"You know, I've got so much to tell you, but I don't have much time, so I'll try to keep it short. You've probably guessed it by now; I didn't manage to save mom in this timeline either. And to make matters worse, the one who crossed the road was Masha, not me. Mom had the same reflex as last time, and she ran in front of the pick-up to push Masha out of the way. It's just that sis' is heavier than me, and mom wasn't able to push her far away enough. Masha fell, and the driver ran over her legs, crushing them. I…."
The boy bit his lower lip to stifle a sob before taking a deep breath, tears glittering at the corner of his eyes. Although it had been a year, it was still something difficult to talk about. The image of his mother's corpse was seared into his mind, same for his sister laying in a hospital bed, her legs deformed into something barely recognizable.
"I don't really want to talk about it, to be frank. I'm sure you understand why. For more details, just ask Gabriel. In all honesty, I'd have preferred to go back in time myself, but apparently, I can't do that because our body is too damn weak, so Gabriel proposed to do it in my stead." Misha half-smiled, half-scoffed. "That guy snuck on me while I was chatting with Santa Claus! Can you believe it?! Anyway, I hope he succeeded in saving mom this time around. If that's not the case, kick his ass for me, please. But that's not really what I want to talk about—there are several things you have to know before my time is up."
Holographic Misha paused and rubbed his neck, seemingly wondering where to start. So many things happened during this past year, bad things and good things. He'd love to tell himself everything, no matter how insignificant it was. But he knew it wasn't possible. So, he had to sort out what to say, regardless of how he felt.
"I guess I'm gonna start with this: dad didn't become an asshole. I kept him away from alcohol, and he stayed sober. He didn't blame Masha for our mom's death; instead, he worked days and nights to pay her medical expenses. These past few months…" Misha smiled, yet a bit of sadness remained in his eyes, "he was a very good father, the one we have always dreamt of. I hope you can open up to him in your timeline too. I won't ask you to forgive him for what he did to us in the first timeline, but try to give him a chance, ok?"
Misha couldn't believe his ears. He heard himself praising the father he had hated so much, giving rise to an odd feeling in his heart. Even if he had become less hostile toward his father over the past few months, he was still wary of Alexey, always afraid he'd fly into a rage for no reason whatsoever. It wasn't a feeling he could shake off overnight, yet his other self told him to give him a chance. It was a hard pill to swallow.
Then, he saw himself smirk, making him frown. Weirdly enough, that particular expression on his doll-like face made him appear like a little devil. No wonder his sister always called him by that silly surname….
"And before I forget to tell you that, you'll never guess who's Gabriel's best friend!" Misha's voice trailed, as if to create suspense. "It's Stephan, our freaking boss! Even though he's just an adolescent right now, that prick is already as unbearable as he was as an adult. If he ever pays us a visit, show him no mercy. He deserves to go through hell! I mean, I'm pretty sure he's the one who designed and made those costumes. He didn't buy them…! Do you realize how much effort that sadistic bastard put in just to torture us?!"
Holographic Misha then took great pleasure in dissing Stephan in any way he could. Once he felt like he had vented enough, he sighed before adopting a more serious expression. It was time to talk about the thorn in his heart, the one thing that made him hesitate to go back in time and erase this timeline.
"There's one thing you need to know: Gabriel and Masha have never been a real couple. They're both gay and have been hiding it for ages. I didn't remember, but it seems like our grandparents are homophobic as fuck, and because of them, Masha thought that if we were to ever find out about her sexual orientation, we would abandon her. The one who broke her heart and drove her to death wasn't Gabriel but Camille. This bitch even hooked up with Jake in this timeline! I don't care how you do it, but make sure to drive her away. If you could beat her up in passing, that would be even better."
Snorting, the boy had to suppress his anger, which threatened to overflow. Even to this day, he still thought that his sister went too easy on Camille. Jake was humiliated at the zoo; however, Camille got away without so much as a bruise. She had been shocked by Masha's straightforwardness, but that was all. She didn't suffer just as much as his sister did, and that made Misha unsatisfied deep down. He was the petty kind who paid tenfold the smallest grievances; Camille would need to go through hell a few times before he would feel content.
