Can't Go Back

Dorian

I sat on the couch waiting for Riley to come back. He must be in a really good phone conversation I thought as I put my head back, and I just relaxed until he got back.

“Hey” I heard as Riley walked into the room.

“Oh, hi” I smiled.

“Can I talk to you?” he asked serious.

“Ok” I said as I sat up. I didn’t know what he wanted to talk about but it seemed to upset him.

“This” he said showing me a picture.

“What about it?” I asked confused.

“What do you know about this picture?”

“It’s an important picture to my dad, and it’s a picture of my sister, and a friend of my dad’s son, why?”

“Because I know that little boy, and so do you”

“I do?” I asked shocked as he nodded his head. “Who is it then?”

“It’s Pat,” he shouted as I grabbed the picture from his hands.

“How do you know?” I asked unsure.

“I can tell that smile and his eyes anywhere,” he said.

“Oh”

“Do you know his father’s name?” he asked frantically.

“Uhm, hold on let me go and find the picture with my parents friends” I said as I got up from the couch and I ran into the workroom. I found the picture and ran back down.

“This is his father,” I pointed to the one my parents called Yu. “He didn’t know his father?” I asked shocked.

“No, his dad was never in the picture, no matter how many times his mom said he would come, he never did. He was always at ‘work’” he said using air quotes “She always made up stories, I think the whole story about his dad cheating was fake,” he explained.

“Does he have an older brother?” I asked.

“Yeah, Joey” I said as he nodded. “Did you ever meet Pat?”

“No, that was the last time my parents ever talked to that guy, or so I think. No wait, they met again, but he was by himself”

“Probably at ‘work’” he said using the air quotes again.

“Well I believe he’s in Germany right now” I said as he looked at me confused.

“Why?”

“That’s where he lives,” I said bluntly.

“For how long?” he demanded.

“As long as I can remember,” I said backing away from him.

“So that’s his dad,” he said as I nodded.

“I have to show you something,” I said as he nodded as I went upstairs to fetch the paper with Riley’s name on it.

I went back downstairs to the living room and sat down just as the front door burst open.

“What the?” I asked as I jumped up.

“Who’s there?” Riley asked.

“It’s just us” it was Robert.

“Oh, hi” I said as dad walked in with his girlfriend.

“They released you already?” I asked shocked.

“Yeah, they said I was doing a lot better, and if I had any problems I should go to emergency.” He recited to me.

“Ok” I said as I turned around and I sat back on the couch.

“What are you guys doing?” dad asked walking over to us.

“Nothing” I said as dad really looked at Riley.

“Who is this?” he asked pointing at Riley.

“I told you my friend from university, Riley” I said as he gasped, then looked at the papers on the couch.

“What are you doing with all this?” he asked snatching the paper.

“Uh sir. I found this picture and I just had a question about it” Riley spoke up.

“Where did you find this?” he demanded.

“In your kitchen, it fell out of a drawer that I ran into” he said innocently. I didn’t know why dad was so mad about all this.

“Dad, what’s your problem?”

“My problem is that you and your friend went snooping,” he yelled, and then he sat down to catch his breath.

“Dad, you need to take it easy” I told him as he nodded. He looked up at me, but he wasn’t angry anymore, any signs that he was angry were gone.

“I know, I guess it’s about time you learned some truths about your pasts” he said as I looked at him curiously.

“What do you mean?”

“Well you found the picture of Yu’s son”

“Yeah, and it happens to be Riley’s best friend” I said a little confused.

“Oh, I didn’t even know that” he said.

“I didn’t expect you to know that” Riley said as I couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s so funny?” Riley asked.

“Nothing, continue” I told dad as he nodded.

“What a weird thing though, it’s a small world” dad said.

“It really is” Riley said. “But if you don’t mind me asking how was Pat’s dad like?” he asked. I sat and listened.

“He was, I don’t know if he still is, but he was a good guy” he started. “He loved his girlfriend, but they broke up so many times that he didn’t feel like trying anymore”

One day he met this really pretty woman, she was on vacation” dad said. “This was after your sister was born and we were on tour without your mom”

“Because of Julia” I said as dad nodded.

“He really liked her, she wanted to get married but he didn’t. The only reason she thought they should get married because she was pregnant”

“With Joey or Pat?” Riley asked.

“Patrick” dad said.

“What about Joey?”

“He wasn’t Yu’s, only Maria’s, that’s her name”

“I know, she’s like my second mom,” he said as dad flinched, but I didn’t know why.

“She left him at home a lot so Yu didn’t know she had another son until we toured in her hometown” dad explained. “She later told him she was pregnant and he left. He went back when the baby was born, but she didn’t want anything to do with him”

“How did this picture come to be?”

“Maria was friends with all of us, she loved me and Kiro, my wife, and before she left for America, she came over, and this picture was made. She mailed it weeks later”

“Wow” Riley said so dumbfounded. “I can’t believe all this,” he said as I nodded.

“Yeah, this world is full of secrets” dad said as he got up, and Quinn and Robert helped him out of the room.

“I can’t believe all of this, Pat always wanted to know his dad, he’s never met him. He thought he’d meet his dad at our high school graduation, but he never showed” Riley explained.

“Well I guess you can tell him and you can give him these pictures” I said as I got up. “I guess we better get to bed” I said as I looked at the clock.