Chapter Four - Abuse and an Excuse

The brain is wider than the sky. The first thing that comes to mind as I admire the clouds in the sky and gallantly wait for Miu to arrive. She's the one who invited me, so I don't understand why she's late. Be it that she's only five minutes late. Still late though…

"Hello butter- I mean Tsubasa."

"Is pissing me off top priority in your bucket list?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Thanks for coming here with me today. I would've spent my day lazing about at home. I don't like spending my whole day locked up in my room like a hikikomori. Well, maybe I am one. But I know for certain you are, too, so I guess it's not a bad thing. Well actually, being any way related to you is kinda pathetic."

"Nice to see you, too…"

"I never said "nice to see you", so I don't know why you included 'too'. Pervert…"

"How does that make me a pervert?"

"Because obviously, you want me to remove my sweater to see my two breasts more easily. Pervert…"

"I think you're the true pervert here."

"You wish. Today is a hot day though, so I'll remove my sweater. I better not catch you taking a peek at my chest."

"Why would I look? I only prefer girls who are DD or bigger."

"My breast size is DD." Damn it. If I had been able to study her breast longer I would've known. "Now you just thought to yourself if you studied my breast for longer you would have known that fact already."

"Are you a psychic?!"

As we laugh at our exchange, Miu removes her sweater and as soon as she does I notice something on her arms. Bruises. Her arm is covered in bruises. Now that I think about it, Miu is always wearing something that covers her arms so I never would have noticed before. Should I ask her about them? No. She probably just bumped into something. But, those many bruises on both her arms make it rather unlikely that that would be the cause of them.

"Miu—"

"I can tell you've noticed the bruises on my arms and are curious about them. The face you're wearing tells me that. They're nothing to concern yourself with. My mom was just angry and did this. No big deal.

No big deal? Your mother is leaving you bruises and you think that's something that doesn't concern me? Of course that concerns me. You're my friend. Someone that I love. Why wouldn't it concern me? I wish I had the courage to tell her this, but I'm a coward.

"Tsubasa, please don't tell anyone about my bruises. They're no big deal. I don't want to trouble anyone. So please promise me you'll keep this between us."

How can I keep something like this a secret? "Okay, Miu. I won't tell anyone about them, but can you at least tell me why you're mom hurt you?"

"Sure, I can tell you; it's a short story. Before I came to this school, my father killed himself. He was playing Russian roulette with some other people and unfortunately, he lost. This caused my mom to want to move which led me to switch schools. My mom became a drunk and whenever she gets intoxicated, she remembers what happened to my dad and beats me. I wasn't sad when my dad died. All I felt was indifference. My mom was angry at me for not caring about his death. Why should I care that he played the most stupid game and ended up dying because of it? Whenever she hits me, she doesn't speak clearly, but I can hear her occasionally say, 'Why the hell aren't you as depressed as me? Do you not care about him'. Of course, I cared for him when he was alive, but I just didn't feel anything when I learned of his death. Sometimes, I wonder if something is wrong with me. Do you think there's something wrong with me, Tsubasa?"

Of course there's something wrong with you! Your father died and you don't care about it. Your mother abuses you and you don't care about it. How can there not be something wrong with you? "No, there's nothing wrong with you. However, you shouldn't put up with your mother's abuse. You should tell an adult about it."

"Really, Tsubasa, it's no big deal. It hasn't been going on for long and I'm sure she'll eventually stop. Trust me, it's nothing to worry about."

"if you say so, I won't worry about it." I lied.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Anyway, how about we just enjoy this beautiful day? The sky especially is looking rather lovely today."

That we can both agree upon. But then suddenly, droplets of rain begin to fall upon us.

"Looks like we can't stay outside for now. How about we go somewhere indoors?" I question Miu.

"I have a perfect place we can go to. Follow me."

Miu grabs my hand and takes me away with her. "Where are we going, Miu?"

"We're going to my house. Don't worry; my mom went to run some errands and won't be back soon. That means we got the whole place to ourselves." Miu winks at me as she finishes her sentence.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to come to your house? Especially me, being a boy. Isn't there someone a little strange about a boy and a girl in the same place alone?"

"We were just alone right now, what's the difference?"

"But—"

"Just shut up and come along. Maybe you'll make it to a base."

I don't know what she means by that, but I follow her while still holding onto her hand. Miu, I'm too much of a coward to help you. I'm probably too weak to do anything to help you. But I promise, no matter what, I will always be here to hold your hand. I won't let go of your hand.