Mika’s room was dark except for the blue glow of her phone screen and the pale shimmer of moonlight through the blinds. The sound of soft, uneven snoring came from the floor where Suzu had cocooned herself in what could loosely be called a “blanket nest,” consisting of three comforters, an old hoodie, and a frog-shaped pillow.

  Except… Suzu wasn’t actually asleep.

  “Hey,” she whispered, voice hushed in the way people always think is subtle but isn’t.

  Mika turned her head on the pillow. “What?”

  “You’re still awake.”

  “You’re still snoring.”

  Suzu grinned from the floor. “That’s my spiritual body. She’s noisy.”

  A silence passed.

  And then Mika said, more quietly, “I talked to Rin.”

  Suzu didn’t say anything. Just waited.

  “She’s not… pushing me away on purpose. I think she’s just trying to hold something really fragile together, and I’m not part of that right now.” A pause. “It still sucks, though.”

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  Suzu pushed herself up on her elbows, blanket still wrapped around her like an ancient cursed scroll.

  “You’re allowed to feel both,” she said. “Understanding doesn’t cancel out feeling crappy. If it did, I’d have emotionally recovered from every test I ever failed.”

  Mika laughed — barely — a weak exhale of sound.

  Suzu looked proud.

  Then leaned over and flopped onto Mika’s bed sideways.

  “I’ve noticed stuff too, you know, Suzu added. “With Aurenya. Weird stuff. Energy stuff. Vibe stuff. Once her eyes did this shimmer-thing and I swear my soul blinked.”

  Mika raised an eyebrow. “Did you make that up just now?”

  “Unclear,” Suzu said. “But the point is — yeah, she’s strange. But I like her. And I think… she needs people who like her. Even if she doesn’t say it.”

  Mika looked up at the ceiling.

  “I’m not mad at her. I just… I don’t know how to not feel left behind.”

  Suzu rolled onto her back beside her.

  “Then don’t not feel it. Feel it. Be mad. Be sad. But don’t forget you can also still try.”

  Mika turned her head.

  “Try?”

  “Try to know her. Try to talk to Rin again when you’re ready. Try to be in the story, even if it’s different now.”

  She added, after a pause:

  “Besides, I am extremely committed to being everyone’s best friend, whether they like it or not. You’re not dragging me down with emotional tension, okay?”

  Mika gave a soft laugh again.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “Correct. But I’m your idiot.”

  Some people didn’t fix things with big answers.

  Some people just stayed anyway. Loudly.

  Thank you for reading this chapter of What We Don't Say.If something in it stayed with you — a moment, a line, or even just the mood — I’d love to hear what.

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