BAREFACED

Chapter 53

"What do you mean?" You ask, moving away from the baby a bit to look at Eli. Eli looks down at the ground and then away.

"We are originally from Osaka..." Emi implies. You look at Emi feeling confused. Now that you think about it, you don't know much about Eli's life and situation. Yuki has no memories of Eli's family or anything. 

"You don't really talk about your family to me... Eli." You softly say looking back at Eli. Eli's eyes shift towards you and then he takes a deep breath. 

"My family is problematic... I didn't want to bother you with any of that..." Eli sighs. You furrow your eyebrows and tilt your head a bit. 

"We are friends... aren't we?" You ask. Eli's eyes soften and he slowly nods. "So... tell me." You insist.

You and Eli sit outside the apartment on the stairs. Eli opens a can of soda and begins drinking from it. You watch as he does. You quietly sit beside him waiting for him to start talking. Eli rests his arm on his thigh and slowly looks at you. You look back at him.

"My father lives in Osaka... he runs a club... and does a lot of illegal shit involving drugs and stuff. Whatever it is he does- my mother had left him a long ass time ago and had us move here in Tokyo." Eli softly says. 

"Why did your mother leave?" You ask. Eli looks in the front of him and out into the distance.

"I was little, so I have no idea what my parent's relationship was like. But my mother was afraid of my father. So much that she abandoned everything and ran away, taking us with her when my father was away. We had nothing on us... nothing. Just us and the clothes on our bodies." He sighs. "It was raining that day and I remember I was having a hard time putting my shoes on... but my mother just grabbed me and had me run with her while I had no shoes on cause I took too long." He turned the can around, looking at the words on the back of it. He takes a deep breath and then takes a sip of the drink. He places the can down and rubs his thighs, looking back at you "We slept outside in abandoned places or under bridges. We didn't have a home for a very long time... but my mother found work and finally found a place for us to live."

"Oh... So, was that around the time I met you?" You ask. Eli slowly nods and smiles.

"Yeah. Life seemed a lot happier back then." He chuckles. 

"That's very far... Osaka is like... hours away... isn't it?" You ask. Eli slowly nods.

"My mother felt like it would be better if we moved far and into a city... that way our father wouldn't be able to find us." Eli replies.

"But then he did?" You question. Eli nods again.

"I hadn't seen him in years but earlier this year we crossed paths..." He adds.

"Huh? What do you mean?" You ask. "He found you? Was it a coincidence?" 

"No. Apparently, he knew we lived here for a long time. His sister Anya was the one who had found us and had told him. She befriended my sister a long time ago. My sister had no idea that was our fathers sister. Neither did I... It wasn't until my mother met her..." Eli rubs his head and then sighs again. "My mother seemed scared when they met and I had no idea why. Turns out Anya had purposely became friends with Emi to get information on my mother... creepy as hell if you think about it. Not long after finding out about all of that my mother went missing... like- she left one night and never came back. Leaving me and my sister alone." He quietly says. You furrow your eyebrows and tilt your head a bit.

"How long has it been since your mother left?" You ask.

"Around the time your mother passed away." He answers.  He slowly looks you in the eyes and then back down. "I wanted to come to you about it back then actually... but your mother had just passed away... so I kept it to myself." He adds.