Chapter 107 - A Different Choice

When Misha woke up, there was no one beside him. Rolling over on his side, he stared at nothing for a short while before lowering his eyes and patting the empty bed. The mattress wasn't warm, letting him know that Gabriel had long left his side. He probably took off at dawn to catch the first bus of the day, making sure to return home before Angela checked on him.

Closing his eyes, Misha curled up into a ball, trying to think of nothing.

***

Gabriel safely made it back to his house in the early morning, climbing into his bedroom through the window, which had been left unlocked. His room was on the first floor, but the snow had piled up enough to allow him to slip in and out easily. He didn't even have to stretch his body to reach the window frame and only needed to leap to enter the room.

Once inside, Gabriel quickly got rid of the coat Masha had landed him, hiding it in the bottom of the closet. Earlier, Masha stuffed some of her father's old clothes in his arms as he was about to leave, saying that she didn't want her fake boyfriend to freeze to death and make the evening news headlines. Then, with dark bags under her eyes, she took the opportunity to admonish him for wandering outside with so little on his back, nagging for who knows how long.

To sum it up, the friend she knew so well wasn't that reckless! Truthfully, she wasn't wrong. Gabriel wasn't the kind of person who acted on impulse, always considering his next move as if life itself was a game of chess. Only, after watching the evening news that day, he couldn't help it; he had the urge to run to Misha's side, not wanting to wait for one more second. Gabriel just knew the boy would be a mess after learning about the tragedy, and someone had to be by his side to comfort him. Deep down, he also wanted to be that someone.

Long story short, Gabriel quietly listened to Masha's ranting, just like a child who knew they had done wrong. Well, he owed her that. That stubborn girl had pulled an all-nighter, waiting for him in the living room all night long. As soon as he climbed down the stairs, she asked for an explanation, to which he responded by saying that he didn't have the time for it. They would talk about it later, or she could wait for Misha to do it himself. At any rate, her brother was feeling better now, so he shouldn't lock himself in his bedroom for the time being. Really, there was nothing to worry about.

In other words, Gabriel skillfully avoided the subject and fled. The one who had to reveal everything was Misha, not him. It wasn't proper to talk about other people's secrets, even more so when they were planning to do so themselves.

After changing into his pajama, Gabriel went to bed. As he got rid of the pillows and the bedsheets he had hidden underneath the blanket, forming a figure that more or less looked like a human body, he noticed a small bulge shifting next to it. Not long after, Tristan's head popped, and the child opened his misty eyes, blinking twice or thrice, appearing to be a little confused. But when he noticed Gabriel standing beside the bed, a bright smile stretched his lips, his eyes curving into crescent moons. In a sleepy voice, he softly said:

"You're back?"

"Yes, I'm back. Sorry, I didn't plan to wake you up."

"It's ok. I'm not sleepy anymore, anyway," replied the boy while yawning, making Gabriel chuckle faintly.

"Go back to sleep, li'l liar. I'm also tired."

"Uh-huh," nodded Tristan, seemingly about to doze off. "Oh, yeah, before I forget. Mom came a bit after you left. I answered the door for you and told her what you told me to say. I was like, shhh, big brother is sleeping, so don't make any noise. And you know? She looked inside the room real quick but didn't enter."

The boy let out a giggle, making a mischievous yet adorable grin as he added in a proud tone, "She left after patting my head, telling me to watch over you. She won't ever know that you were out tonight, I promise!"

For a second, Gabriel didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his brother's words. In a way, it felt as if he was corrupting an innocent child, although it was hard to say if it was better for him or Angela to corrupt the boy. In any case, that woman was already using her son to monitor him, so Gabriel thought that he might as well offer her the same courtesy. Even if he was using Tristan for his own purposes, he was at least taking care of him, unlike a certain someone.

"Thank you, you're a lifesaver," praised Gabriel, gently ruffling the child's soft, messy hair. "I'll tell you a bedtime story tonight, and later, do you want to play outside?"

