Chapter 113 - Get Lost

It was a warm day of winter. The sky was cloudless and the sun shone bright, its white light reflecting on the snow and blinding passersby. Although the temperature was still a few degrees below zero, the clear weather enticed people to go outside, especially children who wanted to play in the snow with their friends, now that it wasn't so cold.

And so, on this Sunday morning, the park near Misha's house was filled with kids, their loud laughter echoing throughout the playground. Some parents stood aside, watching over their children, while a few teenagers were goofing around. All the noises and people made Misha frown, but it was already too late to change location.

Besides, strangers wouldn't meddle with their business, so he told himself to relax and play his role.

'Right. It doesn't matter if the park is a little crowded,' Misha thought, peeking at his sister from the corner of his eyes. 'I just hope Masha thinks the same.'

After all, Masha was planning to break up with Camille today. She didn't want to do it at school, where anyone could eavesdrop on them, nor did she want to do it at home, fearing that she would get into an argument with her soon-to-be ex-girlfriend. If they were to raise their voices, that would surely startle Mrs. Brown, and knowing her mother, she would come upstairs to her bedroom to ask what was going on.

Of course, Masha could have waited for her mother to leave the house before inviting Camille over, but when would that opportunity be? In a few days, a week, a month? She didn't know how long she would have to wait; however, she didn't want to postpone the break-up any longer.

She wished to get rid of that bloody leech as soon as possible.

Thus, Masha thought of ending their relationship at the park after much consideration. Knowing Camille, she wouldn't do anything too extreme in public, too afraid to lose face.

With this in mind, Masha told Camille that she wanted to see her, mumbling things like she had something important to say but had to babysit her brother at the park. If Camille didn't mind, could they meet there? Stomping on her pride, Masha even used a tone of voice she knew Camille loved, and after a few more sweet words, her soon-to-be ex-girlfriend accepted, albeit a little reluctantly.

After learning what his sister intended to do, Misha insisted on being there for her, near enough to help her out if things turned sour. His opinion of Camille was shallow, and he had long classified her as a crazy bitch who would rather destroy the toys she couldn't use anymore than let them leave a carefree life. So who knows what she would do after being dumped? He feared the worst.

To this, Masha didn't know what to say, unable to laugh or cry. At long last, she realized that her little brother, who was actually a lot older than her, had overly protective tendencies. Still, Masha couldn't say anything, much less blame him, knowing what had happened in the first timeline. If she had been in his shoes, she would do the same, following her sibling around everywhere like a mother hen. She could not imagine how Misha felt after finding her lifeless body; just thinking about being in his place, about discovering her brother's bloody corpse, made her heart well up with pain, so much that she felt as if it would burst.

Sometimes, she hated her other self, hating her with all she had. How could she had been so cruel? Slicing her wrists in the bathroom of the apartment she lived in with her brother and Gabriel, aware that one of them would discover her corpse sooner or later.

Really, what the hell was her other self thinking?

As such thoughts twirled about in her head, a shadow grew closer, hiding the sun. It made Masha lift her eyes, and as soon as she did so, a familiar voice traveled to her ears. Since childhood, it was a voice that had always made her smile and feel warm inside, but now it made her grit her teeth and left a bad taste in her mouth.

"It's been a while since we have seen each other outside of school, and yet we're stuck babysitting your brother," Camille chuckled as she sat beside Masha on the bench, hissing at how cold it was. "Sorry, I'm late. My mom was nagging me, and it took forever before she let me go."

"I see," Masha answered perfunctorily.

"Are you angry?"

"I wonder," Masha replied with a self-loathing laugh, lightly shaking her head.

Before, she wouldn't have minded Camille being late, thinking that her bad habit was acting up. For as long as she could remember, that girl always had difficulty being on time, not knowing what punctuality meant. However, today, she called her house before coming to the park, and Camille's mother told her that she was out since yesterday, apparently having slept over at her boyfriend's.

Needless to say, Camille had just lie to her with a straight face.

How come Masha hadn't seen the reality before it was thrown in her face in the worst way possible? Masha sometimes wondered what was wrong with her brain and how love could blind someone so much. Camille was probably cheating on her since the first day they started dating, two years ago. Could it even be called dating? In the end, she had been the only one committed to her lover.

