hand loosened.
Her hand fell, and Sophie clenched her fist.
"Thump."
She leaned against the wall, pounding on Sam’s chest.
Sam didn’t step back, just looking into her reddened eyes.
It took a great effort for her to restrain herself, to not let the tears of humiliation fall.
"Thump."
Another punch, not weak.
But Sam still didn’t retreat.
He didn’t stop her, just kept his head down, watching her.
Letting her punch after punch land on his chest, starting fiercely, then growing weaker.
Seemingly out of strength, her arms finally fell limply.
She looked up at Sam.
Her reddened eyes tried to widen, but the shimr in them didn’t lie; it only made her look more pitiful.
"Sam... how long are you going to keep tornting ?" Sophie asked.
Seeing her red eyes, witnessing her stubborn yet heart-wrenching expression, Sam felt as if his heart was lting for the first ti.
"I’m not tornting you."
"Then why are you doing this?" Sophie couldn’t help but challenge him.
Sam reached out his hand.
"Thump."
It wasn’t a retaliatory punch.
Instead, he placed his hand against the wall beside her face, seemingly bringing them even closer together.
So close that it made Sophie montarily forget the grievances in her heart.
All that was left was the quickening of her heartbeat, the flush of her face.
She just stared dumbly at the extrely handso Sam looking down at her, their eyes locked in an unguarded mont.
He just looked at her, then asked, "So tell the truth, do you really want to disappear from your world? Do you want... all those tis we t, all those words we said, to just evaporate after today, turn into nothing?"
"..."
Sophie opened her mouth.
She seed at a loss for words at that mont.
There was an impulse, almost like a desire to destroy the whole world, to recklessly give a definite answer.
And then to abandon everything.
Like committing self-destruction in life.
But why, when she opened her mouth to speak, did her heart ache as if it was being squeezed by an invisible hand?
She ant to tell Sam that she did want it that way.
But why did the words that finally ca out when she spoke were,
"Do you really think I would treat what happened that night as an illusion? Don’t be foolish, Sam..."
She tried to say sothing to convince him, perhaps even to convince herself.
But Sam cut her off directly.
"You can’t bring yourself to say it, can you?"
"So what if I can’t! So what if I admit that I occasionally go soft!"
"Then don’t overthink it, just let things be. If your heart doesn’t accept it, it doesn’t accept it. As long as you don’t say it out loud, I won’t disappear from your world."
Sam’s words shattered all of Sophie’s defenses almost instantly.
What was this?
Was it a promise to her?
But why... why make such a promise?
Could it be because Sam didn’t want to stay by Angel’s side? But how could that be possible?
Sam slowly released his hand.
He stepped back, picked up his backpack, and then looked at the girl who seed still not to understand, flashing a familiar smile.
"If you want to know what I really intend to do, what I’m thinking... I can tell you, but..."
"But what?"
Looking at Sophie’s bewildered eyes.
Sam shook his head.
"But not now."
"When then?"
"When you tell ... when you tell you love ."
Reviews
All reviews (0)