" Hey, just saying.” Tristan lifted his hands in a placating manner. “I didn’t mean to…upset you.”
“I’m not upset.”
“You don’t need to put on a brave face,” Tristan said, donning his sincerest expression. “We’re family, after all.”
The glare he received was positively murderous.
Tristan dropped his mask and met Gabriel’s eyes. “Seriously, get a grip. You’re boring me. It’s no fun to kick someone who’s already down. You’re no challenge these days.”
“I have no idea what you mean.”
Tristan let out a laugh. “You’ve been behaving like a kicked puppy for months. A puppy without its owner. That’s just sad and pathetic.”
A muscle pulsed in Gabriel’s cheek.
Tristan sneered. “Your weird clingy thing for Jared was pretty pathetic in itself, but this—the useless moping—is a new low for you. If you really want him back so much, what’s the problem? Get him back.”
“He doesn’t want to come back,” Gabriel grated out.
Tristan raised his eyebrows. “So? If I want something, I’ll walk over anyone to get it, instead of moping and doing nothing. You used to be the same way—”
“Used to be,” Gabriel bit off. “Not anymore. "

― Alessandra Hazard , Just a Bit Unhealthy (Straight Guys #3)