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.

and Clyde had shared a train ride to college

didn't even remember, but he had helped a girl struggling with her luggage on the platform,

from similar backgrounds, both doing work-study in the cafeteria, both tutoring to make ends meet. He was always so cheerful and charming, always carried

suddenly turned cold, her gaze

then you showed up,

at first sight and had my dad sponsor him. But likewise, my dad sponsored

were roommates, I,

pulled some

she never saw it

for her; to her, it felt

the

face.

around skin care products worth hundreds, while my monthly allowance is barely

treats like they're nothing, tossing them aside, treating me like a

she stood

just to steal

to see

don't have to worry about loans or