I had no idea when days like this would finally end.
After stepping out to get some water that night, I returned to my brother’s hospital room. I was surprised, knowing Seth was standing inside.
It was the only place I had left for a bit of peace.
“So this is where you disappear to at night?” Seth sneered. “Didn’t realize you had a helpless wreck waiting for you here.” He scrunched his face in disgust, pointing at the bed. “Ugh, gross. He pissed himself.”
“If I were him, I’d rather be dead.”
My brother’s eyes were wide open, face flushed red with shame as he let out muffled, broken sobs.
I dropped the basin of water and shoved Seth hard, trying to force him out. He managed to break free and leaned down toward my brother with that mocking smile still plastered on his face.
“You know why your brother won’t divorce his wife?” he said, laughing. “Because of you. Meanwhile, she’s out every night screwing around with whoever she pleases.”
“You’re just dead weight, you know that?”
I snapped. I stormed forward and smacked his face, hard. Seth lost his balance and fell straight onto the soaked bedsheets my brother had just soiled.
The boy screamed, flailing like a madman. In turn, he shoved my brother off the bed. Everything crashed at once—monitors, wires, machines. I saw the oxygen tube rip out.
A moment later, the beeping turned into a steady flatline.
Seth froze.
Luna walked in just then and he immediately scrambled behind her like a scared little boy, clutching her arm.
“Professor Luna… Cyrus hit me again…”
I stared at the chaos in front of me, my mind buzzing. I’d thought about letting go so many times, but I never imagined it would happen like this.
I looked down at my brother’s lifeless body and something on his right hand caught my eye—a small black mole.
Just moments ago, I had seen that same hand yank out his own oxygen tube. My brother had ended his own life.
Luna clearly hadn’t expected things to spiral out of control like this. She cleared her throat a few times.
“Look,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm. “Seth won’t hold it against you for hitting him. Let’s just forget about today. Let it go.”
“Your brother’s been paralyzed for so many years. Honestly, a man living like that with no dignity is worse than dying with some honor.”
Her words were casual, like she was talking about something trivial. Yet, they had stolen my brother’s life away.
“Is your dad in more debt again?” she continued, almost bored. “Four hundred fifty thousand dollars, right? I’ll take care of it for you.”
“Cy, stop causing trouble.”
She spoke like she was tossing a coin to a beggar, giving me just enough to dismiss me. After a few more dismissive words, she left.
Cy… She hadn’t called me that in five years.
I wanted to laugh, but there was also the sting of tears behind my eyes. What I felt most, though, was relief.
Finally, I was free.
It was time for all to end.
I couldn't bury my father, but I could bury my brother. There were no other family members left, so there was no funeral either.
As I stepped out of the graveyard complex, I called Vega. “Vega, come pick me up.”
I went home right after.
The same group of Luna’s college guys, the ones who had come around before, barged in again, eager to take whatever they could. I didn’t stop them, as usual and even handed them some of the things I’d been storing.
They were practically glowing with excitement as they grabbed whatever they wanted. The only thing left untouched was the box full of memories of Luna and me. Not one of them wanted it.
Well, neither did I.
***
That night, I handed Luna the divorce papers again.
“Cyrus, are you done yet?” she snapped. Predictably, Luna lost her temper again. She locked me in the room.
When Vega climbed over the wall to pick me up, my miserable first half of life finally came to an end.
Luna had been drinking all night. When she woke up, she instinctively reached for some hangover pills.
“Nova, where are the hangover pills?”
“They’re in the cabinet ma'am. I’ll go check.”
Nova wiped her hands and headed upstairs to look for someone. She pushed open the bedroom door, only to find it completely empty.
Luna, as if sensing something was off, rushed up the stairs. "Nova, has Mr. Gray's father been here recently?"
Nova blinked in surprise. "Mr. Gray’s father? He was murdered a few days ago—beaten up to death and dumped on the outskirts of the city. They haven’t caught whoever did it. It’s been all over the news... You haven’t seen it?"
The empty room swallowed Luna whole. She stood frozen for a few minutes, her blood running cold. A deep, crushing sense of abandonment washed over her.
For the first time, Luna felt what it was like to be truly left behind.
