Chapter 78: CHAPTER 78. Taxi

Stephan leaned on the hood of the car, a cigarette loosely held between his lips. Lost in thought, he chewed on its tip and glanced at his drunk father, who listlessly sat on the snowy ground, his head resting against the door of the car. He had fallen asleep as soon as his butt touched the ground, and he was now lightly snoring, his cheeks flushed red because of the cold.

Or maybe it was due to the alcohol? Who knows.

Today was the first time Stephan had ever seen his father so agitated. He didn’t know what had happened between him and Matthew, Gabriel’s father, but it wasn’t anything good.

Matthew and Harold were childhood friends who rarely fought, and whenever they did, his father would more often than not brush it off and act as though nothing had happened. But this time, he insisted on braving the bad weather to talk face to face with Matthew, saying that a phone call wouldn’t do it; he had to see him in person.

His foggy mind certainly played an important role in this reckless behavior, but Stephan knew it wasn’t all. In the first place, his father wasn’t the kind to drink until his mind turned into a mess. He didn’t like the feeling of losing control, so he usually drank in moderation.

But last night, he had emptied several bottles of wine as if it was plain water and didn’t sleep a wink. And once morning came, his drunk self was determined to drive to his friend’s house despite the snowstorm. If Stephan hadn’t stopped him, who knows if his father would still be alive by now. Although he only managed to convince him to wait a little longer and let him drive, it was nevertheless better than sending him alone on the road in the middle of a snowstorm.

“Who’s the father and who’s the son again?” Stephan scoffed before taking a long drag on his cigarette. “Luckily, Masha woke me up with her texts, or else that idiot would have left the house without telling anyone. Aaaaah, so worrisome! I don’t want to become an orphan just yet!”

Stephan shook his head, then thought back on Masha’s text messages. As their content flashed through his mind, a smirk slowly stretched his lips. Wasn’t she getting bolder with each passing day, taunting him at the slightest opportunity? What a bad girl.

Tsk. Buying her a cell phone wasn’t Gabriel’s brightest idea—not in Stephan’s eyes, at least.

As one of the teenage girl’s favorite victims, he didn’t approve of her owning a cell phone, which allowed her to pester him whenever and wherever she wanted. And why did he let Gabriel give her his number again? What was wrong with his brain at the time?

This morning too, Masha had texted him only to irk him, shamelessly bragging about taking a bath with Gabriel; she even asked him if he was jealous! And because she found that a single text message wasn’t irritating enough, she added a few colorful hearts, sending them one after another.

The constant ringing of his phone had inevitably woken up Stephan, who was a light sleeper to start with.

And let’s say that such text messages had the merit of clearing up his mind relatively quickly.

While walking into the corridor to go to the toilet, Stephan texted back that it was unfair and wanted a picture of Gabriel’s naked body, or he’d cry his eyes out. How come she could enjoy such eye candy, but he couldn’t? Truly unfair!

After using the toilet, Stephan met his father, who was wobbling toward the front door, leaning on the wall to support himself. After asking him what he was doing, Stephan learned what he intended to do and stopped him right away. Well. He tried, but Harold, whose temper was usually mild, was as stubborn as a mule once drunk.

And so, it led to him accompanying his father to that damned house. Because he was already there, Stephan thought that he might as well piss off Jake and Angela in passing. That would do it to vent his pent-up frustration. That mother-son duo was the kind of easy target that reacted to the slightest provocation, and ridiculing them was thus quite entertaining, not to say satisfying.

He just hadn’t expected Tristan to ask for his help, but how could he resist those big puppy eyes?

Stephan crushed his cigarette, throwing it in the snow. He wouldn’t say it aloud, but he felt pity for the poor boy deep down. He had finally started to get attached to someone, only to have them disappear from his life soon afterward. Although Stephan knew Gabriel had his reasons for moving out, it nevertheless meant that Tristan was left behind.

What was it if not pitiful?

