5

Chapter 5

Michael

Michael was in the middle of his afternoon nap when he heard the noise. Groaning softly, he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, after three unsuccessful attempts he got tired of that tactic and slowly stood up. He made his way outside his bedroom door and walked downstairs; he opened the door to the living room and was shocked when he saw a small child sitting alone on the sofa, holding one of his favorite books.

"Who are you?" Michael asked curiously. The tiny being turned his head to face him, and Michael recognised the blue eyes and black hair of his youngest son immediately.

"Hello Michael! Did you forget what we talked about yesterday?" the boy said cheerfully.

"What? Oh, right," Michael said. He stepped into the room and sat next to the child. "Where are the others? You must be hungry, huh?"

"No, I already ate," Gabriel answered matter-of-factly. Michael raised an eyebrow; he knew there was something different about him today. The other times Gabriel had been upset, and he had gotten angry, he always had been hungry, though usually not so hungrier than usual. Now he seemed almost cheerful; and he didn't look sick or ill at all.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" Michael inquired, putting his arm around Gabriel's shoulder and squeezing him gently. This had happened before. Gabriel had had an outburst earlier in the day when he had told Michael that he wanted to spend the night with Chloe Decker. "Do you want me to call Chloe? I'm sure she will understand." Gabriel gave Michael an annoyed look.

"No, she'll hate me again. Besides, it's only a few hours. If anything I should be allowed to stay away from her now."

"But-"

"I'm fine, mom. Stop worrying," Gabriel interrupted.

"Alright," Michael nodded reluctantly. He wondered if he should try calling Chloe and asking about Gabriel's condition. He knew she didn't live in London, so if Gabriel really was alright she would come to visit, and he couldn't imagine his daughter being unhappy with his decision. Still, he didn't want to worry her. "If you're sure."

"Yes, I am sure," Gabriel assured him.

They both stood up, ready to begin their afternoon routine of napping together and playing video games. Gabriel picked up one of his favourite action figures; they were supposed to start using those soon and Michael was starting to get impatient.

After their nap and a short game of video games Michael suggested playing with some more toys. The toy store was relatively close to his house, and he was quite interested in seeing if his mother wanted to go to the toy store with him. They walked through the streets until they reached the shopping centre, and then headed straight for the toy store. When they got there they bought some new toys and Michael bought a couple new action figures for himself and Gabriel. After buying a bunch of different things Gabriel wanted to play with his new action figures, and they left the shop. They made their way to the nearest park and played together for awhile until they ran out of money. After getting some ice cream, they sat down in a nearby restaurant and enjoyed their lunch.

As they were returning to the apartment Michael decided to bring up something he needed to discuss with Gabriel.

"Hey Gabe?" he began hesitantly. "Can you promise me something?"

"Okay…"

"I want to help you, but I need some kind of confirmation that you can trust me, or at least I think you can."

"Okay," Gabriel agreed. "So what do you need from me?"

"Well," Michael cleared his throat. "