When Love Falls

After my best friend passed away in a tragic accident, I took in his younger sister, Kate.

Everyone knew she meant more to me than my own life. To raise her and give her a stable home, I even stayed unmarried for years.

On her eighteenth birthday, Kate stood before me and delivered a deeply emotional, tearful confession of love.

My eyes welled up with tears of overwhelming joy. But the moment I reached out to accept the bouquet of roses from her hands, over a dozen writhing snakes slithered out from the petals.

The crowd erupted into roaring laughter. Her college senior stepped up, wrapping an arm around Kates waist with a smug grin. "Sorry about that, David. Kate only did it to make me laugh."

Kate looked at me, her eyes dripping with pure disgust. "Did you really think raising me for a few years gave you the right to demand my body in return? You are incredibly pathetic."

My heart turned to ash in my chest. Without a word, I turned my back on her and married the girl next door who had been secretly in love with me for years.

01

"David, as soon as my competition overseas is over, I'm flying straight back to marry you."

Just as I ended the call with Stella, Kate pushed open the hospital room door, her brow furrowing in deep annoyance. "Who were you talking to? What marriage?"

I kept my voice hollow and flat. "Does it have anything to do with you?"

Seeing my cold demeanor, Kate huffed, dropping a thermos onto the bedside table. She uncapped it, muttering defensively. "David, I know you are still holding a grudge. My prank caused you to collapse and aggravate your old leg injury, so I made you a pot of homemade seafood chowder to apologize."

"I only wanted to make Cole laugh. I bought a few harmless garden snakes and hid them in the flowers just to see your reaction. How was I supposed to know you would have a full blown panic attack and pass out? You even said yes to my fake confession, making me look like a total joke in front of everyone."

"David, I have only ever seen you as a guardian. That night was just a prank. You didn't actually take it seriously, did you?"

I thought back to that night. She had looked me dead in the eyes and said she loved me over and over again. I was foolish enough to believe every single syllable. When I saw the flowers, I genuinely thought she was opening her heart to me. In the end, it was nothing but a cruel circus act.

I remembered the day I first brought Kate home. She had trailed behind me, her voice sweet as sugar, calling my name. Now, it was just a cold, impatient "David."

The eighteen year old Kate used to be gentle and kind. She used to promise that she would work hard to give me the best things in the world, that she would stick by my side for the rest of her life.

I do not even know the exact moment my heart fell for her.

Kate scooped a spoonful of the chowder and pushed it toward my lips, her tone carrying a hint of forced coaxing. "Be good. Let me feed you."

But the chowder near my mouth had already gone ice cold.

I remembered a time when I accidentally ingested a tiny bit of seafood, triggering a massive allergic reaction that left my skin covered in burning hives. It was not her fault, yet Kate blamed herself so harshly she fell into a depressive slump for days.

She had cried her eyes out, swearing to me through her tears that she would supervise every meal I ate to ensure I never touched seafood again.

But now, she had completely forgotten.

Seeing my jaw clamped shut, Kate slammed the bowl back onto the table. Her temper flared. "I woke up at the crack of dawn to make this. I failed a dozen times, burned my hands with blisters, and ditched Cole just to bring this to you. And you are throwing a tantrum?"

"David, am I giving you too much grace?"

I stared at her, my eyes completely devoid of warmth. "Did I beg you to make it for me?"

She scoffed bitterly. "Who else would do it? Aside from me, who else would stoop so low to take care of you? You should be getting down on your knees in gratitude that I even showed up. Forget it. I will not argue with you. Finish the soup. I am leaving to see Cole."

I reached over and took a small sip. It was practically entirely salt, the broth burnt to a bitter, black sludge.

It did not matter. This would be the last time. Once Stella returned from abroad, it would be the day Kate and I cut ties forever.

I set the spoon down. "I lost my appetite. I can only stomach this much. Are you satisfied now?"

Kate crossed her arms, thoroughly displeased. "Can you not just finish it? You are always so picky. Cole is never like this."

A cold chuckle escaped my lips. "Did you genuinely forget that I am deathly allergic to seafood?"

The insults died on Kate's tongue. She froze. "No, wait. I will call a doctor right now. I will go downstairs and buy you something else."

I shook my head slowly. "Save it."

My face was already beginning to itch, angry red hives breaking out across the back of my hands.

Kate frowned deeply. "Do you enjoy neglecting your own body?"

"Just wait here. I will find a doctor to check on you and buy you a new meal."

Just then, her phone buzzed. From the receiver came Coles whiny, anxious voice. "Kate, my head is splitting. Can you come see me?"

Panic instantly washed over Kate's face. "Oh, my poor baby, don't cry. I am coming right back to hold you. Be good, okay?"

Hanging up the phone, she looked at me with an awkward grimace. "Cole has a migraine. He isn't tough and thick skinned like you, David. You are a grown man. You understand."

I understood perfectly. Years ago, when I suffered from migraines, she used to nurse me with that exact same tenderness. "Yeah. Go."

Kate looked at me with a fleeting gaze of guilt. "David, just press the call button yourself. Cole needs someone by his side. You just have a little rash. It is not like you are dying of some terminal illness."

I nodded. "I get it, Kate."

Hearing me use her name so formally, she paused, looking slightly wounded. "You used to call me your little Kate."

"Whatever. I will just assume you are still throwing a fit."

