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It was another one of those evenings. We pretended to be a normal family and have dinner together, only for it to all fall apart the second either one of them open their mouths. Start looking for a medical school, study more, stop wasting time on those idol things. I just couldn't keep hearing those things, I dont know why but today was my breaking point. I felt like i was going to explode if i spent any more time with them so in the middle of dinner I just stood up and left. They tried telling me to come back and stop being immature but i couldn't hear them well over my beating heart. I just ran and ran, it didn't matter where. Just away from that cursed house. I didn't have anything with me except my phone, which they were blowing up with texts and calls telling me to come back. I didnt know where to go, my feet just moved on their own, as long as they carried me further away i was fine with it. It was slowly getting dark, the night lights started turning on and not that many people were around.
I dont know why they have to keep doing this. I am doing fine in school, medical school is many years away and my idol activities haven't interfered with my grades at all. They just have to always find reasons to be mad at me. Why do they always have to be so miserable? Is it too much to ask for one dinner where I'm not scrutinized to hell and back for no reason? My mind kept thinking of reasons they do this and if I'm really at fault after all, but i just kept drawing blanks. At that time my feet stopped moving. I looked around and instantly recognized where I'd gone. It was Nico's place. I've gone there from my house and school so many times lately that I must've been on autopilot. I was flustered and didn't really know what to do, it's not like I could just waltz in there and ask her if i could stay for a while, it was way too late for that and they were probably having dinner and they don't want to have a downer like me around anyway and-
In that moment, i got a text message. But it wasn't from my parents, they'd given up contacting me a while ago. It was from Nico just saying "Maki?". I looked at the window of her house and I saw her. She immediately started calling me and I didn't have it in me to not pick up. She asked what I was doing here this late and if everything was okay. I couldn't really respond and just stared at her while i felt tears coming from my eyes. It all just started to hit me in that moment. I hung up the call and started running away. I didn't want to ruin her evening as well. I just ran and ran while crying until I felt a tug on my arm. I turned around and was shocked to see Nico holding my arm, out of breath.
"What's wrong with you? Why come to my place and then run away this late? What happened?", she yelled with the last of her strength. I could only answer with more crying. She sighed and just started hugging me. I hugged her back as tight as I could, to escape those feelings atleast for a second. We couldn't have stood there together for more than a few minutes but her arms felt like their own universe, drawing me in and comforting me like nothing else could. After that small eternity in her universe we stopped hugging, I wiped my tears and looked at her. She had a really worried expression on her face so I had to tell her what had happened, we found a nearby park bench and I started rambling. How my parents kept scrutinizing me about every small thing, how we couldn't be a normal family for one dinner, how they wouldn't let me do my hobbies in peace, how suffocating it felt in that house and how alone I felt in all this, How that's the reason I ran away from home today and didn't know what to do now and how I must've subconsciously gone to her place. She listened to me without interrupting. Then, at the end, she gave me her thoughts.
"Shit, I'm really sorry I didn't notice you've been going through that. I should've noticed with how much time we've been spending together... I'm really sorry. I'll do my best to support you from now okay?", she said and held my hand tight. I mumbled thank you and she offered for us to go back to her place. I wonder if that was really okay for her mother and siblings but she said it wouldn't be a problem. On the way back, she called her mother to let her know about the situation and her mother agreed that I could come to their place for a bit. I felt guilty about giving her so many problems but also secretly happy I could spend more time with her. She held my hand on the entire way back so that I couldn't change my mind and run away again, atleast according to her. I hadn't gotten that far and we were back at her place in no time. She rang the doorbell and Nico's mom opened the door with her siblings not far away. Her mom invited me in and told Nico's siblings to play somwhere else for a bit so she could talk to me for a bit to see if there was anything she could do to help me. I told her that it'd be too much to ask of her and I'd feel too guilty asking her to do so much. But she wouldn't take no for an answer and brought up how often I'd come over lately and taken care of her daughters, Nico included. Since she wouldn't take no for an answer and had gotten me flustered, I obliged and told her how my parents kept pressuring me and wouldn't listen to me and I didn't know what to do. She thought for a moment and offered to talk to them, either with me or alone. She also offered me to stay here for the night and that she or we could talk to them tomorrow after our heads have cooled off. She even offered to call them and let them know about it. I really wanted to take her up on those offers but I felt too guilty to accept them, so I just kept quiet and thought about it for a bit. Before I could even get my thoughts in order Nico popped into the room and said if we confronted my parents together she'd want to be there aswell and that she's happy we get to have a sleepover. I couldn't help but smile at that moment and be so happy I was surrounded by so many people that cared about me so with happy tears in my eyes I took her up on the offer. She made the phone call to my parents and thankfully they agreed to me sleeping over and us all meeting tomorrow, they probably wouldn't normally agree to those things so that might be a good sign.
I felt a bit better so I went to play with Cocoro, Cocoa and Cotaro since they've been asking to play with me ever since they saw me through the front door. It really helped me get my mind off of everything, drawing things and playing games with them. I really wish my family was more like this, everyone getting along and not strained at all, but I'll do my best to get through to my parents with the help of Nico and her mother tomorrow. It was already late by the time I came so not too long after it was everyone's bedtime. Nico and me sent them all to bed and wished them a good night before going into her room and starting to get ready for bed too. I hadn't brought anything with me so I got one of Nico's pyjamas. It was a tight fit but ended up working and I couldn't complain, it felt nice, like a constant hug from her. I must've been a bit flushed at that point because Nico asked me if I was feeling alright. I stuttered and said I was but she was still a bit suspicious. After getting ready for bed we laid down on her futon, since they didn't have a spare I had to share one with Nico. I was blushing at the prospect and for a while after we laid down, we couldn't sleep so we kept talking about stuff with the lights on. I asked Nico about how she was doing since she did so much for me today this is the least I could do. She responded.
"I'm going to be honest, I've been feeling overwhelmed with taking care of my siblings and everything for a long time but not as much anymore.. Since you've been helping me with everything recently it feels alot easier and more fun to do. So thank you, Maki. You know, I owe you alot so you can ask me for help anytime okay? I'm really glad you went here "subconsciously" today and that I saw you through the window. Thank you for letting me help you Maki, it's the least I could do."
My tears had been spent for today but I still felt a single happy one roll down my cheeks as I hugged her and she hugged me back. I still had a few worries nag me in the back of my head since the phone call but Nico just blew them away. Even if my parents wouldn't come around, I still had a wonderful family right here. Today had been a rollercoaster so we both started getting more and more tired, so we turned off the lights and started dozing off while holding hands.