Gabriel didn't answer Misha straight away and instead probed him with a question, "Why are you asking this?"
"A hunch!" Misha shrugged. His voice was filled with righteousness, making it sound like his answer was the most natural, rational, and logical one. No decoration accompanied it; it was just the plain truth. His gut feeling told him that something was off with Gabriel's amnesia, so he didn't think twice and directly questioned him about it.
Besides, Gabriel protected him in a far too similar manner to how he did it in their past life. Of course, it wasn't surprising that he chose to protect a child, but there had been too much emotion involved.
Misha couldn't exactly tell him such a thing, so he opted for "a hunch", which wasn't too far from the truth.
A second passed before Gabriel burst out laughing. It was a loud laugh, one that gave off the feeling that all of his worries had suddenly vanished into smoke. It left Misha dumbfounded. He had never heard Gabriel laugh in such a carefree manner, and he was unsure of how to react for a second.
'Really, that pair of siblings is always full of surprises,' Gabriel thought, his emerald eyes turning somewhat soft.
On the one hand, there was Masha, who immediately realized that something was off the moment he emerged from his coma. Still, she waited for everyone to leave the room before interrogating him. This girl was always on his side and getting angry on his behalf; if it were up to her, she'd tear apart everyone who hurt him, regardless of who they were.
On the other hand, there was Misha, who simply followed his instincts, not caring about what others thought. He stood up against his family as if it was the most natural thing to do and didn't even question his sudden coldness, accepting it with a shrug of his shoulders. And although his pranks were tiring, they also carried a hint of warmth amid the mischievousness. It was only a child who was trying to draw his attention—or so Gabriel thought.
How could he not feel warm with these two siblings around? Bit by bit, they were melting the layers of ice freezing his heart, whether consciously or not. It brought back emotions that he had thought he had long forgotten, and his heart started to beat again.
In their company, Gabriel felt alive once again.
"Why are you laughing?!" Misha grunted as he vigorously tugged the teenager's hospital gown. "And why aren't you answering me? Stop beating around the bush!"
"Sorry," Gabriel apologized as he straightened his back. He stretched a hand to ruffle the boy's hair before being reminded that it was broken. So, he could only let it drop beside his body again. "And how would you react if I was indeed pretending to have amnesia?"
"I would hit you!"
That had the merit of cutting straight to the point.
"And probably sulk for a few days," Misha reluctantly admitted before adding with a pointed glare, "And unless you have a good reason to lie to my sister, I'll never forgive you."
"Don't worry," Gabriel sighed. "Masha already knows."
Knowing the boy's temper, he might as well tell the truth—or at the very least, parts of it. Misha had already made up his mind, and he wouldn't let him off the hook until he answered his questions honestly. On this point, he was the same as his older sister, as stubborn as an ox. If Gabriel insisted on keeping his mouth shut, he feared the boy would pester him forever.
A silence fell between them, and Misha foolishly blinked, stunned silly by Gabriel's words.
His sister knew…? Since when?!
"Why didn't she tell me?" Misha absently mumbled, more to himself than anything.
"Probably because you're not a very good liar," Gabriel teased before continuing in a more serious tone, "And also because she doesn't want to involve you in my family problems. Honestly, I'd have much preferred that she overlooked my lies, but Masha knows me too well."
Gabriel helplessly shook his head, a small smile lifting the corner of his lips. Since long ago, he couldn't hide anything from her, as she couldn't hide anything from him.
"Also, I would appreciate it if you forget everything you've seen and heard today—for your own good."
"In your dreams!" Misha retorted with a snort. "I don't want to be left in the dark anymore! If you don't tell me anything, I can only fill in the blanks myself, and I can't guarantee I won't misunderstand you!"
Gabriel slightly frowned, but he didn't point out the child's odd way of phrasing his words. Again, he pretended not to notice and said, "I don't mind being misunderstood. You've seen how my family is, haven't you?"
"But I mind! And yeah, your mother is a—"
Misha abruptly closed his mouth, pursing his lips. Although that woman was a bitch, he shouldn't say it aloud. She was still Gabriel's mother, after all.