After she left, I called the doctor for a shot of antihistamines. Bored, I scrolled through my social media feed, only to see a brand new post from Cole.

[A boy with a girlfriend is truly blessed! Craved seafood chowder at midnight, and my sweet Kate ruined a dozen pots in the kitchen just to make me this perfect bowl!]

Attached was a photo of Cole holding a pristine, gourmet looking bowl of creamy chowder. The second photo showed the graveyard of failed, burnt pots in the kitchen.

The burnt sludge in the photo looked exactly like the bowl sitting on my bedside table.

But my heart felt nothing. I simply scrolled past.

02

The day I was discharged, I walked into my house to find Kate and Cole intimately tangled on the living room sofa. The click of the front door startled them apart.

Kate smoothed her shirt, looking embarrassed but defiant. "I didn't intentionally forget you were coming home today. Cole got into a huge fight with his roommates, so obviously I had to prioritize him. He is my boyfriend, after all. You are just my guardian. Naturally, my man comes first. You understand, right, David?"

"Also, Cole is staying here from now on. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Her tone left absolutely zero room for negotiation. I glanced at her and shook my head. "No problem."

After all, once Stella returned, I was going to sell this property and buy a new place. Whatever they did here was none of my business anymore.

I turned and walked toward my master bedroom, only to stop dead in my tracks.

The entire layout was gutted. My furniture was gone, replaced by heavy weightlifting equipment and gaming setups. Every trace of my existence had been scrubbed clean, replaced entirely by Coles belongings.

Kate leaned against the doorframe, totally unbothered. "Cole needs space to work out. Your bed is softer, and that room gets the best sunlight, so I let him move his stuff in."

"Since this house is huge anyway, and I am going to marry Cole eventually, you would have to give up the master bedroom to him sooner or later. Better to just do it now."

"You can sleep in my old room, David."

Hearing this, Cole looked at Kate with feigned hurt. "Did you forget David has a sick crush on you? Kate, making him sleep in your bed... how am I supposed to feel about that?"

Those words seemed to flip a switch in Kate's brain. She looked at me with raw revulsion. "You are right. David, go sleep in the storage room! If you hadn't harbored such disgusting, dirty thoughts about me, it wouldn't have come to this."

"All your junk is thrown in there anyway. Buy a cheap mattress for yourself. That is your room now."

The storage room was bare concrete. Kate was essentially telling me to sleep on the floor. It had no windows, trapping the damp, freezing air inside.

Years ago, to save Kate from an oncoming truck, my left leg was crushed, leaving me with permanent nerve damage. Every time the cold seeped into my bones, the agony kept me awake until dawn.

Back then, Kate had spent weeks researching orthopedics. She emptied her meager savings to buy me a high end ergonomic bed, selecting the thickest mattress and the warmest down comforter so I wouldn't suffer.

If I lost even an hour of sleep, she would cry for me. Now, she was throwing me onto a concrete floor with a straight face.

Time had ground her heart into stone.

I gave a curt nod. "Fine."

Kate clearly did not expect me to agree so peacefully. She opened her mouth to argue, but nothing came out.

Suddenly remembering my upcoming plans, I figured I should give her a heads up before I put the house on the market.

"Kate, I am getting married. You know her actually. Stella, from your university."

Kate froze. Then, she and Cole burst into a fit of hysterical, mocking laughter. "David, have you lost your damn mind? You? Getting married? And to Stella, the university's computer science prodigy?"

"Besides, do you really have the guts to abandon me and get married?"

03

She had a point. I had once promised her that until she found someone to marry, I would never start a family of my own. Kate was absolutely convinced I was permanently chained to her.

But this time, the chains were broken.

I turned away and walked into the dark storage room.

My clothes and personal items were piled in the corner like garbage.

I picked up a familiar photo album from the pile. Opening it, I found my face scribbled over with thick red marker, drawn to look like a grotesque pig. Beside me, Kates face was outlined with cute hearts and stars.

It was obviously the handiwork of Kate and Cole.

Ever since I brought her home, we took an annual trip, snapping photos at every landmark to build this album. Kate used to press it to her chest, swearing this was our lifelong treasure, promising to protect it forever.

Yet she willingly let Cole desecrate it, just to earn a smile from him.

Without a second thought, I tossed the album into the trash bin.

A knock sounded at the door. Cole strolled in holding a gift box, a venomous smirk playing on his lips. "David, my man. I bought you a little something to thank you for letting me crash here."

I took the box. Inside was a necktie. The pattern was incredibly tacky and outdated. More importantly, I absolutely despised wearing ties, a fact Kate knew intimately.

Cole crossed his arms, looking down his nose at me. "I figured this style was perfect for an aging, middle aged guy like you."

"Even Kate agreed it matched your vibe. You love it, don't you?"

I did not care enough to be provoked. I placed the tie back in the box and handed it back. "I appreciate the thought, but I don't like it."

Cole's tone turned entirely condescending. "Man, some people just don't know their place. You really need to look in the mirror and realize what you are actually worth."

"Let me teach you a lesson about biting the hand that feeds you!"

Before I could blink, Cole snatched the tie, ripped the fabric down the middle, and slapped himself violently across his own cheek. He stumbled back, covering his face. "David! Even if you hate the gift, you didn't have to hit me!"

"I know you are obsessed with Kate! I know my being here bothers you! Fine, I will leave! I just wanted you both to be happy!"