Lahat ng Kabanata ng Unraveled (M x M romance): Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

ELLIOTELLIOTEver since I was a child, everything I had an interest in ended up being taken away. I always ended up losing them one way or the other.It started with the teddy bear I had when I was eight— I had a feeling Daniel actually stole it even though he denied it. I never got it back after I lost it.Then, my very first girlfriend I had at fifteen ended things with me after two weeks because she found someone better.And then, two years later, I lost my mother and my little brother.And now, whatever I had with Asher was gone.Although, I didn’t really think that one counted because it wasn’t like Asher and I had a thing in the first place.Let’s just say, I wasn’t very good at keeping things. Or holding on to them.I was just realizing I wasn’t that good at handling secrets either because what was that whole thing with Asher?Yes, he was an asshole— a major one— but I could've handled the whole situation better.Like not pushing him to reveal his past, for one. Or pushing the

ASHER“Ahh,” Sebastian sighed. “If you’re going to be this boring and depressing, maybe you just leave.”I blinked, jerking out of my thoughts. “What?”Sebastian dropped his phone on the table with more force than necessary. “I said if you’re going to be a party pooper, maybe you should just leave. I skipped going to a club on a Friday night because you said you wanted to hang out. Yet, here you are. I’ve been speaking for over one hour and I don’t think you heard a word.”“I don’t think I’ve even been here for an hour,” I said weakly.Sebastian didn’t say anything in response. He just watched me silently, like he was trying to see through me, his blue eyes narrowed slightly. “Go on,” he said finally, “Tell me everything. You know you want to.”I hesitated, debating how much to say. There were some things Sebastian didn’t know about. He knew a little bit about my past but he didn’t know everything. Like the… scars for example.But I needed to tell someone about the way I was feeling

ELLIOTAvoiding Asher turned out to be harder than I thought.It was definitely one of the most difficult things I’d ever had to pull off.It wasn’t because he kept coming after me. But because he didn’t.It should’ve made things easier.He said the whole thing was a mistake and I accepted it.That should’ve been the end of it.It should’ve been simple.Except it wasn’t.Because now, everywhere I went, there was this feeling of absence. Like something had been quietly removed from my life, and I didn’t notice how much space it took up until it was gone.I noticed it in the stupidest of things.In the way the seat beside me in Data Analysis was now empty because no one was around to whisper dirty things in my ear anymore.In the way my phone felt too quiet now because no one was blowing it up with ridiculous messages anymore.In the way I waited with bated breath at night every time I heard footsteps outside my bedroom door, wishing that it was him.In the way not even touching myself

ELLIOT Silence befell us. It was thick, heavy. Crushing. “I never told my mum,” he said. “Why?” “Because what kind of person does that make me?” he asked, his voice breaking slightly for the first time. “What kind of person sits there and watches their father die?” My chest twisted painfully. “Asher—” “I could’ve saved him,” he said. “Maybe. I don’t know. But I didn’t try. Not immediately. And that—” he let out a shaky breath “—that makes me just as bad as him.” “No,” I said immediately. He shook his head. “Yes, it does.” “No, it doesn’t,” I repeated, firmer this time. He went quiet. But he didn’t look like he believed me. I stood up and approached him slowly. “You were fifteen,” I said. He didn’t respond. “You were a kid,” I continued. “A kid who was abused for years. A kid who watched his mum be abused for years.” His jaw tightened. “That doesn’t just… disappear,” I said. “You don’t just suddenly become rational in a moment like that.” “I still sh

ELLIOTThe moment he was out of earshot, my friends turned to me.“Oh my God,” Elsa whispered loudly.Lucas rolled his eyes. “Why are you acting like he’s a celebrity?”Houston leaned forward. “That was Alexander.”“Yes, thank you, Houston, we all have eyes,” Elsa hissed, smacking Lucas’s arm lightly.She turned to me, eyes wide. “Why was he talking to you?”“I don’t know,” I said honestly.Lucas frowned. “And why was he asking about Sebastian?”“That’s what I want to know,” I muttered.Something about that interaction felt… off. Like there was something I was missing.By the time we got to the library later, the conversation had shifted— Mostly.Elsa still kept throwing me suspicious looks.Lucas kept waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive way that had me rolling my eyes.Houston just seemed happy to be included in whatever chaos was happening.I had just flipped open my textbook when my phone buzzed.Asher: Where are you?My heart skipped a beat.I stared at the screen for a second l