The Enemy Beside Me + The Liar Beside Me (Book 1 and 2)

Chapter 27

WHEN YOU'RE GROWING UP, you don't usually spend time with your parents. You always tell yourself that you'll do it tomorrow or so. At least, that's what it is for me. I have more reasons than spare some time to speak with my mum again. I nurture this hatred against her. Wait, that's wrong. Hatred is a heavy word. I don't hate her. I simply don't understand her.

It's midnight and Eien, and I are back at the dormitory. Bruce interrogated us about why it'd taken us so long to come back, and that our QR codes could've alerted the government a minute before we'd gone back inside. I briefly explained the situation, and the moment they extended their condolences, I wanted nothing but to dash back to our room and hear none of them.

Eien is sleeping in his bed. His face squeezed hard against the pillow. I wonder if he's indeed sleeping or just silently crying. Now that no one's here to chat with me, I have this silly idea of going down and drinking with the guards. Of course, they wouldn't allow me.

Alasdair had offered us beer after eating. Only Declan, Fumihiro, and Noritaka took the offer. Now I wish I'd had one.

The disturbing stillness of the night puts me in the mood to play some loud music. I can't do that though. Eien wouldn't like it.

It's as though God has heard my prayer as my mobile vibrates, and when I check what caused it, I lurch out of bed. Gingerly, I tiptoe to the study corner and close the door.

As soon as I see her name on my mobile, I don't hesitate to press the green button. 'Mum,' I say, and it's odd to hear myself utter it as though I were a baby learning his first word.

'Jaxon, dear,' she says. We stay quiet, letting ourselves hear each other breathe. She's alive, and so am I. My cousin will never have that chance. And so is Haru. 'I've heard about everything. Ally called me and...' she hesitates. I can picture her stifling the sound of her weeping. 'I don't understand how it all happened. Haru and I were just talking, and then she was in pain, and then—it doesn't make sense.' Haru and Mum had never met personally, but they always communicated via live video chat. I'd never paid attention to their conversation. I barely stayed at home. I wonder how close they were.

Too many words race to escape from my lips until I become silent, doing what I always do best: offering nothing. So, in the end, all I can say is, 'I'm sorry.'

'This was all too sudden.' She takes a puff of air and releases it quite harshly. 'She was so excited. She'd already had a name for each of them.'

'I bet they're beautiful.'

'Yeah. Chiasa for the girl. Hisashi for the boy.'

'Chiasa Evans. Hisashi Evans.' Wait. The grandfather said the boy would carry their name.

Mum must have sensed my hesitation as she says, 'Yes. They'd both talked about it. The children...The boy, Hisashi, will carry his mother's maiden name.'

'Nakano Hisashi.'

'That's right. I don't know if you still remember, but Haru's family, minus her mother, were against her relationship with Ally. They'd disowned her but welcomed her back when she got pregnant. Now that she's gone, I'm worried about what will happen to Ally and his child.'

I inhale sharply. 'Are you saying there's a chance they'll take him away from Uncle?'

'They're the traditional type of family. They blame foreigners for everything. I warned Ally about this, but he was in love. I couldn't stop him. She was his happiness. She was his life.'

'What can I do, Mum?'

'Nothing, Jax. You can be there for your uncle, but you can't meddle.'

It all slowly sinks in, no matter how much I want to obstruct it. I haven't been here in Kobushi that long, and yet, somehow, I've already forgotten that outside this city, the locals are wary of us. From the story Alasdair told me, they have reasons to be. He said there had been white supremacists who had tried to cause havoc and even killed his people. I remember what Ally had said before, and it all makes sense now.