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Out in the open

مؤلف: RaeLyn
last update تاريخ النشر: 2026-08-20 19:32:54

Nick showed up at the hospital a little after noon, coffee in each hand, already talking before he'd fully cleared the doorway. "Okay, I come bearing bad hospital coffee and mild judgment for scaring me half to death. The doctor said you nearly closed your throat over a cookie."

"Rosemary," Arlen said, managing a small smile. "A very natural way to almost die."

"There's no dignified way to almost die, Arlen, that's kind of the point of almost dying." Nick dropped into the chair Cade had refus
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  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Friendly advice

    The café was busiest in the mid-morning lull between the breakfast rush and lunch, which was, of course, exactly when the espresso machine chose to die.Arlen stood behind the counter, sweat prickling at his hairline, trying to keep his voice level as Jennifer jabbed at the buttons for the third time. "It's not the machine," he said, more sharply than he meant to. "You have to prime it first, I've shown you this—""I did prime it," Jennifer said, not looking up. "It's just not drawing.""Well, clearly it's not doing it right, because—"Arlen glanced up and realized, with a hot flush of embarrassment, that there were customers, a cluster of them near the window, pretending very hard to be absorbed in their phones while clearly listening to every word. He exhaled, forced his shoulders down from where they'd crept up toward his ears, and softened his tone."Just try the reset switch on the side. Should be a red one."She found it. The machine sputtered back to life. Problem solved, thoug

  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Your secret

    When Cade got back, he found Arlen still in the living room, a half cup of smoothie and plate of cookies. This time, Arlen was reading a book. "We need to talk," Cade said."About?" Arlen said, not looking up from the book."Justin."Arlen looked up from his book, "What about him?""I want him to move out."Arlen's expression hardened. "Why?""Because it's my house and I say so. Pass this message across to him." Cade said with finality, already walking away. "No," Arlen said, copying that same tone of finality."Excuse me?" Cade stopped turning to face him."You said it was up to me for him to stay here, and suddenly you want him out?""Yes, that's exactly what I want. What else are you not getting?""Why do you suddenly want him gone?""Listen, I'm not comfortable with him staying here anymore. I don't have to explain myself to you more than I've done.""Why? Because it's your house?""Obviously." Cade resumed walking away."Or is it because you're jealous?"Cade paused on his step

  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Blabber mouth

    The house felt different with Arlen back in it. Different in the way a room feels after someone knows what awaits them in that space. The air heavier, the corners darker, like the walls themselves were holding their breath. Cade heard the front door close, heard the low murmur of Justin's voice bringing him in, overly warm, overly attentive, and felt his jaw tighten before he even saw either of them.By the time he came downstairs, Arlen was settled on the couch, engrossed on his phone, looking too serious for a Sunday afternoon. Justin nowhere in sight.By the time Arlen had noticed him, he was almost at the door. "Are you surprised I'm back?" Arlen asked, dropping his phone on the couch."What?" Cade turned back to face him."You don't look like you're happy I'm back so soon." Arlen said, standing up."Back from the hospital and you're already wanting to pick a fight with me?" Cade mirrored Arlen's posture. Cade would never admit it out loud but he expected an apology considering th

  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Alone at home

    The rain tapped against the window as Cade sat in his room, laptop open, headphones half on, half off. The house was quiet except for the occasional hum of the refrigerator downstairs. It was just him and Justin under one roof.He should have felt normal about it. They'd been friends, close friends, long before Justin started dating Arlen. But something about tonight felt different, and Cade couldn't quite place why until he heard the soft knock on his door."Hey," Justin said, leaning against the frame.Cade looked up and immediately felt his stomach do something complicated. Justin was wearing an oversized shirt that had slipped off one shoulder, the collar loose enough that it left little to guesswork, and shorts that were shorter than anything Cade had ever seen him wear outside of summer. His hair was damp, like he'd just gotten out of the shower, strands falling messily over his forehead in a way that looked deliberate rather than accidental."Hey," Cade said carefully. "You nee

  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Out in the open

    Nick showed up at the hospital a little after noon, coffee in each hand, already talking before he'd fully cleared the doorway. "Okay, I come bearing bad hospital coffee and mild judgment for scaring me half to death. The doctor said you nearly closed your throat over a cookie." "Rosemary," Arlen said, managing a small smile. "A very natural way to almost die." "There's no dignified way to almost die, Arlen, that's kind of the point of almost dying." Nick dropped into the chair Cade had refused to sit the day before, setting one coffee on the tray table. "You look like shit, for the record." "Thanks. Very supportive." "I'm your brother, I'm contractually obligated to be honest instead of supportive." Nick took a sip of his own coffee, studying Arlen properly now that he was fully out of danger. "So how long are they keeping you?" "Two or three days. Just monitoring." Arlen shifted against the pillows. "I had to fight for it because dad told them to keep me longer than necessary."

  • A Love Mess: Who loves who?   Suspicious intentions

    Justin showed up at the hospital the next afternoon with a bouquet of white lilies and a face arranged into exactly the right shape of worry. He'd chosen the lilies deliberately, standing in the flower shop for nearly fifteen minutes looking over the different arrangements before landing on the whitest, most unassuming bunch on the shelf, the kind of flowers that photographed well and said nothing incriminating. Arlen was still propped against the pillows, color mostly back in his face now, the swelling reduced to a faint puffiness along one cheek, enough that he looked like himself again, tired but recognizably Arlen. He glanced up when the door opened and something in his expression eased, relaxed and happy, the way it never was for anyone but his boyfriend."You're here!" Arlen said, like a kid who just saw Santa."I'm sorry I wasn't here last night," Justin said, setting the flowers on the windowsill with the kind of care that looked, to anyone who didn't know better, like real t

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