Jake peeked at Tristan through the rear-view mirror. The rhythmic movement of the car had rocked his little brother to sleep a while ago, and the boy was thus curled-up in the backseat, his head resting against the plush toy he had bought him earlier, just before leaving the aquarium. The bluish jellyfish, almost as tall as the child, seemed to have become Tristan's most precious treasure. Since Jake had given it to him, he always had it in his arms and dragged it everywhere. Even after falling asleep, Tristan hadn't let go. Instead, he snuggled against its bulging head with a pleased smile on his lips.
To say Tristan liked his big brother's gift would be an understatement—he adored it.
Jake had never seen such a bright expression on the boy's face than when he handed him the plush toy, and he still didn't know how to feel about it. It was just a plush, so why was his little brother so happy? But deep down, he knew that even if he had given him an ordinary pebble, Tristan would still have been over the moon. It didn't matter what he gave him; it was the gesture that counted.
'I don't think I'll ever understand why Tristan is so attached to me when I've been nothing but a jerk to him these past few years,' Jake inwardly sighed, his inner voice dripping with self-mockery. 'But I guess this kind of childlike attachment is cute in a certain way.'
"So?" Gabriel said, bringing back Jake's attention to him. "How was today?"
"Not half bad, I guess."
"Is that so."
Ignoring Gabriel's irksome smile, Jake gazed out of the window. He wouldn't admit it aloud, but he was glad to have come to the aquarium with his brothers. Only, it still felt weird to be as close as he currently was with Gabriel. They never had a heart-to-heart talk in their past lives, and it was disturbing how natural it had become for them to speak their minds to each other. He never thought a day would come when they would hang out together like this—he wouldn't even have dared to dream about it.
But what was truly troubling him was Tristan. After today's events, Jake could finally see him for the kid that he was. Tristan wasn't a monster, just a boy who loved his big brothers and wanted to be close to them. The Tristan he knew from his past lives wasn't this child; they were people that couldn't be any more different. Of course, Jake was aware of this before, but he had never been able to accept it until today.
"By the way, you should have realized by now that I'm as petty as you, and I don't like it when others make decisions for me," Jake paused to snort. "So, I'm warning you: the next time you force my hand like you did today, I'm going to tell Misha all the embarrassing stories I know about you. And I know a lot."
Gabriel choked on air before letting out a hearty laugh. It reverberated within the car, making Jake smile faintly.
***
Tristan sat cross-legged on the floor, his chin propped on the palm of his right hand. Unfathomable thoughts swirled in the depths of his eyes as he stared at the Lego castle he had built a few weeks ago. He had added another bedroom for Stephan, though he put it in the basement, far away from Jake's. He frowned slightly at the window leading to Stephan's small room before shifting his gaze to the jellyfish plush beside the castle. His eyes then seemed to turn gentle, a doting expression flashing across his face.
Knocks on the door echoed in the bedroom, and the warm look on the boy's face vanished. He became as expressionless as a doll as he lazily glanced at the door. He squinted but nevertheless invited the people outside to come in.
The door squeaked, and two bodyguards entered his bedroom. They were the men tasked with watching over the Laflamme brothers at the aquarium. The bodyguards, still wearing their suits, were both tall and well-built, the stern expression on their faces screaming they weren't to be trifled with. The tallest was called Connor, the shortest, Brian.
After closing the door, they walked to the boy sitting on the floor and towered over him. Their piercing eyes were locked onto the kid's frail neck, staring at it like a butcher about to wring a chicken's neck.
"What's with the scary look?" Tristan smiled sweetly.
Silence fell upon the room. The atmosphere turned bleaker, stifling even, yet Tristan's smile didn't fade. No, it seemed to grow wider instead.
"Our apologies," Connor finally spoke, talking through gritted teeth. "It wasn't our intention."
Tristan waved his hand as if to dismiss the man, then took a cell phone out of his pocket. He opened it and typed on a few keys before showing the screen to the two men. It was an empty file.
"Here, I deleted all the pictures."
Seemingly not believing him, Connor bent over to snatch the cell phone. Tristan cooperatively lent it to him and watched the bodyguard as he scrolled through the various photo albums on his cell phone, verifying the pictures had indeed been deleted. And they were.
"Somehow," Connor eyed the boy as he handed the cell phone back, "it seems too easy."
"I said I'd delete the pictures on my phone," Tristan laughed softly, "I didn't say anything about the backup file."
"You little…!"
"Hm?"
"Nothing…."
"Don't glare at me. If you wanted to do bad things, you should have been careful not to be found. Otherwise, you can't complain if someone blackmails you with the skeletons in your closet."
"You won't have anyone to blackmail if we get fired," Brian let out a self-mocking snort. "If your mother learns about what happened today at the aquarium, I'm gonna be happy if she doesn't go off with our heads. What kind of bodyguards can't even tail a little child? There's no way she'll let us off the hook, and without us, who's going to do your bidding?"
"Brian!" Connor yelled. "Keep your mouth shut!"
"Oh, I don't mind," Tristan shrugged. "He can yap as much as he wants, it won't change the fact that you two are my dogs."
Although the child smiled, his voice was cold and sharp. It sent a shiver crawling down the bodyguards' spines, and Brian swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue. Right. Let's not kick the hornet's nest.
"If it can reassure you, Angela won't learn about me slipping out of your sight today; my brothers won't tell her. They know how paranoid she can get, and if she learns they lost sight of me in a place as crowded as the aquarium, even if it was only for a short moment, she will blow up and won't ever allow them to take me out again. It's not something they want, so they won't tell a soul. That being said, you won't lose your jobs."
Tristan paused to chuckle. His voice was ever so soft as he continued, "It's not what you should fear the most, anyway. If anyone in my family learns you were the ones to leak Jake's itinerary on that day, I can promise you hell will look like a sweet paradise to you. Gabriel looks like a gentle soul, but when he loses it…. Even I wouldn't want to get on his bad side, lest I get thrown out of a window."
The bodyguards lowered their eyes, not daring to utter anything. They couldn't refute the boy's words, for they did sell out their employer's sons' whereabouts.
"What? Feeling guilty now?"
"We—"
"I don't want to hear your excuses. I know you needed the money for your daughter's treatment, Connor. But whatever the reason, my brother lost an eye because of your little stunt, and his organs were just about to be sold on the black market; let's not talk about what awaited Misha. I haven't and will not forgive you for what happened. Keep in mind that if I haven't ripped you apart yet, it's because I don't know anything about that man and you're the only link I have to him."
The bodyguards' eyes grew darker, and Tristan responded by cocking an eyebrow. It'd be easy for these men to get rid of him, but he knew they wouldn't. Or, more accurately, they couldn't. Still, he took the time to remind them, "I hope you haven't forgotten what kind of fate awaits you if something happens to my brothers or me."
Both men froze, their faces paling. Then, Connor nodded.
"So," Tristan changed the topic, "have you done what I asked?"
"Yes."
"Glad to hear that. You can go now."
The bodyguards didn't delay and fled.
Tristan watched the door close before crawling to the jellyfish plush. He pulled it in his arms and hugged it tightly, curling his body around it. When he closed his eyes, a Pierrot mask surfaced in his mind. Anger welled up in his chest, so much that his heart seemed about to burst. He'd find him, even if he had to turn the entire world upside-down, and make him regret what he had done to Jake.
No one was allowed to hurt his brothers.
_______________________________________
Edited by Clozed!! ♥
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