(Author's note: The dialogues in telepathy are italicized.)

  Gabriel is walking somewhere. It's the New Year vacation, but his family members all seem busy. No one's home during the day. Their evening encounters are usually brief and scattered, as each person follows their own schedule. Gabriel wonders if they avoid him on purpose, but he tries not to question it too much. Already feeling like a guilty intruder, he can only wait patiently.

  Staying at home started to feel boring, so Gabriel took himself out. He is about to turn into an alley when a chill runs down his spine. Gabriel hides behind a wall and looks back at the road. He spots a black shadow following him. His facial expression doesn't change, but a frozen gaze escapes his eyes, sharp enough to cut through anything nearby. He reaches behind him, gripping the handle of the dagger he carries in a hidden sheath.

  Gabriel stands still like a predator waiting for its prey. But the black shadow is no amateur either. It hesitates for a moment, then retreats. Gabriel runs after it, but it has already vanished.

  "What? Someone was tagging you?" a young man asks Gabriel while sitting across from him at a quiet, remote coffee shop. This white-haired, punk-looking man is the one Gabriel is meeting today.

  Gabriel sips his black coffee, looking outside cautiously. "A sharp one, I'd say."

  "Looks like you're still very popular, young master," the guy grins mockingly. "Why are you seeing me now? I thought you said, 'I ain't coming back to that slaughterhouse, so don't bother me anymore.'" He mimics Gabriel's words from their phone call the other night, teasingly.

  "Fine. I'm bored now, OK?" Gabriel yells, embarrassed. "My mom said I could go meet some friends. But here I am with only you. I'm so pathetic."

  The young man's blazing amber eyes soften as he looks at Gabriel. He is Nathan Reed, who has known Gabriel since their time in juvie, through the training program, working together, and now. The seven years that remain a mystery to even Gabriel's family, Nathan knows it all.

  "So how has it been with your fam?" Nathan asks.

  "Well, it's alright, I guess," Gabriel replies mechanically, then sighs. "Actually, I'm not sure. I thought I could... get closer to them while hiding my secrets, but it's harder than I thought."

  Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

  "What? Have they been mean to you?" Nathan shows anger. "Those hypocritical aristocrats!"

  "Come on, man! They are my family!" Gabriel reminds him strictly.

  "Sorry, man, my bad," Nathan clears his throat. "But they're all living that high-end life thanks to you, while you suffered all these years alone. How can they act as if it was nothing?"

  Gabriel is silent. His eyes darken like the coffee in his hand.

  "You've got to make them regret it!" Nathan adds. The two of them look like a pair of thugs plotting a nefarious scheme.

  "Drink your milkshake, dude!" Gabriel shuts him up.

  Nathan sits back and gulps down his sweetened beverage, looking impatient. "You won't come back to the gang anymore? Really?"

  Gabriel shakes his head. "I won't. I waited each day to be released from it."

  Nathan sucks from the straw in his glass, upset. "Then take some insider updates. The notorious serial killer all over the news lately is still at large. The cops haven't found anything other than the corpses. You and your fam better be careful."

  "I saw the news," Gabriel nods, whispering to Nathan. "He can kill, and he's so skilled that others can't find him. Is he not one from that slaughterhouse?"

  "No way!" Nathan chuckles. "They might be maniacs, but they have principles. Besides, you know that old man. He would keep them all in check."

  "Is that so?" Gabriel looks strangely cold for a moment. "Do you think... that could be me?"

  Nathan gulps heavily, staring at Gabriel warily. "Your joke is not funny, man."

  Gabriel sighs, puts down his glass, and stands up. "You should worry for yourself. Your mother and siblings are all recessives. And you can't defend them properly because you have the killing barrier."

  "Oh my, young master Lanes is worrying about me? I'm so happy!" Nathan teases.

  "Shut up!" Gabriel retorts while leaving the coffee shop.

  Watching Gabriel from behind, Nathan remembers the other day when they were still working together. Between moving around the country for months, they would come back here from time to time. Like everyone else, Nathan would spend his precious days off going home doing what he wanted. But Gabriel would just stay at the dorm like a moody mold.

  "Just go meet them already!" Nathan repeated for the hundredth time when he was about to leave the room. "We are not in jail anymore!"

  Gabriel, just turned 21 that year, was lying on the bunk bed like a tired old man. "I saw them yesterday."

  "You just hid somewhere peeking from afar again, right?" Nathan was frustrated. "Go say hi or something!"

  "But... They were having dinner. They looked so classy and happy..." Gabriel spoke monotonously, his eyes distant.

  In a luxurious, brilliant restaurant, the Lanes were talking and laughing cheerfully. They exuded a noble, superior air that was so bright it hurt the eyes. Gabriel looked back at himself, wearing his best outfit, but still felt out of place. After pondering there forever, he turned back and ran away.

  Looking at Gabriel's pathetic appearance, Nathan sighed, leaving him alone.

  Now, he did meet his family. But Nathan still feels that suffocating, uncomfortable sensation when looking at Gabriel, which makes him wonder, "If you've been struggling this much, why bother coming home?"