After what seemed to be an eternity, Stephan took it upon himself to break the silence, coughing a few times to draw everyone's attention. Then, he said to Misha, "Maybe you could close the door first. It's kinda cold."
Only then did Misha realize he had forgotten to close the front door, allowing the cold air of winter to enter the house and permeate the living room. Once the teenager reminded him, he shut it with a bang before taking off his boots, followed by his coat, gloves, and hat, which he carelessly threw on the floor. The whole time, his eyes never left his sister, who was fidgeting in her wheelchair.
"Misha," Gabriel said, diverting the boy's attention to him. "Why aren't you in school?"
"I'm skipping, what of it?" the boy replied with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
Upon seeing that sweet yet cold smile of his, everyone present in the living room felt a shiver run down their spines, giving them goosebumps. Such a composed expression was much scarier than his usual outburst, in which he openly showed his displeasure and anger on his face. It was like the calm before the storm, and the incoming storm would surely be a brutal one, the kind that devastated everything in its wake.
No one dared to say anything, and they all silently watched the boy as he walked up to the sofa, sitting between Yuki and Gabriel. After comfortably positioning himself, Misha swept a gaze around the room, observing everyone's face for a short second before focusing his attention on his sister. As he stared at her, sweat beaded on her forehead, and before long, she averted her eyes, resembling a child who knew they had done wrong.
"So? What about your girlfriend?" Misha asked in a friendly voice that nevertheless carried a hint of silent anger.
"I…" Masha opened her mouth but closed it soon afterward, not knowing what to say.
It was the first time Misha had ever seen his sister so frightened, and deep down, it hurt him like nothing else. What was she so afraid of? Why did he never hear of a girlfriend, both in this timeline and the previous one? What exactly was going on? And why were Gabriel and Stephan so close earlier? By the look of it, the teenager was most likely taking advantage of the young man, touching him all over with his dirty paws.
Misha had such thoughts twirling in his head because he knew what kind of man Stephan was, a famous playboy who swung both ways and had no moral ground. That guy never hid it in his past life, often coming up to the bar to have a drink with his one-night stand. The number of women and men Misha had seen wrapped around his boss's arm was countless, and he only worked for him for a few months!
With this in mind, it wouldn't be surprising if Stephan had some idea about Gabriel, who was also precisely the type of man he liked. Who knows what was going in his head whenever he acted coy, attaching himself to Gabriel like a leech? It was one of the many reasons why Misha didn't like the teenager clinging to Gabriel. He always felt a pang of jealousy whenever those two acted all close and secretive.
And now, it seemed like Gabriel was well aware of his friend's tendencies and sexual orientation. It also felt like he didn't mind it much, letting him do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. But that wasn't the matter at hand, and Misha decided not to care about it for the time being.
"You know…" Misha sighed, taking a deep breath to calm down. "I'm not angry at you because you have a girlfriend 'cause seriously, I don't give a fuck about your lover's gender. I'm angry because you hid it from me! And I'm angry because Gabriel played along, and you two took me for a fool!"
The boy paused to let his words sink in. Even Stephan, who loved to spout nonsense 24 hours a day, was silent, his head lowered as he quietly listened to the scolding. But as Misha was about to resume, Yuki unexpectedly interrupted him. Her voice was calm and even, soothing anyone who heard it, Misha included.
"Misha, have you forgotten? From what your sister told me, your grandparents hold quite a few prejudices against homosexuals, and your parents never contradict them, sometimes even agreeing with their words. Think about it, will you?
"Eh?"
"Gays are not welcome in your family."
For a second, Misha didn't understand what the nurse meant. It wasn't until a few blurry memories surfaced in his mind that everything finally made sense. His grandparents often made offensive comments or used derogatory terms whenever the conversation strayed toward homosexuality. It had happened quite a few times when his family visited them before his mother's death. Misha couldn't recall their exact words, only having a vague impression of the conversations, but he knew it wasn't anything pleasing to hear.
Back then, he was too young to understand. Did he, perhaps, believe in their words? Did he do or say anything that made his sister think he would be disgusted by her sexual orientation? He couldn't remember. His childhood memories were too messed up, but it seemed like he indeed did so. In his eyes, that was what Yuki implied.
"Yuki!" Masha cried out in a panic-stricken voice. "It—"
"I'm only telling the truth. Before your brother accuses you of anything, he should take the time to think about why you didn't say a thing."
"But—"
"Masha," Misha interrupted, a weak smile stretching his lips. "What Yuki said makes sense. I'm sorry if I did something that hurt you or made you think I wouldn't accept your sexual orientation. I didn't do it on purpose, I swear."
