As Masha brought the phone closer to her ear, she glanced over her shoulder at her little brother. The boy was sulking in the corner of the living room, his puffed-out cheeks and furrowed brow giving off the feeling that he had been deeply wronged. It made her mouth twitch a little. Although Misha appeared to have matured lately, he still threw silly tantrums whenever it concerned Gabriel, reverting to that unreasonable little brat she knew so well.
"What the hell did you say to my brother? He's shooting daggers at me," Masha whispered, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
If that petty kid was displeased with her… Oh gosh, the devil was about to knock on her door. Masha wasn't a masochist, and she sure as hell didn't want to become the next target of her brother's nasty pranks—Gabriel wasn't the only one traumatized by the worms-flavored cupcake.
"Just that I didn't have much time and had to talk to you. But it felt like Misha still didn't want to pass the phone to you, so I added that it was very important and would answer his questions another day," Gabriel answered after a short silence, his cold voice carrying a touch of helplessness. "Coaxing your brother is getting harder by the day."
"Honestly, he's quite sensible. When it's not about you, that's it."
"I've noticed that, thank you."
Masha cleared her throat before changing the topic, "So, what's going on? I mean, it took you a few weeks to contact me. I was worried sick, you know?"
"Sorry, Angela locked me up in her villa, and Jake kept an eye on me all day long. I didn't find an opportunity to call you until today. I also don't have my cell phone with me, so it's quite difficult to call someone without those two knowing it."
"Of course you don't have your cell phone! Why would she give it back to you?" Masha scoffed, disdain distorting her beautiful face. "I bet she didn't even tell you that you own one."
"You nailed it. And Jake makes sure not to use his in front of me; I don't even have the chance to ask if I own one. Still, that's not the main problem. I think I won't be able to go to school for now. It looks like Angela is planning on forcing me to home school for the next few months—that's if she lets me study. I wouldn't even be surprised if she doesn't, asking me to rest instead."
"What?!"
"Apparently, I need plenty of rest, meaning that she wants me to stay in bed most of the time. I also have to get used to having no memories. According to her and the "doctor", it would be extremely stressful for me to be thrown in a classroom with a bunch of strangers, strangers who know me very well while I don't even remember their names, much less their faces."
"You must be kidding me! How much more shameless can she get?!"
"Knowing her, she can get much worse. You know very well that she has no moral ground. The ends justify the means, and the ends she wants are rarely proper ones."
There was a short silence as the words sank in, and Masha's mood turned bleaker. By the look of it, Gabriel's situation wasn't about to get better any time soon. When exactly would she be able to meet him again?
As if reading her mind, Gabriel followed with a few good news, which comforted her a little. "On the bright side, I should have more freedom now that Jake went back home to attend school. And Angela can't stay with me 24 hours a day as she still has work to do. Although I have to take care of Tristan, he's still a young child, so he's easy to fool. All in all, I should be able to contact you more often from now on."
"That's a start. But still, I won't be able to see you for a long time. It's quite depressing." Masha bit her lips before sucking in a deep breath and adding, "Should we break up? It will give you more freedom if you're not with me anymore. Like it or not, Angela will be over the moon if that happens. She will probably relax her vigilance a little then, making it easier for you to investigate."
"Did I hear wrong, or did you really suggest that we break up?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Who threatened me into this relationship again?"
"…" Masha coughed, and with an awkward laugh, she innocently asked, "What are you talking about? Who in their right mind would dare to threaten you?"
"I wonder."
A gentle smile bloomed on her face, and Masha whispered in a soft voice, "But if the relationship we currently have is holding you up, we may as well destroy it."
"Who said it's holding me up? Let's not make that woman too happy. I will find a solution as always, so don't worry. I'm fine. Sorry, I have to go. When I have the chance, I'll call back."
"Wait! I may or may not have stolen my parents' cell phone. So, you can call that number instead of the landline. This way, it'll be easier to contact me. You remember the number, right?"
"Yes. That phone number is hard to forget. It's mostly made up of the same digit, after all."
"Right," Masha laughed, and eventually, she said goodbye and hung up.
Afterward, she stared at the phone for a long time until her back felt itchy. She frowned and then slowly turned her head only to come face to face with her little brother, whose eyes were still shooting daggers at her.
"…"
Masha had forgotten him.
"Why didn't you pass the phone to me before hanging up? I had a few things to say to Gabriel," the boy grunted with a sullen face.
"I'm sorry. Gabriel was in a hurry, so I had to hang up. Next time, ok?"
"You better not forget. And what was that about breaking up? Aren't you two madly in love with each other?"
"Did you eavesdrop?"
"No, I didn't. I just didn't leave the living room. It's you who talked without a care about your surroundings."
"I thought you were busy sulking."
"Sulking doesn't mean your ears stop working," Misha rolled his eyes. But, of course, he had only heard one side of the conversation, so he didn't understand everything that went on between the two lovebirds. However, there were still a few obvious things that he could deduce from his sister's words.
"So? The breakup?"
"Well," Masha sighed, rubbing her neck as she thought of how to explain why she had proposed such a thing. "You know, Gabriel's family situation is quite complicated. I do love him very much, but his parents disapprove of our relationship, and right now, his stepmother is making things difficult for him because of it—amongst other things. So, I suggested we break up, if only for appearance's sake."
"Who cares about what his parents think! If you love each other, what's wrong with you two being together?! You can do whatever you want! It's not like you're doing something bad," Misha growled, feeling quite indignant on his sister's behalf.
"It would be great if things were that simple."
"Then make them that simple!" Misha snorted, proudly raising his chin as if he had said something revolutionary, making his sister laugh.
'Really, if only it were that simple,' Masha thought, unfathomable emotion twirling in her eyes as she ruffled her brother's soft hair. 'It'd make life so much easier.'
***
Gabriel stared at the phone for a few seconds before leaving the living room and rummaging through the house to find Tristan. Talking with Masha took longer than expected, and he had made the child wait for too long already.
But what could he do? He missed Masha very much, and although he didn't like to blabber, he still wanted to chitchat with the teenage girl for a while longer.
Honestly, he had to force himself to hang up.
Gabriel would have loved to talk with Misha too. Both siblings wore their hearts on their sleeves, and it was relaxing to chat with them. He didn't have to decipher the hidden meaning behind every word, and although the boy often lied, he wasn't a good liar; it was easy to figure out his inner feelings.
Unlike with Masha and Misha, discussing with his stepmother and Jake was exhausting. And when he was alone with Tristan, he still had to watch his tongue. Of course, the little boy meant no harm; however, he happily told his mother everything his big brother did or said during the day. Therefore, Gabriel had to be careful with his words, even in front of the child.
After being separated from Masha and her family, Gabriel had realized how comfortable it was to spend his time with them. Now that he was back to living with his two-faced stepmother and selfish step-brother, he couldn't help but miss those days.
'Looks like I've become greedy,' Gabriel inwardly sneered before kneeling on the floor and looking under the bed where Tristan was hiding.
"Ha! You found me!" the boy giggled with a bright, innocent smile. "Again!"
"Sure. I'll count in the corridor, so go and hide quickly," Gabriel gently smiled as he watched the boy storm off. "And don't step out of the house!"
For now, all he could do was babysit his little brother. With this in mind, Gabriel pushed the problems at hand aside, telling himself that he would ponder over them tonight while lying in bed.
At any rate, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep well.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-19
Edited by Clozed! ♥
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/rs_vaesen
Discord: https://discord.gg/ZsEYr5eh6h