Chapter 52 - Let's Talk

When they reached home, it was already dark outside, and Misha went directly to bed, dead tired. Although his father had taken another day off to visit Gabriel, and as a result, they went to the hospital by car instead than by bus, it still took over an hour each way.

Truthfully, the hospital was quite far from their home, but Misha and Masha insisted on visiting the teenager every day even if they had to go by bus, which took almost two hours each way. It meant that they lost around four hours a day just to go to the hospital, but they didn't care.

For the past two weeks, they had woken up early in the morning to catch the first bus of the day, then left at around 2 pm to arrive at home not too late, just on the right time for their mother to start to prepare the supper.

Today, they went in the afternoon because Alexis proposed to drive them, and they were also planning to eat at a restaurant on their way back. Besides, they had realized that Misha was exhausted, even if he was trying hard to hide it from his family. Therefore, they forced him to sleep in the morning, whether he liked it or not.

Still, Misha was drained despite the good night's sleep, maybe because his state of mind had been on a rollercoaster all day. Hence, the moment his head touched the pillow, he fell asleep, not waiting for his mother's bed-time story.

The next day, when he woke up and went downstairs, his family was already up and waiting for him in the living room. His mother told him to eat something first, then come back and sit on the sofa.

They had to talk.

With a heavy heart, Misha did as told, wolfing his toasts before scramming to the couch and jumping on it. He obediently sat next to his sister, in the corner of the L-shaped sofa, while his parents took place on his left.

There was a long silence in which his mother kept on opening and closing her mouth, even pinching her lips a few times. It was as if she didn't know where to start, unable to make up her mind.

In the end, it was his sister who decided to get the ball rolling by softly asking, "Do you know why we want to talk?"

"No," instantly answered Misha, even though deep down, he had a pretty good idea.

"Well," sighed Masha, massaging her neck as if to delay her next words. "Lately, you have been acting a little strange."

"Strange?" repeated Misha, his whole body stiffening.

As he thought, it was about this. He knew it was impossible to take on the role of a child, but he had hoped that his family wouldn't start to question him so soon.

Lying wasn't his forte, and he was well aware of this. So now, how was he supposed to respond to their next questions?

Frankly, he didn't know, making him want to bury his head in the sand.

"Yes," awkwardly smiled Mrs. Brown after taking a deep breath. "How to say this? You seem a bit more m.a.t.u.r.e? Like that time when you fell from the slope with Gabriel. Your directives were very clear."

Although it was already two weeks ago, her son's tone of voice at the time was still fresh in her memory. It had been so severe that it had left her speechless.

Of course, over the past two months, Mrs. Brown had noticed the small changes in her son's personality, but until that day, she hadn't pay them much attention.

However, Misha's reaction when she told him not to joke about someone else's life hit her, and it hit hard. It made her realize that these small changes were far more important and profound than she had first thought.

It felt like her son had grown up into a different yet familiar person within a short amount of time, and after discussing with her daughter and her husband, she realized that she wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Their little Misha wasn't as silly as before. Conversing with him was easier, and they didn't have to watch over his every move to make sure he didn't do something foolish, which risked to result in an injury. Although he still did stupid things like putting worms in muffins, it wasn't as worrisome.

And today, they had finally decided to held a family meeting, now that Gabriel was awake and kicking. Hence, it led to the present questioning.

With a pout, the child avoided his mother's eyes, looking at his feet as he said with a small voice:

"I just saw a similar thing in a movie and did the same. Gabriel wasn't waking up, so I thought that it was like the girl in the movie and that he needed to go to the hospital immediately, or else, he would die."

Well, Misha had no imagination and used the same lie he had once told Gabriel. Anyways, kids did mimic what they saw on screen, and thus his explanation was somewhat plausible.

Maybe?

There was a silence before his sister repeated, "A movie?"

"Yes, a movie!" vigorously nodded the boy.

"And do you remember the name of that movie?" asked Masha with a gentle tone, but mischievous eyes.

"…" Misha froze for a second before replying, "I don't remember! I saw too many movies!"

"I see. And what else happened in the movie? If you describe it to me, maybe I will be able to figure out which movie you're talking about."

"I also don't remember," cried out the child, wearing a wronged expression on his face. "I don't know what I don't know, ok!?"

Quite embarrassed, Misha leaped to his feet with bright red cheeks, fuming, "You're super mean today, so I'm going to play in my room! Alone!"

He barely walked two steps before turning back, adding with a childish tone, "But call me when it's time to leave for the hospital! Don't you dare forget me!"

Then, the boy quickly ran away as if he had seen the devil in the flesh, escaping upstairs where there was no one else, his back drenched in a cold sweat.

In the living room, it was dead silent for a long time until Masha heavily sighed, throwing her head back and slumping in the sofa. As for her mother, she appeared to have received a great shock, her gaze blank, whereas Alexis wore a dark expression on his face, making him look sterner.

The three of them simultaneously said, "A movie, huh?"

With his blurred memories, Misha had forgotten one little thing; he didn't particularly like watching movies as a child as he would rather play with his dinosaur toys or prank people with Dereck. And when he felt like watching TV, he always asked the same three films, which were about colorful dinosaurs and cartoon characters.

Over the past few years, his family had to watch the said films so often that they knew all the lines by heart. And without much surprise, no scene involved a severely wounded girl, much less a follow-up with her going to the hospital.

"Couldn't he think of a better lie?" scoffed Masha, her wry laugh echoing within the living room.

Really, that kid was everything except cooperative! How many more times will she have to question her brother before finding out the truth!?