The Gay Nerd Who Stole His Heart

Three Months Later

The rehab facility had kept him longer than he had assumed; however, he was three months without any self-harm and felt like a new person once he exited the facility. He turned around, stared at the building once more until he heard his name being called from behind him.

With his suitcase in his palm, he turned around and saw Jonah standing by his car, waving a hand with a smile. Immediately, Kylan raced to him and wrapped his arms around Jonah's neck, tightening his grip as Jonah laughed, wrapping an arm around his waist, and held him to his chest. It had been long since he was able to express his love for him since the rehab facility did not allow any form of touching during visiting hours. Jonah had done what he promised and visited him many times, more than Kylan had assumed.

When Kylan pulled away, Jonah immediately placed his lips onto his, gripping both sides of his jaw and expression so much compassion as he deepened the kiss. He had not felt any pair of lips for months, waiting for Kylan's to return, and immediately, his hormones were rushing, reaching through the roof as he resisted the urge to undress Kylan.

He pulled away and interlaced their fingers, "Let's get into the car. How do you feel?"

Kylan smiled, "I can't thank you enough."

They reached his vehicle, Jonah carrying his suitcase as they placed it in the trunk. They made their way inside the car, and it drifted from the parking lot, Kylan eyeing the facility as it became distant. He was going to miss being there since he had grown to love the people there, causing him to feel loved and appreciated every second of the day and face his problems with courage. As he felt Jonah's palm on his thigh, as it squeezed a bit, Kylan smiled, turning and facing the front. Jonah opened his palm, and Kylan interlaced their fingers, "There are some things I need to tell you." When Kylan frowned in fear, Jonah began chuckling, "No, it's nothing bad. Actually, I think it's good."

When Kylan nodded his head, Jonah continued, "I told my parents I loved you. They didn't take it well, but I don't care. Let's elope."

Kylan inhaled sharply, "Jonah I-"

"I'm not driving back into town, Ky," Jonah explained, glancing towards him to read his facial expressions, "I want to start a new life with you, elsewhere. I have the funds. We can find a new school to finish the last credits we need, graduate in less than a semester, and then start our lives together."

He was excited to hear the news, feeling that getting away from his toxic home of being reminded that he was the reason his mother had died, as well as reminded that he was a nuisance, would be the best for him. He rapidly nodded his head, but another thought crossed his mind, and he said with uncertainty, "What about Ella?"

"What about Ella?"

"I need to tell her about this-"

"She hasn't even asked about you ever since you left," Jonah said sternly, "she's all over Brad. Barely even mentioned you at all."

That caused Kylan's heart to sting a bit, and when Jonah noticed his expression softened, he reached towards him, placing a quick peck on his cheek, "It's alright, you have me."

He sighed; what did he believe that they would wait for him to return? He assumed that because she was his cousin, she would at least search for him, plead Jonah to tell her the truth, but he was wrong. Instead, she turned a blind eye and started a completely new life, as if Kylan had never existed.

That was what Jonah wanted Kylan to believe; he lied to him.

The truth was, Ella had placed missing posters everywhere along the roads, to which Jonah informed the police he knew where Kylan was, at a mental institution, to which he did not want people to know. The police asked Ella to stop placing those images everywhere. She cried almost every day for the past three months, waiting at his doorsteps with Bradley, who grew annoyed of her worrying, and stopped waiting with her at the doorsteps of Kylan's home. His father would scoff at her and walk by her in the mornings since there were a few days she ended up falling asleep at his doorsteps.

Ella even started sleeping in Kylan's room the third night, spending all her time at his home in hopes he would come back. Every day after school, she would head to every single of his teachers to acquire all the homework that he missed, hoping he would eventually return and need to catch up on all his work. Ella had been doing everything to welcome Kylan home whenever he returned from wherever he was.

However, he never did since Jonah convinced Kylan to elope, and they never returned to that town. Such devastation Ella felt when she realized that Jonah had left as well, and he had known when Kylan had been all along. There were scandals on the news about the mayor's son for a few weeks, accepting the fact that he was gay, and she was able to fit the puzzle, that he had done that for Kylan.

She found Jonah every day during the three months, oftentimes spying on him and following him home, hoping that it would lead her to Kylan. However, it never worked. Bradley almost broke up with her due to her obsession with finding her cousin, screaming at her that she would hurt herself over this, but she refused to listen to him. Hence why, six months later, when Jonah and Kylan had stopped being talked about, she found herself a therapist since the loss of her closest friend, her cousin, and the person that meant the world to her, had taken a toll on her life.

Bradley had broken up with her since she had reached the lowest point in her life, and he had not the time or energy to comfort her every second of the day. She even oftentimes drove to Kylan's home during the mornings, hoping he would exit the home and enter her vehicle. It never happened.

