Hidden Mysteries

We Need To Talk

"Talk?" My throat goes tight. Shit, did Baseball find out about me ditching school? I was sure I had deleted the messages when Nickel wasn't looking. "Talk about what?"

"Well, it's...a lot. A lot to explain," Baseball says slowly, grasping at my sheets. "But to simplify it, it's about your mother."

"Mom?" I scoot closer to him. "What about her?"

He opens his mouth to speak, only to close it again, thinking for a minute before he finally sighs. "You know how I've told you about her, right?"

"Yeah, I do." I cross my legs, staring up at Baseball. "How come you're asking?"

"Well, the thing is...there's much more to your mother than what I've told you. Your mother and I, along with Candle and Silver Spoon, have a history that involves things you might have never known about this town."

I blink slowly, realizing what Baseball's referring to. "You mean the Fellowship of the Bleeding Eyes."

Baseball tenses up, staring at me with wide eyes. "You know?"

I nod, lifting up the golden crystal around my neck. "Honorary member."

"I...how? And since when?"

"You remember that night I snuck out of the house?" I say. "I would have told you, but, uh, I didn't think you would have taken it well."

"Yeah, I suppose that's fair," Baseball sighs, the tension leaving his shoulders. "Though, I'm assuming since you're a member, you've met Battery?"

"I did, yeah. He, uh. Gave me something else, other than the crystal," I admit, pulling at the sleeve of my jacket.

"He did?"

I get up, walking over to the secret compartment in my floor. I open it just wide enough to grab the journal Battery gave me, walking over to my dad holding it in my hands. "He said he was holding on to this."

Baseball's face softens melancholically, staring at the cover as I open the journal to show him some of the pages. "He did a good job, it's still in good condition...your mother would be happy to see her journal's still intact."

My throat tightens as I glance down at the journal in my hands. "Mom wrote this?"

"That she did. Do you mind if I...?"

I nod, handing over the journal to Baseball, sitting next to him as he flips through the pages. I notice a somber look on his face as his eyes dart back and forth as he reads, smiling sadly. "Have you read this through, yet?"

"I've read some of it, yeah. I didn't even know some of this stuff was real."

"You'd be surprised, kiddo." He closes the journal, placing it in his lap and sighing. "...I'm sorry I never told you the truth. Involving...this, I mean. It's just that..." Baseball trails off, staring down at the floor. "It's not that I never wanted to tell you. But this sort of thing nearly got us killed, on multiple occasions. And if anything happened to you, I...don't think I could ever manage to forgive myself."

"No, no, I get it. I..." I pause. Should I tell him about Merripen? He hasn't said anything about them so far. But I don't want to potentially risk revealing something that he might not know that I know the truth about. "I'm not sure if I would get it if you told me sooner. I mean, I'm still wrapping my head around a lot of this now."

Baseball only nodded in response. It falls silent between the two of us again, a nervous tension filling the air. Finally, I take a deep breath, deciding to ask the question that had been lingering in my mind for so long.

"Baseball?" I ask slowly. "Did Mom...really die giving birth to me? Like you've told me?"

Baseball tenses up, glancing around before closing his eyes and breathing deeply, hesitating for a while before he finally opens his mouth to speak.

"No, she didn't die giving birth to you. I know saying that was the reason for her death was wrong, but...it was the only reason I could think of back then without you prying into it too much," he admits. "She passed only a couple days after you were born, though, so she only got a short amount of time with you before..." He averts his gaze, tears pricking at his eyes.

"I don't have to know now," I say quickly, placing a hand on my dad's shoulder. "I-I was just wondering, it's fine."

He looks over at me, smiling softly. "...thanks, Suits," he says, ruffling my hair. "Why don't you go over to Balloon's, for a bit?"

"Huh? But I thought I was—aren't I grounded?"

"Consider your grounding lifted early. I mean, for the most part, you've taken it well." Baseball stood up, handing the journal back to me. "But do me a favor, just...take good care of this, okay?"

"I will," I promise, clutching onto the journal tightly.

Baseball smiles at me, leaving the room. I grab my sneakers and slip them on, grabbing a jacket and pulling it over me as I rush out, journal in my hand.

I have to tell Balloon this.