"Why? Why are you the one apologizing?! I should be the one to say sorry! It's me who's not normal, it—"
"Never say you're not normal just because you love girls!" Misha cut off, leaping to his feet. "Tell me, how is loving someone not normal?!"
While speaking, Misha moved to his sister's side, then he hugged her gently and carefully, as if she was the most precious thing on earth. His child-like voice was low and soothing, carrying a hint of maturity it shouldn't have.
"Sis', you don't have to feel ashamed for loving someone. You did nothing wrong."
Masha seemed to be taken aback by her brother's words, but soon, she hugged him back, her trembling arms tightly wrapped around his thin body. She buried her head in the crook of his neck, and before long, silent tears rolled down her cheeks, wetting the child's collar.
No one in the living room said anything for fear of disturbing the two siblings and instead silently watched over them. One was softly crying; the other was gently stroking her back. Although it was a sad sight, it also softened their hearts. They were each lost in their own thoughts, but they all had a faint or broad smile plastered on their lips. They couldn't help but feel glad for Masha.
At least one person in her family accepted her for who she was, and God knew how much it meant to Masha.
***
"So? Who's the bitch who broke your heart? I really want to have a heart-to-heart talk with her," Misha asked with an innocent kind of smile that nonetheless made everyone feel creeped out.
Masha's mouth twitched a little as she took the kleenex her brother handed her. She blew her nose, then lowered her eyes, chewing on her lip. Even if her brother didn't judge her, she still hesitated to talk about her love life with him. Everything went too fast, and she had a bit of difficulty adjusting.
"If you don't tell me, I'll just ask that guy," Misha shrugged as he rudely pointed to Gabriel. "I'm pretty sure he knows."
"…Camille. It was Camille."
"What? Wait. No, it makes sense, actually," the boy mumbled as a cold light flashed in his eyes.
The two closest persons to his sister had always been Gabriel and Camille. Of course, Masha had other friends and her world didn't revolve only around these two, but if she had a girlfriend, then the number one candidate was still Camille. Who else could it be? For as long as he could remember, that girl had always been present in his sister's life.
"Good, good. Gaby, let's take the car and pay her a visit, shall we?"
"Sure, no problem."
"Wait, wait, wait!" Masha clumsily gripped her brother's arm as he was about to walk toward the door that led to the garage. "It's nothing worth getting angry at. I…" The teenage girl bit her lips before exhaling, "I can understand why she would break up with me. It's not easy to take care of a crippled person. It probably is too much responsibility for her."
"So what? Just because of this, she threw you out like a rag at the first opportunity, not even trying to put in the effort to make your relationship work! I mean, I saw her once, only once, at the hospital! I could understand if she had tried her best to help you and it became too hard on her, but she did nothing! There was no trace of her shadow during your most difficult time. No matter what you say, that girl deserves a beating!"
"You know, you're kinda rubbing salt into the wound," Stephan commented with a wry smile.
"Shut up," Misha spat out as he shifted his eyes to the teenager, who was still sitting on the floor, cross-legged. "I just don't get why she's protecting her. That girl is not worthy of my sister's affection!"
Something seemed to flash in his eyes, and the child suddenly turned his attention to Gabriel. "Oh, yeah. Why did you accept to play along, Gaby? I mean, being her fake boyfriend makes it hard for you to find yourself a real girlfriend, no?"
"Pfft. Isn't it because he's in the same boat?" Stephan snickered, throwing a mocking yet ambiguous glance at the young man.
"Eh?" Misha tilted his head, seemingly not understanding what the teenager meant. It took a few seconds for his brain to process his words, and then his eyes grew wide as he exclaimed, "What?! So you're gay too?!!"
"Well, yes," Gabriel answered honestly, his tone calm and even.
"Don't tell me… Is that idiot your boyfriend?!" Misha asked in a loud voice, rudely pointing at Stephan.
"No!" Gabriel grimaced as if the question had scorched his ears. "He is not, and he will never be."
"Do you have to be so harsh? You're breaking my heart!" Stephan whined, clutching his chest as though his words had genuinely hurt him, making his heart sting with pain.
"What heart?"
"The one you shattered to pieces!"
"Is that so."
"You—"
The landline rang before Stephan could spout any more nonsense, startling everyone. Because Gabriel was the closest to the phone, he stretched a hand to take it and answer the call. It was Alexey, and hearing his voice that carried a subtle sense of panic, he felt a little dumbfounded. It seemed like even that stoic man could become anxious once in a while.
But after listening to what he had to say, Gabriel quickly understood why he was so uneasy. So he promptly reassured him, saying that Misha was safe and sound as he glanced at the boy who stood by his sister's side. Only then did Misha remember that he had forgotten to call his father and the school to let them know he sneaked home during lunch break, giving them quite a scare.
…Oopsie?
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-28
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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