Hikikomori Shoujo To Tsurego No Shounen -rj0127... (SAFE – ANTHOLOGY)

She wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at the candle flame.

Ren didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing. He just pushed the candle a little closer to the middle of the floor so she could see it better.

For the first week, Ren didn’t try to speak to her. He left meals on a tray outside her door, as instructed. Sometimes the tray was empty when he returned. Sometimes it was untouched, the rice hardened, the chopsticks still wrapped. Hikikomori Shoujo To Tsurego No Shounen -RJ0127...

Sachi stared at him like he’d just told her the ocean was made of tea.

When the timer beeped, Sachi flinched — but she didn’t stand up. She wasn’t looking at him

Her door.

Ren, fourteen, stood in the narrow hallway with a duffel bag in one hand and his mother’s nervous grip on his shoulder. His new stepfather — a kind-faced man with tired eyes — had just left for work. The wedding had been three weeks ago. The moving truck, two days. He just pushed the candle a little closer

“You’ll burn the building down,” she whispered. Her voice was hoarse from disuse, but sharp. Accusatory.