"You can say it. Angela is not my mother. She's my stepmother, and the two boys you saw are my step-brother and half-brother."
"Oh, then I won't hold back. That woman is a freaking bitch. And the teenager looks like an arrogant asshole," Misha tsked, not realizing how vulgar his words were. "I should have crushed his balls while I still had the chance."
Gabriel decided not to comment on the boy's desire to crush his step-brother's privates and went back to the topic at hand. "They aren't the best people in the world, and I don't want them to target you because you have offended them. The way they do things isn't very proper."
"Ok, I get it. They're bad people, but why do you have to pretend to have amnesia? By the look of it, they still won't leave you be. They're worse than bloodsuckers."
"Well, that's—"
Before the teenager could finish his sentence, the door unexpectedly opened for the third time today. Then, Misha's family entered the room, cutting short their conversation.
Masha was first in line, a big bouquet of white tulips in her hands, while her mother followed behind her, holding a few snacks and whatnot. Her stern-looking father came last, closing the door behind them.
When the trio lifted their eyes and saw the two boys, they froze, unable to help but raise an eyebrow as they wondered what they were doing.
Misha was standing on tiptoes, his clenched fists resting on the teenager's thighs, which he had pounded a few times throughout their conversation. Before him, Gabriel was oddly positioned, half-sitting and half-lying on the bed, with his upper body slightly bent over to talk with the child.
The question was: were they fighting, or were they chitchatting? It was hard to tell.
"Sorry, Misha ran off the moment we arrived," Masha chuckled as she walked up to them, wisely deciding not to comment. "This little one didn't want to come with us to the flower shop, even though it's just next door."
Misha innocently turned his head sideways, gazing out the window as he played deaf.
Besides the hospital, there was indeed a flower shop. Since Gabriel had finally woken up, Masha and her mother had decided to buy a bouquet to celebrate, even planning on writing a small card that wished for his quick recovery. So, without caring about the boy's opinion, they dragged him to the shop while Alexis went to park the car.
However, the moment the mother-daughter duo took their eyes off the child, he sneakily went to the hospital, popping into Gabriel's room soon afterward. He deliberately waited until they became engrossed in shopping before escaping.
When Mrs. Brown realized that her son was missing, she almost had a heart attack. If it hadn't been for her daughter's comforting words, she would have gone crazy.
Now that her son was in front of her, Gulnas just wanted to grab him and scold him for three days and three nights, but she couldn't do this in a patient's room. So instead, she simply rushed to her baby boy like a bolt of lightning, hugging him as if her life depended on it.
She whispered in his ear, "Sweetie, don't leave us without saying anything! I was worried sick, you know?"
There was a silence before Misha guiltily murmured, "Sorry. I won't do it a second time, but mom, you're crushing me."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to," Gulnas apologized as she loosened her grip and patted his arms.
Misha brightly smiled at her, and as he looked over her shoulders, his eyes finally caught sight of the white tulip bouquet—he didn't really pay attention to what his sister was holding until now.
Suddenly, it was as if a lump got stuck in his throat, depriving him of his voice.
For the past few years, he had seen the same flowers lying beside his mother and sister's grave at their death anniversaries. Seeing them again brought back many memories, reminding him of those long lonely days.
Oblivious to her little brother's state of mind, Masha put the flowers on the night table, saying to Gabriel with a laugh, "These flowers are the first ones you ever gave me, so they are quite special to us. Consequently, my mother loves them very much too, and well, we decided to buy a bouquet for you. Anyway, I don't really know what flowers you love, so…."
As Misha listened to her words, his eyes grew wide, and his clenched fists trembled slightly. He had always wondered why someone would lay white tulips on a grave and what kind of meaning it had, and now he seemed to understand.
As a child, he had never paid attention to what kind of flowers Gabriel gave to his sister, much less what flowers his mother loved. It was something that he had long forgotten. But to Gabriel, it was something he would surely never forget.
That giver of flowers who had piqued his curiosity back then, was it Gabriel? But even if Misha were to ask now, the teenager couldn't answer him.
____________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-14
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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