One way or another, he had to hide the footprints left by his little excursion. Although he had walked through the courtyard to not leave traces in front of the house, which his family would be quick to notice, he still had to cover his footprints before anyone peeked at the courtyard. The best way to do so was to play outside with his little brother, walking around to leave all kinds of traces everywhere. It would make it impossible to distinguish which footprints were for what.

With this in mind, Gabriel decided to take a nap before playing outside with his brother. They would go out a bit before 9 o'clock, just after breakfast. Any earlier would appear a little fishy, and with how paranoid his stepmother was, it was better not to do anything that could arouse her suspicions, especially when it was unnecessary. Gabriel was good at making up excuses, but even he would run out of ideas one of these days.

"Yes, yes, yes! Let's play outside all day!" tee-heed Tristan before rubbing his head against his pillow, slowly drifting back to sleep. "I wanna make a giant snowman and built a snow fort."

"Sure, let's do that," smiled Gabriel, tucking the boy in.

"Hehe, brother is the best!"

"Come on, stop talking and sleep."

"Uh-huh."

Once Tristan fell back to sleep, Gabriel couldn't help but stare at him for a while, unfathomable emotions flashing across his eyes. A few hours earlier, he had told Misha that not many were important to him, but lately, the number of persons he wanted to protect kept increasing. Tristan, for instance, was one of them.

After emerging from his coma, Gabriel decided to pretend to have amnesia, thinking it would make it easier to deceive his family and make them lower their guard. However, he must admit that he had never expected Angela to toss her youngest son at him, using the boy to keep track of his every move. The kid was sent to his side as a spy, but he didn't even know that he was.

In order to make him believe that their family got along just fine, Angela created opportunities for Tristan and Gabriel to grow closer, wanting their relationship to evolve into something that resembled a genuine relationship between brothers. For the past few months, she made her stepson babysit Tristan at every opportunity, even when it wasn't necessary. Angela wanted them to spend time together, distracting Gabriel's mind from anything she found unnecessary, like that annoying girlfriend or best friend of his. If he didn't think of them nor meet them, it would be easier to control him.

And after finding out that Tristan wished for Gabriel to read him bedtime stories, she encouraged her son to go ask his brother for it every day before going to bed, not minding it if he slept over. It became something more and more common over the past few months, to the point where, sometimes, she wondered if Tristan shouldn't just move in Gabriel's room.

—That was why she wasn't startled when Tristan opened the door instead of Gabriel, answering on his brother's behalf last night, though it was a little weird that he went to sleep so early. Well, he did say that he was tired during supper.

All of this was excessive, but Angela had no trust in Gabriel and wanted someone to supervise him 24 hours a day without it appearing out of place. She knew Jake couldn't behave friendly for very long, considering how much he hated and loathed his half-brother, so she relied on the youngest, who was still relatively innocent and favorable to Gabriel. He was also obedient, always listening to every word she said and answering every question she asked.

Moreover, if Gabriel got attached to the baby of the family, it would make it easier to manipulate him afterward; he would obey her orders, if only for Tristan's sake.

Thinking of such things, Gabriel couldn't help but let out a sigh. He hated to admit it, but his stepmother's plan somehow worked. Before, he was indifferent to this little brother of his, but now… He couldn't say that anymore. Over time, Gabriel got attached to the boy, who was always smiling, following behind wherever he went, just like a little duckling. After babysitting him for so long, he had discovered his candid side, and he also knew he had become someone dear to the kid, someone to whom he looked up.

In all honesty, it had been tough to leave Tristan behind in his past timeline, even if he knew it was the most rational thing to do. When the boy called through Stephan's cellphone, his trembling voice and silent sobs had made his heart throb with pain, making him realize just how much the kid had grown on him. Sometimes, he wondered if abandoning his brother to help out Masha and her family was the right choice. Frankly, he still didn't know, but now that Gabriel had a second chance, he thought of doing things differently.

Closing his eyes, he inwardly promised, 'This time, I won't leave you behind, I swear.'