Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 83

(Hendrix's

POV)

The common room buzzed with low chatter and the clinking of cups on tables. I leaned against the doorframe, watching her. She was laughing. Angel. Sitting there with Thomas, her head tilted back, her smile was wide and easy. I knew that laugh. It was the kind of laugh that came from somewhere deep, the kind she only gave when she felt free.

I should be happy for her. I told myself that over and over. She's happy now. With him. Isn't that enough? But it wasn't. It was like this gaping hole inside me refused to close, no matter how much I tried to fill it with reason. I thought maybe-no, I was stupid to think that. I thought that, after everything we'd been through, there'd be space for us. But there wasn't. Because she's with Thomas now. And they're happy. So why am I not?

I couldn't even look at them for too long without feeling like my chest might cave in. The way he touched her, the way her hand lingered on his arm, the soft looks they shared-it felt like they were speaking a language I didn't know. And every time I saw them, it reminded me of everything I'd lost, everything I couldn't have.

I turned away before they could see me and walked back to my dorm. The air felt heavier with every step, like I was sinking into quicksand. Maybe it was better this way. Distance. Space. Whatever you wanted to call it. Maybe if I pulled back far enough, I'd stop feeling like this. Like I was on the edge of a cliff, and Angel was the only thing keeping me from falling, even though she was one of the reasons I desperately wanted to throw myself over.

But I wasn't sure anymore if I wanted to stop.

•

(Angel's POV)

The common room was warm and alive with the hum of voices, but all I could feel was his absence. Hendrix. I hadn't seen him all day, and it was starting to weigh on me. He was avoiding me. I knew it. And I didn't know how to fix it.

ear, pulling my attention

nodded quickly. "Yeah, just

he leaned closer and brushed

softly. "I

me laugh when everything else felt too much to handle. And when he kissed me, like he was doing now, I felt lighter, like I could forget all the cracks

him. The room faded away as his

"You're addictive," he murmured.

softly with my forehead resting against his. "That makes two

felt perfect. Until it

air shifted. A tension I couldn't quite detect. I pulled back slightly, and my heart sank. Hendrix was standing in the doorway, his eyes locked on us. He wasn't saying anything, but he didn't have to. The look on his

said. His voice was

he just walked to the corner of the room, grabbed a magazine

shut behind him, and the silence that followed was

breath as my hands fell to my lap.

ran a hand through his hair. "He's gotta

didn't respond. I couldn't. Because deep down, I wasn't sure

•

Thomas and Hande, picking at my food while everyone else tried to pretend like

look.