bapa: from here to eternity

chapter 56: lost

Bose POV:

One week had gone by since everything with Sam, and that tension still hovered in the back of my mind. But I got a text from Sam, who rarely ever contacted me. "My dad's visiting," it read. "You might wanna come by." I hesitated, glancing at the clock. Chapa was at the academy for the day, so I figured it was as good a time as any.

When I arrived, Sam greeted me at the door. His place was... surprisingly cleaner than before. No pizza boxes stacked up, no beer cans scattered around. I raised an eyebrow, impressed.

"Housekeeping?" I joked.

He rolled his eyes, letting me in. "Don't get used to it," he muttered.

I looked around, but his dad wasn't anywhere in sight. "So, where's your dad?"

"He ran to the store. He'll be back any minute." Sam sounded nonchalant, but there was a hint of anticipation in his tone.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, both of us pretending to be cool, when the front door opened. A tall man walked in, gray streaks lining his dark hair, carrying a couple of grocery bags. His gaze landed on me immediately, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Who's this?" he asked, his voice rough but curious.

I took a deep breath, getting to my feet. "I'm Bose O'Brien," I said, then hesitated. "This may sound surprisingly, but I... I think I might be related to you."

His eyes widened, and I could see the realization hit him. He put the bags down, staring at me in disbelief. "Rafaella's boy?" he whispered, almost to himself.

My heart pounded as I nodded. "My birth dad's name was Rafaella de Capra. I think... I think he might've been your brother?"

He closed his eyes for a second, processing, then looked back at me with a kind of haunted sadness. "Rafaella... yes. He was my younger brother." His voice softened.

I swallowed, the lump in my throat growing. "He... he sent me things. A live goat, even a statue of a goat. I thought maybe he was reaching out."

He shook his head slowly, almost painfully. "Rafaella... he never came back to the States. Our parents... they found out he'd made your mother here pregnant. They forced him back to Italy. Told him to leave her alone and never look back."

"But why?" I stammered, feeling a rush of anger. "Why didn't he come back for us? Or... for me?"

Sam's dad looked away, eyes distant. "Because our parents controlled everything. They were poor and controlling. When they found out he'd had a child with your mother... they saw it as a disgrace. Especially after I already made a woman pregnant, Sam's mother. And they didn't want him to make the same mistake as I did - throwing my life away for my child. They forced him to stay in Italy, didn't give him a choice. He cried every night, missing her. He truly loved her, Bose. He wanted to stay, but they wouldn't allow it."

"So he just... listened to them? He didn't even try to find me when he was older?"

"He tried," he said, his voice pained. "But our parents warned him not to. Said he'd only bring you pain. He did try to reach out, but he didn't know where you were. Had no contact, no address, nothing."

I felt my throat tighten, emotions swirling too fast to contain. "And now?"

He took a deep breath, and his face turned grim. "I'm sorry, Bose. Rafaella... he couldn't take the pressure, the heartbreak. Our parents... they haunted him. He took his own life over 20 years ago."

I couldn't breathe, couldn't even find words. It felt like someone had punched me straight through my chest. I'd always known it was possible, that maybe he wasn't here anymore, but I wasn't prepared. I couldn't be. "No... no, that... that can't be right."