When Gabriel came out of the toilet, his appearance was all neat and clean. A warm smile stretched his lips, his demeanor giving off the air of a gentle and refined man. It was as if Misha had never spilled apple juice on him. Except for the wet spot on his T-shirt, there was no trace left of the boy's mischief.
Misha couldn't help but make a small pout at the constatation, a little upset in his heart.
Why was there no reaction…? Couldn't Gabriel pretend to be a little bothered by his prank, at least?! And here he had been so excited to see his crestfallen face, only to be met with that damned smile of his! What an infuriating sight!
Alright. Misha knew Gabriel wouldn't lose his temper for this much, not with all the patience he had shown in their past life, but still! He couldn't help but expect some reaction, like a twitching mouth or a frown. However, Gabriel's eyes were as gentle as ever, and the teenager didn't mention the incident, not even reprimanding the child for the sake of it. Like always, he wore that perfect gentleman mask, making Misha wonder what kind of nasty prank he'd have to pull to break it apart.
Seemingly oblivious to Misha's displeasure, Gabriel sat on the chair near the old lady's bed. His smile grew gentler as he softly inquired about her health and how her day was. Meanwhile, Masha tugged her little brother's gown, then shook a deck of cards under his nose, asking, "Wanna play?"
"Sure!"
Distracting his mind from Gabriel was what Misha needed right now.
While they were playing, with Masha purposely losing, another nurse came by, asking the child to pee in the sample cup. Since she was professional and not a pain in the neck, unlike her colleague, Misha didn't make things difficult for her and obediently peed in the cup before handing it back. Well… he did think of pouring it over Gabriel's head, but he wasn't sure his sister would appreciate such a crude prank. Was it even a prank? Or just plain bullying? Even he found the idea disgusting, so he quickly discarded it.
Moreover, his mother did want him to pass the test. She accepted his previous prank with the thought that he wouldn't cause trouble for the next nurse. Misha still had to comply with the doctors' orders, if only for his mother's sake. He did have a hunch about how the test result would turn out, but he couldn't exactly blow the medical staff off, nor could he tell them that examining his urine was a waste of time. It wasn't like his words were worth something, anyway.
All in all, Misha could only shut his mouth and hope for his fever to go down soon. Santa Claus did mention that he would suffer from headaches and fevers, but he also said that Misha would be fine. The man said it with so much confidence that Misha had no other choice but to believe in his words. He wouldn't lose hope from this much and "patiently" wait for his recovery.
Perked up, Misha finally concentrated on the game of cards he was playing with his sister, and time flew by.
However, Misha forgot to ask his sister about their mother's strange reaction to his hospitalization. Oh, well, it wasn't like his room was a place for a private talk, and it wasn't something he could openly discuss in front of outsiders. He didn't want his mother to become gossip material for others.
His eyelids had become heavy, and even if Misha still wanted to play and chitchat with his sister, his body couldn't care less. Soon, he started to nod off. He slowly fell asleep without noticing it, and his sister tucked him in.
Although the boy was sleeping, Gabriel and Masha didn't leave and stayed until curfew. Only after the nurse warned them did they take their belongings and leave, bidding goodbye to Misha's roommates.
Like every time, Gabriel had to promise the old lady to visit her again. Otherwise, she wouldn't let him go, tugging on his shirt with pleading eyes. She even asked him to bring her home, saying that she was fine and didn't want to stay there. The teenager had to coax her for a long time before she finally released him.
As they passed through the main corridor, Gabriel took the time to notify the reception that the old lady may try to leave on her own. He wanted them to pay extra attention to her, just in case. If she were to take off the nasal cannula that delivered oxygen to her lungs and wander around, the consequences could be tragic.
Once Gabriel and Masha were outside, they walked to a bench and sat down. The next bus was in half an hour, so they had to wait for a while. It was almost the end of June, and the heat lingered even after the sunset. Thus, it was neither hot nor cold.
Both of them preferred to wait outside than stay in the hospital. The waiting area wasn't exactly a place filled with joy, and there were fewer people and patients outdoors, giving them peace of mind.
They didn't say anything for a while, sitting next to each other while watching the night sky.
Gabriel had lost his smile, and a cold expression now haunted his face, which contrasted vividly with his elegant and gentle features. Almost no one wandered around at this hour, and they sat quite far from the nearest light source, shrouding themselves in darkness; he didn't need to keep pretending as no one would notice him. Moreover, after taking care of the old lady for so many hours in a row, even he felt dead tired and wanted to stop smiling like a fool.
"Sorry about Misha's prank," Masha sighed, rubbing her temples. She didn't mind her brother's pranks, but she had to admit she didn't know how Gabriel would react to such silly things. Even though that man was patient and wouldn't let his emotions get the better of him, Masha still cared about how he felt deep down. If her brother's pranks did anger him, she would try to speak to Misha.
Earlier, they both realized that the boy had purposely targeted Gabriel. He tried to make it appear like an accident, but knowing that Misha didn't like Gabriel, it was clear as day it had been intentional. The innocent expression the child wore was that of someone inwardly laughing at others' misery—at least that's how it appeared to the teenagers.
"Don't worry," Gabriel chuckled, glancing askance at Masha. "Your teasing is far more annoying than your brother's childish pranks."
"What are you saying? We both know you love my teasing very much!"
Raising an eyebrow, Gabriel stared at her, and the look in his eyes seemed to say that no one would buy her bullshit, much less him.
"You're not fun!" Masha laughed weakly before lowering her head and looking at her hands. She added in a softer voice, "Thank you for always coming with me."
"No problem."
Again, a silence fell between them. A few minutes passed before Masha opened her mouth to ask, "Do you mind staying at my home tonight?"
"No," Gabriel said, his tone cold. When he didn't play his persona, he was a man of few words. Masha was probably the only one who heard him speak so much when he dropped the act—she was also one of the very few, along with his troublesome childhood friend, who knew the real him.
"Thanks," she murmured, slowly closing her eyes.
Tonight, she didn't want to be alone. Even if she didn't show it, always smiling and laughing, she was as worried as her mother. Like Gulnas, she couldn't forget the image of her baby brother lying in an incubator. Back then, she was still young, but it had marked her for life. Misha was so frail, so small; it had made her afraid that he would disappear from her life at any given moment, and that fear had never left her since then.
Little did Masha know that she and her mother were the first to disappear in their past life, leaving their precious baby all alone.
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Chapter revised on 2022-04-30
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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