It was only a year later when Kylan finally knocked on her door that she felt her heart regain its beat. Her face brightened as she pulled the door open, not believing her eyes as they swelled with tears, blurring her vision. She frantically wiped the tears, wanting to see him; he had changed, his hair had grown longer, but he seemed relaxed, better than the last few times he had been with her.

Kylan widened his arms, "Jonah told me the truth-"

Before he could finish his sentence, she leaped into his arms, wrapping them around his neck and causing him to stumble backward, falling onto the pavement as he tightened his grip around her as well. He had returned a year later, not to live there, but to see Ella, who had been stressing over him for the past year, crossing her fingers every day that he would come back.

When she began sobbing hysterically, she pulled away and slammed her fists against his chest, squeezing her eyes as she cried, "How could you?" She continued to slam her as she screamed, "How could you leave me? I worried sick about you for the past year! I can't believe you're here, where did you go? Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I'm sorry, Ella," he breathed, saddened as well, as he restrained her fists, feeling them grow flimsy in his hood.

She soon leaned forward, placing her forehead between the crook on his chest as she breathed, "I thought you died."

"I knew that would make your day," Jonah said, shutting his vehicle door and approaching them. Ella was too exhausted to even fight with him; instead, she continued to cry as Kylan held her, stroking her hair and shushing her to calm down. When they all settled into the home, Kylan and Jonah sitting in the living room and Ella approaching them with a tray, with mugs of tea, she sat down across from the both of them. Her eyes were droopy, red as well from how much she had cried, and it was still a lot to see him sit in her living room after the months she had spent sleeping in his bed, waiting for him to return.

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She was the first to speak, "Your father banned me from your house."

"Why's that?"

"Because I started sleeping on your front porch and your bed," she breathed quietly, chuckling. "I put up missing posters, I harassed Jonah like every day, Bradley broke up with me over it too." Kylan bit his bottom lip, and when Jonah noticed he was growing uneasy, he wrapped an arm over his shoulders, comforting him with a squeeze.

Ella shrugged her shoulders, "All is worth it since I would take that any day to finally see you here. I hope you've been alright."

"I'm sorry, Ella, I should have told you."

"There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm just glad you're here."

Jonah cleared his throat, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you either. It was my fault he didn't contact you. I lied to him."

Ella waved her hand dismissively, "I promise it's alright."

Kylan smiled, "I'm better now than I was before."

"I can see that," she chuckled, "you're even more in shape."

"Jonah forced me to work out with him."

"Everyday," Jonah added, leaning his back against the couch and yawning, "can we crash here for the night? We're headed back in the morning, and sleeping at the hotel isn't the wave tonight." "You're headed back in the morning?" Ella breathed, raising her eyebrows.

Kylan nodded his head slowly, "I don't live here anymore. I live with Jonah, in Roosevelt."

Ella's eyes widened, "That's like four hours away from here."

"I know, but I'll give you the address," Kylan comforted, writing down on a piece of paper the address to their apartment. "You can visit whenever you'd like. I'll visit you more often too. We'll see each other often, Ella-" "You're creating a new life," Ella murmured, "separate from me."

"That was not my intention. Ella, this life saved me," Kylan explained desperately, "I was thinking of committing suicide before. I was not good at all. Getting away from here liberated me."

"We were also very close," she sighed, "you told me everything, and I knew everything. I don't get why you couldn't tell me about this "

"I needed to leave "

"Yes, but you didn't need to leave me!" When she realized her tone had grown higher than she had thought, she exhaled a long breath to regain her composure and said, "but it's fine since you're here now." "Ella "

"And I'll visit as much as I can."

"Ella," Kylan stood from his spot on the couch and reached hers, placing his palm over her shoulders as he said, "I'm sorry, I did you wrong. I promise I didn't mean to hurt you. I did it to get myself better. When Jonah told me the truth, that you had gone to such lengths to find me, I was not yet ready to return. I never meant to cut you out of my life, I meant to cut the toxicity from this town, and you weren't one of them."

She placed her face into her palms, attempting to retain the tears as he continued, "I promise, we'll see each other much more than you think, alright?"

Hence why, almost every weekend, Ella drove up to Roosevelt and spent the weekends within Jonah and Kylan's company. Their relationship thickened every day, almost to the point that Kylan and Jonah became inseparable, along with Ella, who third-wheeled then most of the time, slamming both her fists onto each other their heads when they would make out in front of her. Before they knew it, they had all graduated from University, and their new lives for their careers were ahead.

Jonah never returned to his home, and neither did Kylan, but together, they formed a bond that none of their family could've ever had.