He exhaled sharply, forcing himself to calm down, to let the anger drain from his expression before it could turn into something more suspicious. Getting defensive would only make things worse.
“Fine, check the stupid phone,” Aito grumbled, folding his arms over his chest as he tried to look more annoyed than nervous. “Just know that I’ll be mad if you find nothing. It means you don’t trust me.”
For a moment, Haruto hesitated. The tension in his jaw was visible, his thumb hovering over the screen as though weighing the consequences. He knew this could backfire. If Aito was telling the truth, this would only prove his insecurity. It would prove doubt. But the thought of Ryuho, of Aito possibly reaching out to Ryuho, gnawed at something ugly inside him.
He unlocked the phone.
Aito watched Haruto open the chat screen, irritated, but he forced himself not to reach for it again.
The message window at the top was still open. It read: Kaito.