As she was about to be swallowed by dark thoughts, Masha caught a glimpse of her little brother. He kept on lifting and lowering his head, constantly glancing in her direction while pretending to be making a snowman, which looked quite ugly, to be honest.

That brat's anxiety could be felt from meters away, and he was such a bad actor that it made Masha unconsciously laugh. And suddenly, she felt lighter, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

What was there to brood about? What was there to fear? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Even if Camille were gone, her brother would always be there for her, and even Gabriel would be. At the thought, Masha perked up, and after suċkėd in a cold breath, she said in a firm tone:

"Camille, I want to break up."

"Eh? Wait, what are you saying…?"

"I think you heard me," Masha answered, staring icily at the woman she had loved so much. "But I guess I'll repeat. I want to break up, and it's not negotiable."

"Wh-why so suddenly?" Camille stuttered, visibly taken aback.

"Do you really need to ask?" Masha coldly laughed as she stood up, dusting her pants. "You should go back to your 'fake' boyfriend and warm his bed instead of spouting nonsense. What's with the face? Are you that surprised that the toy you thought brainless isn't that hopeless? That it threw you out before you could? Oh my, does your pride hurt? Sorry about that."

"You! H-how dare you?! Do you, do you realize just how kind I was to even glance at you? Do you know that I'm the only person on earth who would ever want to give a stupid girl like you a bit of love? I'm telling you, no one else will ever want you."

"That, I wonder," Masha smiled faintly. "Anyway, I don't care. Even if I were to spend the rest of my life alone, it's always better than spending it with you. I'm clear on that. Sorry, but I'm done being played by you. Now, if you don't mind, I've got other matters to attend to, so I'll bid you farewell."

"Wait! I am not done! You better sit back right here!"

"Is it I, or you don't understand human language? Let me resume for you: I'm telling you to get lost. Why the hell should I listen to you?"

Once Masha said her piece, she decisively turned her back on Camille, ignoring the curses spoken in a low voice. If they had been in her bedroom, she was sure Camille wouldn't have reacted so mildly. Too bad the crowd prevented her from grabbing her wrists and tossing her to the ground. She also couldn't yell her lungs out, nor could she cuss her aloud. There were too many children around.

Clenching her fists, Masha walked up to her brother with her head held high. But before she could reach him or say anything, Misha bolted to her side, pouncing on her stomach to hug her. Then, he tilted his head just enough to shoot daggers at Camille. If looks could kill, she would have dropped dead right then and there.

The boy bit his lower lip and gripping his sister's coat to refrain himself from throwing a few snowballs at the now ex-girlfriend. While pretending to make a snowman, he had prepared them just in case Camille overreacted. And he was pretty proud of their lethality, having hidden pebbles and pieces of ice in the center of the said snowballs.

Who cared if Camille was from the fairer sėx? She was still a monster who had broken his sister's heart way too many times. Honestly, despite being very, very petty, he had rarely hated someone just as much as he hated her. If Camille ever got close to Masha again, he wouldn't mind splitting her head open and bury her six feet under.

"…How do you feel?" Misha asked, his voice slightly muffled by the scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Hm, I think I feel good, actually," Masha laughed, patting her brother's shoulder. "I'm done, so let's go home."

"…Are you sure? You could insult her a bit more, you know. She deserves it."

"Well, this is a public place, and wasting my time chewing her out would be giving her too much attention," Masha chuckled. "Also, your nose is running. Let's get you to a warm place before you catch a cold."

"….My nose is not running."

"Yes, yes, it's not."

"…"

'I know I told her that she would always be my big sister, but does she really have to treat me like a little kid?! Could she not act as if I'm five years old?! Thank you very much!' Misha inwardly whɨnėd while outwardly, he took his sister's hand and dragged her toward the road.

Before leaving, the boy glanced back at Camille, who was still shocked silly by the sudden turn of events. With a sneer, he gave her the finger, then ran away with his sister, laughing. Now, there was one less dangerous factor in his sister's life, so how could he not be overjoyed?

_____________________

P a t r e . o n : *******.com/rsvaesen

Twitter : @ VaesenRs

Ko fi : ko-fi.com/rs_vaesen