When Love Becomes a Cage by Nora

Rachel dragged me to the small garden bench outside the hospital.

She plopped down with a sigh and patted the spot next to her, "Have a seat."

I reluctantly took the far edge, keen on keeping a buffer zone between us.

She glanced my way.

"Melanie, you're infuriatingly beautiful, even with a wig."

Her random comment threw me off, and I didn't quite know how to respond.

But she didn't seem to expect a reply, instead, she gazed up at the sky.

"Reminds me of our first day at college, kinda overcast, but oddly comforting. Melanie, I was the first person at school to meet Clyde. The very first, no one knew him before I did."

There was a hint of pride in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes.

Back in our dorm, she always seemed a bit out of place, and I hardly knew anything about her.

Just that her family wasn't well-off, she relied on scholarships and student loans, even signing up for work-study programs from day one.

was that she and Clyde had shared a train ride to college on their

he had helped a girl struggling with her luggage on the platform, and that girl fell hard for

tutoring to make ends meet. He was always so cheerful and charming, always carried himself with such grace, despite

her gaze turning sharp as she

then you showed up,

was smitten with Clyde at first sight and had my dad

were roommates, I,

pulled some strings

never saw it as

her; to her, it felt like a

the

face.

around skin care products worth hundreds, while my monthly

nothing, tossing them aside, treating me like a

and she stood up, pointing accusingly

just to steal him from me, knowing full well I

to

I worked hard, I got my own sponsor, I don't have to worry about loans or living