Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 21

(Cylan's POV)

I was lying on my bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, when one of the nurses came into our dorm room. "Cylan, you have a visitor," she said with a smile.

My roommates, Hande and Angel, looked at me with mischievous grins spreading across their faces. I raised an eyebrow, wondering what was going on. "What's going on?" I asked them.

Hande's grin grew wider. "Is it your lover coming to see you?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

Angel chimed in, her voice full of excitement. "Yeah, is it a secret admirer?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Why do you always assume that whenever I have a visitor or leave the room, it's a lover?" I asked, shaking my head.

Hande shrugged. "We're just curious. You're always so secretive about your personal life."

I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "I've told you guys before, Ellen is not my lover. She's my ex-girlfriend. We're just friends now."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "But why does she visit you so often?"

Hande nodded in agreement. "Yeah, are you sure that Ellen is not still in love with her and wants to get back together?"

I waved my hand dismissively. "We're just friends, guys. Don't read into it."

My roommates shrugged, but I could tell they were still curious. Anyone would be. Ellen had been my friend for years, until the brief moment we had dated but no matter what happened between us, we remained close.

I got up and headed downstairs to meet Ellen, leaving their whispers and giggles behind. I didn't care what they said, but I hadn't seen her in weeks and I was looking forward to catching up. She was the one and only person who visited me in this godforsaken place.

As I walked into the visitor's room, I saw Ellen sitting on the couch, looking beautiful as always. Her eyes sparkled as she smiled at me.

standing up to

enjoying the familiar warmth

down on

you holding up?" Ellen

longer dating. She had moved on, and was now happily engaged to Alex. But I also knew that Alex suspected that Ellen still had feelings for me. He had hinted at it a few times, but Ellen and I both knew that wasn't the case. Ellen had brushed it off, saying he was just

it had taken us a while to repair our friendship. But now, we were closer than ever. We had moved past our romantic feelings for

refusal to come out to my parents as the reason. She had felt like my secret, like I was ashamed

me. I had realized that I couldn't hide who I was anymore. With Ellen's help, I had finally found the courage to tell my parents the truth. That Ellen was not just a friend, but had been my girlfriend. It

through so much together, and I

holding up in here?"

looked around the room, taking in the sterile white walls and the faint smell of disinfectant. I

down my throat, even though I had told her they were harming me... it still played in my mind like a bad

child. Being forced to clean the cafeteria and the dormitory, and having Miss Stefan, our dorm mother, stay in the room with us... it was humiliating. Miss Stefan had been

me as I cleaned. I had felt like a child, being punished for breaking a

could tell that something was wrong, but I just didn't want to talk

a few minutes of silence, I spoke up. "I'm fine,"

an eyebrow, her expression skeptical. "Really?" she

But I knew she didn't believe me. And honestly,

by dumping my emotional baggage on her. After the breakup, I had tried to move on, to find someone new. Then, I had started

her eyes searching for answers. I knew she wanted to know what was wrong, but I just couldn't tell

Not yet.

Maybe not ever.

didn't want her to think less of me, or to worry about me

something else," I said, trying to change the subject. I didn't want to dwell

knew when I was hiding something. But she

promise me you'll tell me if something's

was here for me, but I just couldn't bring myself