Rent A Girlfriend: The Past Hurts

Part Thirteen: Three Truths and One Lie

"I trusted you..."
"I'm sorry. I really am."
_______________________________

Taking a sip out of her cup, Sumi leaned a bit closer as Nagomi started to tell her about what happened during Kazuya's childhood.
" My daughter had recently moved away with her boyfriend, so I was living here with just my husband." She said, closing her eyes as she searched through her mind. " We were two business owners, and with dedication we were able to make enough to have a good life. However.."
Sumi watched as she grabbed a handkerchief from her apron as she continued.
"...when he was working the night shift, a robber tried to steal the money from the cashier. My husband tried to stop him...but.."
Grabbing her notebook, Sumi scribbled onto one of the papers before showing it to her.

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad.

She didn't expect Nagomi to chuckle a little after reading what she wrote. " It's alright, dear. It's in the past, and I'll see him again soon...
' Soon?'
" Moving on, I found myself living alone for a few years. It was a bit lonely, and I felt that it would be like that forever until the hospital called me one day. But on the phone was my very daughter." She told her, moving her head a little to the side. " I was surprised, because I hadn't heard from her for nearly ten years, and you can imagine what a shock it was for me to learn that I was a grandmother."
Scribbling once more, Sumi held the notebook to show what it said:

When did you actually meet Kazuya?

" Since she was in the hospital getting surgery and she didn't feel comfortable leaving Kazuya alone, I took him with me for the time being."

What about his dad?

" Before my daughter had moved, she had introduced him to us. He always gave off a weird aura, but I trusted the word of my daughter that he was a good man. However, when Kazuya was born, he decided that he didn't want to be a part of his life. He ran off to who knows where, and nobody has seen him since, I assume."

So Kazuya stayed with you? How was that like?

" When I took him home, I had no idea what to do with him. He was small, and he was so shy. Though, as time went on, he slowly started to open himself up to me." She smiled as she continued. "Kazuya showed me that he was a clumsy boy with a huge heart. I loved him so much, and not a day passed that he wouldn't remind me that he did so as well."
'That sounds like Kazuya. Then why..'
Taking a deep breath, Sumi slowly lifted the notebook to show what she had written to Nagomi:

When did you learn about that abuse?

She watched as Nagomi stared at her lap for a few minutes before looking back at her.
"... I was washing his back. Usually, he did it himself, but that day he wanted me to do it. When I was doing it, I..." Nagomi paused a little as a few tears started to flow down her cheeks. " ..there were bruises and cuts all over his body, and I remember how I gasped when I saw them. When I asked him about what happened.. Kazuya cried as he told me how his step-father had beat him daily, and how he starved him whenever he was left alone with that man."
Sumi stared at silence as Nagomi started to sob into her handkerchief. Once she was done, Nagomi sat up straight and blew her nose before starting to apologize. "S-sorry. It's just that... when you learn that someone you love is hurting... it hurts you as well."

Please don't apologize. I understand. Plus, it was my fault for asking all of a sudden.

" You really are a nice girl. No wonder you're friends with Kazuya." She told her with a smile on her face. Sumi found herself smiling as well, and she wrote something on her notebook again: