Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 121. Am I a Jerk?

The stairs squeaked, and two heads turned toward Gabriel in one swift motion, just like hyenas that had suddenly caught a whiff of fresh meat. An ominous glint shone in their eyes, making Gabriel halt for a second.

On the one hand, Masha was worried about her brother, especially after realizing he hadn't followed Gabriel downstairs and was nowhere in sight. She could not help but glare at her friend. On the other hand, Jake... Well, Jake was Jake.

Although Gabriel noticed the glint in their gazes, he pretended he hadn't seen it and made his way to the sofa.

Both Jake and Masha were still in the living room, the TV playing an old horror movie in the background. They were sitting next to each other, and, at one point, Jake had put his arm on the back of the sofa behind Masha, surrounding her shoulders in an overly familiar manner.

'...It must have taken all of Masha's self-control not to punch him,' Gabriel thought as he took place on the sofa, acting like a dumb kid who hadn't realized that his brother was being a little too intimate with his girlfriend. 'Thankfully, Misha stayed upstairs. I'm not sure he'd have been able to control his temper had he seen that. I'm even less sure in what sorrowful state he'd have left Jake.'

Not like Gabriel would have stopped Misha, though—even he had difficulty refraining himself from rushing over and snapping Jake's arm in half.

Didn't that guy notice that Masha sat near the edge to put as much distance as possible between them? And yet he still had the guts to sit directly next to her, invading her space? Not being able to move an inch without brushing his leg was anything but pleasing!

Hadn't it been for the current situation Gabriel was in, Masha wouldn't have tolerated Jake's behavior. Knowing her, she'd have given him a piece of her mind a long time ago, educating him on how to flirt with a girl properly. Or, at the very least, on how to be a decent human being and not a leech.

"The kid didn't come back with you...?" Jake asked with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, snapping Gabriel out of his thoughts

"He's taking a nap, actually. We played a bit too much, and he was overcome by fatigue. He has poor health, so he quickly gets exhausted. I don't think he'll wake up any time soon, to be honest."

"Is that so."

"But is he alright?" Masha interrupted Jake. "I mean, he didn't have a headache, fever, chills, or anything else of the sort, right?"

Masha tried to appear calm, but her shaky voice and darting eyes betrayed her inner turmoil. Of course, she knew Gabriel was lying and her brother wasn't sick. He couldn't tell the real reason why Misha hadn't followed him down in front of Jake. However, the simple fact that he stayed in his room instead of coming back spoke volumes. It made her all the more worried about his emotional state, and she couldn't help but wonder how her little brother took the news regarding Gabriel's past. Even she had difficulty digesting it.

"Don't worry, he's just very tired," Gabriel comforted, his voice soothing. "I'm sure he's going to feel better after a little rest."

"But..." Masha chewed on her lower lip, looking down at her knees. Right now, all she wanted to do was bolt to her brother's room to cradle Misha in a mama bear's hug. She had long tossed Jake at the back of her mind.

"If you're that worried, why not go check on him? Anyway, we have to leave soon. Mom wants us to come back home before supper, and it's already quite late," Jake intervened, cocking an eyebrow.

It wasn't even the middle of the afternoon, but who cared?

"Then I'm gonna do just that!" Masha nodded vigorously, leaving the sofa at lightning speed to kiss Gabriel's cheek, "Love you, see you soon!"