Bully stepbrother

51. Cleaning

MADISON

Corpse-like, I still had to accompany Caden to see a doctor, as promised.

I sat in his car, staring through the window with nothing else to say. I have tried, but invariably, he won't open up to me.

In fact, he despises me more than before, and he made sure to make that clear back in his room earlier.

Not only did he turn his room upside down and hurt himself, but he also said it out loud. He hates me.

Maybe I shouldn't have said the L-word.
Yes, I regret vomiting how I feel for him. And if I could rewind time, I would have stayed mute the ride back from Santa Cruz.

Maybe we could have maintained whatever kind of relationship we had yesterday. Maybe nice Caden would've stayed, but I went on and ran my mouth. Now we have lost everything.

At the hospital, Caden and I had to wait for Bryan to catch up.

When he got out of his luxurious car, he put on his hood and inclined his head to avoid attracting attention. Still, it did nothing because, in a matter of some moments, there were obsessive fans and flashes of cameras everywhere.

With Caden grabbing my hand and pulling me into the hospital (which left me wondering why), no one seemed to notice Bryan was with us.

However, at the reception, people began to notice because Bryan turned down every picture request, pleading with his fans to bear with him. He introduced them to me, addressing me as a friend and telling them about my minor accident.

Caden, for the first time, was strange in public. He wasn't smirking or mocking anyone. He had been quiet ever since we settled down around the waiting area. His fingers remained laced on his thighs. He focused his eyes on nothing in particular and never said a word.

By the time Caden and I got to see the doctor, I was quite famous around the hospital.

Yes, with present fangirl nurses, we were allowed to see the doctor at the same time, and Bryan was supportive even with Caden's weird attitude. He insisted on staying by my side while the doctor checked the cut on my neck.

"How are you feeling?" The doctor asked after taking a closer look at my cut.

"I feel better." I smiled at the middle-aged man.

I was sitting on the exam table with three men scrutinizing me, and my nervous legs wouldn't stop wiggling.

"You look tired. Is it from the accident?"

"No, I had a long day yesterday," I answered the doctor, while my gaze instinctively met those marvelous hazel eyes staring at me so sharply.

Staring back, I began to wonder what was going on in his head.

"I suggest you take some rest. The cut on your neck is healing, so you're doing good," the doctor informed me, while Bryan's hands moved up and down my back in a way that should have been soothing. However, it wasn't. I felt uncomfortable and wished I could tell him to stop.

But my mom says to be grateful. She has reminded me of that ever since she married Caden's dad, and so I was taught to politely accept people's kindness whether I wanted it or not.

"Thank you..."

I stepped down from the exam table with Bryan's help before I continued, "And my brother here had some accident over the weekend, I mean even recently. We are wondering if the wounds didn't get infected." I told the doctor, gesturing toward Caden.

When our eyes met, I found unease in his before he looked away.

"Can I examine the wounds, please?" The doctor called Caden to the exam table, and somehow, he obliged without protest.