‘Better not think about it,’ he thought, tossing all the unnecessary thoughts at the back of his mind before taking out his cell phone and glancing at the time. It had already been quite a while since he called, so his taxi should be arriving soon, and it sure was about time. He feared he’d freeze to death if he had to wait any longer.

It was biting cold, but Stephan still didn’t want to wait inside. Because if he were to, some people would realize he didn’t intend to go back home using his own car, and Stephan didn’t want them to find out about it too quickly. If his hunch was right, then being too careful wouldn’t hurt.

Thus, Stephan waited outside, killing time by going through his text messages. Again, he read his conversation with Masha before letting out a sigh. “But I was being serious when I asked her to send me a picture. She’s so mean, teasing me only to leave me wanting more before fleeing. That’s what bad girls do, tsk, tsk.”

Because a certain someone refused to share her good luck, Stephan could only let his imagination run wild while waiting for his taxi to arrive. He was just getting to the good part when a car drove into the driveway, stopping his mind from going further into the gutter.

The car stopped before him and the window rolled down, revealing Gabriel sitting in the driver’s seat. With a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, he said, “Your car doesn’t seem to have broken down, so why did you call me to pick you up?”

“Just a hunch that I won’t make it home if I get into that car.”

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“What?!” a small voice cried out from behind Gabriel. “Just because of a hunch, you called us to give you a fuck—a ride?! We should have let you walk! And freeze to death!”

Tilting his head, Stephan glanced at the boy, who had unfasted his buckle and gripped the top of the driver’s seat, putting his chin on Gabriel’s shoulder. Noticing his glance, Misha angrily stared back, his eyes shooting daggers at the teenager.

“Us? As I recall, I only asked Gabriel to come fetch me. Aren’t you the one who decided to tag along?”

“If I don’t come with him, you’re going to exploit him behind my back and whatnot! Gaby, roll up the window and let’s go home! I’m sure that human-looking thing can walk on its own two feet and go wherever it has to go by itself, hmph.”

Gabriel stifled a laugh. “We’re already here, so we may as well give him and his father a ride. It’s on our way, anyway.”

“You’re too softhearted!” Misha snorted before sitting back in the back seat. “It’s going to come back to bite you in the ass one day or another.”

“We’ll see.”

Having received Gabriel’s consent, Stephan childishly stuck out his tongue at Misha before turning on his heel and waking up his father, whose mind was a mess of foggy thoughts. He then led him to the car step by step, but when he was about to open the door to the back seat, the boy growled, “I’m not sitting next to him! He stinks!”

“Even if he sits in the passenger seat, the smell will still reach the back, you know?” Stephan sobbed, feeling like this kid was making things hard for him on purpose.

And yes, the teenager willingly forgot that he was happily provoking the child not even a moment ago.

“I don’t care!” Misha hmphed back, turning his head sideways in a condescending manner.

“But—”

“Stephan,” Gabriel interrupted, his gentle voice carrying a hint of silent menace, “just sit in the back and let your father sit beside me.”

The teenager seemed to freeze for an instant, the gears in his mind appearing to be turning at high speed.  He glanced once more at the child before his gaze slightly widened. Although the boy acted naughty, seemingly not giving a damn about him or his father, some subtle movements betrayed his anxiety. It was as if the presence of his drunk father put him ill at ease, enough to make his clenched fists tremble.

Once Stephan noticed this, he readily shut his mouth and complied with Gabriel’s order, helping his father fasten his buckle in the passenger seat before joining Misha at the back. While making himself comfortable, he chuckled in a mischievous tone, “You know, you should just be honest with yourself and admit that you want me to sit next to you. I know no one can resist my charm.”

“…Gaby, can I cut his tongue?”

“No, not in the car. It’s going to dirty it. Wait until we reach his home.”

“All right.”

The tone of their voices made it difficult to know whether they were joking or being serious, making Stephan’s mouth twitch. But not wanting to surrender, he shed a few crocodile tears and sobbed, “You’re so heartless!”

However, his best friend’s only reaction was utter indifference, whereas the boy by his side snorted, throwing him a look that seemed to ask what he had done with his brain.

“…”

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Edited by Clozed! ♥

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