There's a yard of space between them, but Gabe still flinches as if he'd been struck. Caleb's anger isn't aimed at him but Gabe still fears it.

"Brainwashing?" he echoes faintly, trying to understand what Caleb means. "Who is they?" Even though he asks it, Gabe knows what Caleb means. Who Caleb means. And Gabe has a hard time believing it. What his parents did couldn't really be brainwashing.