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

B2 Chapter 11

I PLOP DOWN onto my bed, imagining my whole body like a deflating balloon. 'I can't believe this,' I mumble with my face crushed to the pillow. When I don't get a response from Eien—thinking he's instantly fallen asleep—I curse under my breath again and again.

'You shouldn't keep it to yourself, Mister Evans.' I jerk my head up. He's sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed and his hands on his knees. 'Sharing your thoughts and feelings is far healthier than punishing your pillow.'

I push myself off of the mattress and climb into his bed. 'OK, let's talk. My mum has lied to me. Does that make sense?'

Eien hums. 'I cannot tell. I have not met your mother yet, that is for sure. However, adults lie all the time. They hide things from us because often, they have this misconception that we cannot handle whatever truth they're withholding.' He opens his eyes and I realise how much I've missed gazing at them. The colours are vibrant and yet not as alive as they should be. 'But then again, it all depends on the situation. Why do you think she's hiding this truth from you?'

The answer is at the back of my brain, at least I think it is, waiting for me to release it. But it's stuck in my throat. It prevents me from forming a single word. I don't know what to say.

'Here,' he says, tapping his legs.

My eyebrows crunch. 'What?'

'Lay down your head and tell me everything.'

I shake my head. 'No, thanks. I'm not a baby.'

Eien does that rare smile of his. The You-don't-know-what-you-re-saying smile. Unfortunately, just like with his usual smiles, it's small and quite hard to notice. 'Just give it a try.'

With a sigh, I do as he said. I lay my head on his thighs. They're as soft as I've expected, with more baby fats than developed muscles. 'Now what?'

He brushes the side of my face with feather-like touches. 'Now you talk. No one is here. We're alone in our room. You do not have to keep your guard up.'

I swallow hard, my brain automatically going for flight mode. This wouln't be the first time I've been open to Eien. In fact, he's the only person I trust my heart with. But this one concerns my mum, the person whom I'd thought would be honest with me.

'I...I'm still having a hard time processing how all this time, she's been hiding things from me. Mothers are supposed to be honest with their children, right? Fathers can lie because, well, we're men and men find it hard to...I—' I bite my lip to prevent the words from tumbling down. I'm being incoherent.

'Have you ever had thought she simply wanted your safety?'

'Well, yeah. But she's my mum.'

'Are you good at keeping secrets?'

'Hey!'

He presses on, 'Are you?'

Quietly, I say, 'No,' as though by doing that, he won't be able to hear me clearly. It's futile, of course. His aerokinesis allows him to hear from miles and miles.

'There you have it. Perhaps she was thinking, what if you'd been caught? It's better if you had no idea until you're under Yamato-sama's care.'

Whilst that makes sense to me, I can't help but be irritated at how he addresses Kaito. 'Why do you address him as sama? He doesn't deserve such respect, not after what he did to you.'

'Because I do respect him.' When I don't respond, he elaborates, 'I know his methods have not been favourable, especially with Watanabe-kun's case. Remember, however, that it was Watanabe-kun's choice. He wasn't forced to terrify you, neither was he forced to lose his hand. We have our freedom. We simply do not see it as incongruity blocks our judgement.'