Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 98. Sorry, You're a Bad Liar

Misha had been acting oddly—even more than usual—for the past few days. He thought he had hidden his inner turmoil pretty well, but his face was still like an open book and his white lies were as bad as ever. Anyone that took the time to observe him would realize something was off.

At first, Gabriel and Masha thought it was due to Mrs. Brown's first anniversary of death; however, they realized it wasn't the case after visiting the cemetery. There was something else that was bothering Misha, but what?

They both knew that if they asked what was wrong, the boy wouldn't answer and instead flee to who knows where, using whatever excuses he had in mind to escape. After all, it was what he had been doing for the past year and a half. Thus, they tacitly decided not to ask and keep an eye on him instead, silently watching over his every move. Unlike Misha, they weren't obvious about their intentions, and the kid didn't notice the two pairs of eyes following him everywhere. The day went in this way until evening arrived.

After dinner, it felt like the child couldn't wait for his family to fall asleep, urging them to go to bed, saying that they appeared drained after visiting the graveyard. It wasn't false, but it didn't mean they were dead tired either. Still, they didn't protest, and everyone went to bed a bit after eleven in the evening. At any rate, an additional couple of hours of sleep wouldn't hurt them.

However, after lying in his futon, Gabriel didn't plan to go to sleep immediately, having a hunch Misha was waiting for him to be in deep slumber before doing whatever he had to do.

Gabriel turned his back to the boy and pretended to fall asleep, gradually slowing down his breathing. And just as expected, the child left the room after a dozen minutes or so. Misha tiptoed his way outside the bedroom, trying to be as silent as possible. If Gabriel had indeed been sleeping, he'd never have heard him.

Afterward, Gabriel waited for a few seconds before following the child, his footsteps almost inaudible—Misha wasn't the only one good at sneaking out.

Then, when he saw the boy enter the kitchen to make a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, Gabriel hurried downstairs and hid inside the first-floor bathroom, leaving the door half-open to peek inside the living room. He was certain Misha wouldn't find him; that child vehemently refused to use that bathroom, always going upstairs even when he was on the verge of wetting himself. Gabriel didn't know why the kid hated that bathroom so much, but it worked in his favor.

After that, he waited, and things took a turn he could never have expected. He was shocked by the man's sudden appearance, and the conversation that followed left him even more speechless. Yet, it also answered a few questions he had in mind for a long time.

So, Misha was an adult in the body of a child. It was a hard pill to swallow, but that would explain why he acted with so much maturity at times and why his mental disability seemed to have vanished overnight. It was because it did. Misha's disability caused a delay in cognitive development, but it wouldn't matter much after reaching adulthood. A two-three-year delay in mental abilities didn't affect an adult in his twenties, contrary to young children who were in the process of growing up.

Gabriel leaned against the wall and quietly listened to their conversation until Santa Claus told Misha he couldn't go back in time and couldn't save his mother. Hearing Misha's voice break made Gabriel's heart swell with pain. He didn't need to weigh the pros and cons for long before opening the door and showing himself, offering to take the boy's—no, the man's—place.

A silence fell upon the living room as Gabriel walked to the sofa. Once seated, he looked into Misha's teary eyes and seemed to freeze. The child's bewildered face was somewhat adorable, but the tears that had started to roll down his cheeks, reddening his eyes, only made him appear pitiful. Today, the boy seemed frailer and thinner than usual, as if he could break any time.