Chapter 27 - Freedom

The m.a.t.u.r.e and responsible Misha put aside his grievances and played house with the little girl for almost an hour. He poured invisible tea into an empty cup and listened to Vanessa talk about their inexistent children. They also had a dog named Pudding. Later on, the dog became a cat, but it was still called Pudding.

There were a few times where Misha almost couldn't control himself anymore, especially when Vanessa called him 'wife' to draw his attention. Every time he heard that affectionate nickname, he was about to throw the tea set across the room. Luckily, he calmed down just in time and refrained from breaking the toy into thousands of pieces. He had worked on his temper quite a lot in the previous timeline, which seemed to pay off a little. In the corner of his mind, he also kept on telling himself that playing house with Vanessa was much better than keeping the old lady company, so he decided to shut up and entertain the little girl.

In short, it was torture.

When Vanessa proposed to play together, Misha thought he could take the opportunity to ask his friend if she had any good pranks up her sleeves. He knew that girl had always been mischievous, unlike Dereck, who was an honest boy. However, he didn't find the right timing to ask. That girl was talking too much, and it was hard to interject.

As an a.d.u.l.t, Vanessa understood that she couldn't always monopolize the conversation, but as a child, she didn't understand this simple principle at all. She was a chatterbox without an off-button.

After an hour, his father told them that time was up, and Misha heaved a sigh of relief while Vanessa pouted a little. She still wanted to play! But that man wasn't like her father and didn't waver despite her teary eyes, on the contrary. His face became icier. In the end, she could only accept her fate and tidy up, putting back the tea set into the box. She dragged her feet out of the playground, glancing back at the door every two seconds until they reached the elevator.

Soon after they went back to the room, Vanessa and her father left. They had to drive quite a long distance, and the man worked the very next day. Thus, they couldn't stay for long.

At first, Misha had wanted to ask Vanessa for her contact information, but he ultimately stopped himself, thinking that it would be weird. They lived very far away from each other, and the present technology wasn't convenient to keep in touch. The phone bills to make a call between the two countries cost an arm. His father certainly wouldn't allow him to use the phone only to call an unknown little girl who lived in the USA. To top it all, for the girl, he was only a playmate she met at the hospital, a kid like any other kid, and she would soon forget him.

Hence, Misha decided to shut up and said goodbye with a smile. Watching her small back disappear into the corridor, he silently added, 'See you in ten years.'

In a few years, Vanessa would move back to Canada. Since she wasn't close to her father's side of the family, she didn't hesitate to leave Buffalo when she decided to start anew.

His father was born in Canada, and that also was where he met her mother, but he went to America for his job after his wife's death. Later on, he decided to live there for the rest of his life. The rest of his family also followed him, and some already lived in the area of Buffalo. However, even though Vanessa quite loved America, she never felt at home in Buffalo, always thinking of her mother's homeland. So, the moment she turned eighteen, she left to study in Canada, where she also struggled to find a job.

That was all Misha knew about her past. Even if Vanessa talked a lot, she was still secretive about her private life. She loved to brag about her daughter, but Misha knew nothing of the child's father. Well, he also never asked. Misha wasn't the kind to dig up skeletons. If Vanessa didn't talk about something, he wouldn't delve deeper into the matter.

After the father and daughter duo left, the room fell silent, and Misha, who was extremely tired after listening to Vanessa's nagging, went to bed. His poor head was hurting like hell.

When the boy woke up a few hours later, his fever was gone. There were still some aches left in his muscles, but at least, he didn't feel like a car had hit him at full speed, which was a great improvement from his previous painful state.

A smile bloomed on his face, and he didn't wait long before calling the nurse over, telling her that he was now completely fine. Of course, she didn't believe him. However, his bright eyes made it impossible for her to refute him heartlessly, so she still decided to play along and take his temperature. To her surprise, the fever was indeed gone.

Afterward, a doctor came by and examined the boy's physical state. He was quite puzzled by the sudden recovery as nothing had worked until now. To be on the safe side, he decided to observe the child for two more days before allowing him to go back home, which put Misha in a lousy mood. He wanted to go back home immediately! He had enough of hospital food and weird grannies!

No matter how much the boy pouted, he still had to wait for the doctor's approval. Once he received it, the whole family came to fetch him. Gabriel was also there, but Misha ignored his existence. Among the four, only his mother and his sister mattered.

The moment they reached the first floor, Misha bolted out of the hospital under the incredulous stares of his family. It was as if he had seen the devil.

Mrs. Brown was about to scream when the child ran toward the road. But she soon realized that she didn't need to; the boy abruptly stopped in front of the road that separated the hospital from the parking. He carefully looked to the right and the left, and then he sprinted toward the car. A bit earlier, he had asked his mother where it was, and she had given him the number of the parking lot.

When Misha finally found the car, he was heavily panting, and he couldn't help but bend down slightly, putting his hands on his knees to rest. "I have no stamina at all," complained the boy with a hoarse voice. Although he already knew it, he still didn't want to admit it. He ran for less than a hundred meters! And it felt like he had just done a marathon!

Although Misha had many complaints in his heart, he couldn't w.h.i.n.e for long. There were footsteps behind him, which drew his attention, and he turned his head to meet the owners of the footsteps.

Gabriel and Masha were just behind him as they had run after him. Contrary to the child, though, they didn't look out of breath, which was quite infuriating. He had sprinted, and in order to follow him, those two had also sprinted, yet they were perfectly fine! They weren't even disheveled! It was unfair!

The moment Misha's eyes landed on Masha, she couldn't help but admonished him, reminding him that he had been discharged from the hospital only a few minutes ago. Did he already miss his roommates and the cramped room? If he wanted to go back so much, he just had to tell her.

With a small smile, Misha replied with a soft voice, "Sorry, I was just too excited."

Pursing his lips, Masha gently flicked her brother's forehead, saying, "Be careful. You should wait a few days before running around, okay?"

Hearing her worried tone, Misha felt a little guilty. Now that he could finally move around, he just wanted to put as much distance as possible between him and the hospital.

With a clumsy military salute and an overly serious face, Misha answered to his sister, "Yes, ma'am!"

Seeing him trying to act like a grow-up quelled Masha's worries a little. Her brother was just too cute! Too adorable! She soon forgot about being severe and ruffled her brother's fluffy hair instead, a foolish smile on her lips.

On the side, Gabriel discreetly shook his head, wondering if something went wrong with Masha's brain. She was severely affected by the bro-con disease, and there was no cure in her case.

"Come on. Let's go home!" said Masha, opening the door of the car – her mother had given her the key.

"Yeah, let's go home," repeated Misha as he got in the car, an indecipherable smile at the corner of his mouth.

Now that he was discharged from the hospital, he could finally put his plan in motion. He had to take care of Gabriel once and for all.