"Long story short, Camille broke up with Masha because she became disabled. On the bright side, it allowed our sister to fall in love with the sweetest girl! Remember the nurse, Yuki? Gabriel hired her to take care of Masha, and those two grew fonder of each other with each passing day. I swear they make the cutest couple on earth! Please, find a way to bring them back together; they have to meet each other, believe me."
The boy's face brightened as he talked about his sister's love life. He spoke of Yuki fondly, letting everyone know that he had welcomed her into the family. She was the only sister-in-law he'd ever accept! And he didn't want anyone else to take the spot.
"Last but not least, let's talk about Gabriel. If there's one thing I learned about him, it's that he's a freaking idiot."
Gabriel, who was watching the video beside Misha: "…."
"I mean, that guy sacrificed pretty much everything for Masha this time around. And I think he did the same thing in the first timeline—though it was for us, not for our sister. He has no concept of limits! He gave up his inheritance rights so that Angela would pay for Masha's medical needs, and he came to live with us again to nurse Masha and help her with her homeschooling. Well, I reassure you, I did the house chores and the cooking this time. I didn't want to eat his burnt meals again! Do you remember how many years it took him before he could cook something that looked edible?! And tasted normal?! Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn!"
As Gabriel listened to Misha rant about the weapons of mass destruction he cooked, he felt embarrassed for the first time in his life. And when the child switched to talking about how he almost destroyed the house while doing house chores in the first timeline, he couldn't help but let out a small, hollow laugh. Was he really that bad? But cooking and housework didn't seem that complicated….
"And you know, that guy would rather take the blame for everything than betray our sister's secret. You bet I'm pissed off about that, even now. I know that it wasn't easy to come and find us in the first timeline, but still! He didn't even try to whitewash himself! If I didn't overhear their conversation, I'd have never known he was in a fake relationship with Masha! Seriously, keep an eye on him, or else who knows how many more things he'll decide to shoulder in silence. It was the same for his inheritance rights. I learned about it 'cause Jake ran his mouth! Gosh, it's frustrating!"
Because Misha couldn't talk of such things with others, now that he had the opportunity to pour out all his grievances, he sure did. At any rate, he had to let his past self know just how much Gabriel did for Masha. He wouldn't let out a single detail—he wouldn't let himself misunderstand him ever again!
"That guy attended Masha's college to help her out with her studies and incidentally give her a ride! According to him, there's nothing he really wants to do. It made me think about our previous life. Why the hell did he become a teacher then? Why did he choose to work at our high school? I bet it was for us, and you know why. Don't let him take the same path this time, ok? Make sure he does something he actually wants to do. He has to learn to live for himself too! Not only for others!"
After Misha told his past self everything there was to say about Gabriel, he took a deep breath to calm down. Now that he thought about it, it was a little infuriating. Gabriel did so much for him yet never said anything, nor did he ever ask for something in return. He just helped without saying a word.
But how could Misha notice all his silent help with his pea brain? He wasn't the kind to stop and think about people's intentions behind their actions. If no one told him things as they were, figuring out the underlying meaning would take him ages—that was if he figured it out at all. In the end, this shortcoming of his ended up creating a rift between him and Gabriel. He didn't want that to ever happen again, no matter the timeline, and he knew his past self would feel the same.
"Oh, yeah! By the way, I'm in love with Gaby, and so are you. Trust me on that, or you'll regret it. Anyway, you better make him fall for you in this timeline! Don't let anyone snatch him, got it? Well, that's it. Good luck!"
There was a buzzing noise, and then "older" Misha vanished. Without the holographic image to brighten the room, the light turned dim again.
Seconds passed by before Gabriel glanced at Misha, hesitating to speak. The mushroom-shaped night light illuminated the boy's face just enough, allowing him to catch a glimpse of his beet-red cheeks. Well, maybe he shouldn't speak just yet.
Another moment passed before Misha finally winced, "Did I perhaps forget to tell you not to watch the message with me?"
"Yeah."
"Goddamnit, I'm an idiot!" Misha wept, burying his face in his hands. He could have done without those last few sentences, thank you!
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Chapter revised on 2022-05-31
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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