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; children wanted to play in the snow now that it wasn't so cold, and adults strolled about, breathing in the fresh air.

On this Sunday morning, the park near Misha's house was thus 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. 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.'

His sister 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 Gulnas, and knowing her mother, she would come upstairs to her bedroom to ask what was going on. And with Camille edged on…. Better not think about what kind of nasty things she would say to belittle her in front of her mother.

Masha could have waited for her mother to leave the house before inviting Camille, 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. No, she had to get rid of that bloody leech as soon as possible.

After deliberating for a while, Masha decided to end their relationship at the park. 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 honeyed tone of voice she knew Camille loved, and after a few more sweet words, her soon-to-be ex-girlfriend finally accepted.

Obviously, babysitting Misha was a lie. It was just a lame cover-up that could explain why she wanted to meet her outside and why her brother would be by her side.

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. He had long classified Camille as a crazy bitch who would rather destroy the "toys" for which she had no more use than let them live a carefree life. Who knows what she would do after being dumped? In any case, he feared the worst.

To this, Masha didn't know what to say, unable to laugh or cry. She finally realized that her little brother—who was actually a lot older than her—had overly protective tendencies. Still, Masha couldn't say anything, 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 it would burst.

Sometimes, she hated her other self, hated her with all she had. How could she have been so heartless? 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… What else could it be if not cruel?

What the hell was her other self thinking? She would have loved to have a word or two with her.

Such thoughts swirled about in her head as a shadow grew closer, hiding the sun. It made Masha lift her eyes, and as soon as she did, 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 gnash her teeth in anger.

"It's been a while since we've last 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, slightly shaking her head.

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

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

How come Masha hadn't seen reality before it was thrown in her face in the worst way possible? She sometimes wondered what was wrong with her brain. Camille had probably been cheating on her since the first day they started dating, two years ago. Could it even be called dating? Maybe not. She had been the only one committed to her lover, after all.

Just as Masha was about to be swallowed by dark thoughts, she caught a glimpse of her little brother. He kept lifting and lowering his head, constantly glancing in her direction while pretending to be making a snowman (which looked awfully ugly, with its crooked head and deformed body).

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.

Honestly, 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 stand by her side. At the thought, Masha perked up. Yes, everything would be fine.

Masha sucked in a cold breath, then said, "Camille, I want to break up."

"Eh? Wait, what are you saying…?"

"I think you heard me," Masha smiled, 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?"

Despite the apparent surprise, there was no sadness in Camille's eyes. It made Masha feel like a fool. In spite of herself, she did hope to perceive a bit of heartache as she pronounced those harsh words, yet there was nothing of the sort.

"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 was brainless isn't a hopeless mess? Or are you angry that it threw you out before you could? Sorry about that."

"You! H-how dare you?! Do you realize just how kind I was to even glance at you?! 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. So, why the hell should I listen to you?"

After 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, no doubt Camille wouldn't have reacted so mildly. Too bad the crowd prevented her from grabbing her wrists and tossing her to the ground. She couldn't yell her lungs out, nor could she cuss her aloud either. There were too many children around.

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 pursed his lips and gripped his sister's coat, refraining 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 sex? She was still a monster who had broken his sister's heart way too many times. Honestly, 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 burying 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 whined 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. He gracefully gave her the finger, then ran away with his sister, laughing. One less dangerous factor in his sister's life, check!

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Chapter revised on 2022-06-04

Edited by Clozed! ♥

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