Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 76. Foreboding Feeling

Gabriel was slightly taken aback, and it took a moment for his brain to process Misha's words. His younger brother calling him was genuinely unexpected, even more so on the landline; he couldn't help but take a second to try to understand what was going on.

How did Tristan get his hands on the Lesskov family's phone number?

Also, why didn't he directly call him on his cell phone?

To start with, why did he even call?

Once the surprise passed, questions flooded his mind. Pushing them aside, Gabriel stretched a hand and took the phone, not forgetting to thank Misha in passing. However, his polite "thank you" didn't alleviate the sour expression on the child's face. Instead, Misha seemed to have swallowed another fly upon hearing it.

In a well-practiced manner, Gabriel pretended he hadn't noticed the boy's dark eyes and pursed lips, bringing the phone closer to his ear.

"Hello, Tristan? It's Gabriel," he said softly.

"Gab!!! Is it really you?"

Sure enough, a familiar voice soon resounded in his ear, making Gabriel smile unconsciously. It had been a long time since he had last heard it, and hearing it again strangely put him at ease, lifting a weight he didn't even know was weighing on his shoulders.

Over the past few weeks, the two siblings hadn't spoken to each other, not even once.

After Gabriel moved out to live with Masha's family, it was now impossible for him to call that house, much less ask to talk with Tristan. No matter who answered the phone, be it Angela or Jake, they would hang up on him the moment they heard his voice; he could only communicate with his stepmother concerning Masha's medical expenses through e-mails.

That woman categorically refused to talk to him, saying that hearing his voice hurt her ears so badly that it felt like her eardrums were about to burst. Her words were harsh, dripping with scorn and contempt, making it crystal clear that she wouldn't accept his calls.

Once Angela learned that he had "recovered" his memory, she dropped off the act of a loving mother and reverted to that vicious stepmother Gabriel knew so well. It was something he had expected, and he quickly adapted to her nonsense. As long as she paid for Masha's needs, he couldn't care less about how they communicated.

At any rate, not hearing her voice was also what he wanted.

But as a result, he couldn't contact Tristan anymore, which was a small thorn in his heart.

"Yes, it's really me. How have you been lately?"

"Not too bad, and you?" the boy answered, his voice so faint that it was barely audible.

"I'm fine. Tristan, why are you whispering?"

"..."

"Tristan?"

"...Mom doesn't want me to call you. She said you are a very, very bad person, and Jake started to say mean things about you again."

"..."

Considering his stepmother's nasty temper, such a reaction was relatively mild, or maybe Tristan was too young to relate everything she had told him adequately. She probably had portrayed him as a monster to her younger son so that he would stay away from him, and all that Tristan had understood in the end was that Gabriel was a bad person.

As for Jake, it was already a miracle he didn't straight out badmouth him during the months he pretended to suffer from amnesia. Although he always made a funny face whenever they saw each other, he kept his mouth shut and didn't say a thing, only acting distant. In all probability, Angela had told him to restrain himself so that Gabriel wouldn't suspect their intentions.