Elementary Lemon

It's been 2 Days. My apartment is too empty. I miss him. I wish I got his phone number before he left... then I could at least know immediately when he wants to hear from me again.

I have to find that girl for Miguel, but it feels like he left me with basically no hints and only more confusion. I kept hoping I'd see him in school by chance one day but... I know the probability of that happening is low plus he's not who I need to find, even if he does see me, it'll be pointless. But what do I do when I find this girl?! Do I help them hook up, and just stand by and watch as he professes his undying love for her? Just imagining it makes my eyes sting.

My mom has been calling me at least 5 times a day. I don't have the heart to block her... so maybe I should answer. I was debating about talking to her when she called again so I answered on the third ring

"Lemon! Sweetie! Thank you so much for answering me! I've been in shambles since-"

"What do you want?" I asked, cutting her off.

"I... want to talk to you... I don't want you to hate me..." She muttered in a babyish voice, full of tears.

"Then why would you come on to my boyfriend?"

"I... Don't you think I've been punished enough for that?! My face is still swollen and I didn't even press charges! He hit me Lemon!" She continued to raise her voice, rambling on and justifying herself and all I could feel was the hollowness of Miguel's absence.

"Shut up." My blunt tone shocked her, "You sexually assaulted him! You don't have the right to complain about the consequences! Did you... do the same thing when Jack came to visit?" She didn't reply, so I got my answer.

"Why... why are you bringing that up all of a sudden?! Did he say something?!" I didn't respond so she took my silence as confirmation. "Listen, he came on to me... you weren't supposed to find out... I don't know what he said but he lied if he claimed I instigated that!"

"Mom...Why? Why would you do this? Why Jack, why Miguel?" My question made her clear her throat and then whisper,

"I don't want to talk about this over the phone."

"Fine, then we won't. We won't talk ever again! I don't need a Mom like you!" She gasped and then screamed,

"Wait! Fine!" I heard her get up and close the door to her room before she started speaking again, in a low voice,

"I'll try to explain this in the best way I can... so you understand that I'm not evil. When you reach my age, especially if you have a daughter, you'll relate. I can feel the eyes or everyone leaving me and drifting to you. It's because you are beautiful, you've become a woman and you look just like me, plus a few extra traits from Sebastian. Beautiful traits... that might make you... an even better version of me. It's just... I just wanted to be sure I'm still beautiful... I need that assurance, I don't want to steal them away from you but... I wanted to be sure they'd choose me if they had that option, you get it right?" after her explanation I took a deep breath before saying,

"This is why Dad left you! You're a black hole, you need constant validation! He'll never be enough for you and you're competing with me?! Mom people get old! You're still beautiful, you'll always be beautiful but that doesn't mean you can interfere in my relationships and have sex with my partners because of some competition that only exists in your mind! Bye,"

"Wait! Don't leave me! Don't hate me! Lemon please..." I hung up on her, ignoring her pleading voice then laid back and replayed the conversations I've had with Miguel... maybe he gave me more clues than I realize... Maybe there's a time limit for him unless I find this girl... He did say his deal with heaven was only partially fulfilled and his one with hell hasn't been fulfilled at all. It's possible he's not even allowed to tell me more than he has. I've been slacking on my search because I didn't want to meet the woman he's in love with because... I envy her and hate her so much. I fell in love with him so quickly that I'm not sure how it happened, but I should trust Miguel. He turned my mom down... violently, and he's always reassured me when I was really down. I don't believe he would have left for no reason so it's time for me to do my job. I turned up the AC, to help ease my loneliness, brushed my hair, and washed my face for the first time since Miguel left. I also began looking up and writing down recipes of simple dishes I can prepare on my own and maybe make for him when he comes back. After all... he didn't break up with me, he said he couldn't be with me... so in that case, once I find her, he can be. 

I prepared a light breakfast and then went to school. My eyes searched for Miguel even though I wasn't sure he'd be there... the culinary department is so far away, that even if he re-enrolled late, the chances of us coming in contact are almost 0. As I sat in Geology class I heard his voice ring in my head from the memories of the times that he helped me study, so I was smiling through my test and confident I got all my answers right. I saw Amber walking through the halls, she was by herself for some reason, and when she saw me she gave me a slight smile and then walked away to her class without saying anything. I wonder what happened to the other girls... I've never seen her alone, did they have a falling out? I suppose it's not any of my business. I need to focus on my task for Miguel... I should start checking the other areas of this university, he never seemed to know anyone in this building except for Jack and he wasn't even supposed to be here, he was just stalking me. Time to venture out again... hopefully I won't meet anyone else like Cerena because I don't have the mental energy to put up with someone like that right now.

The apartment creaked, I heard a thud outside the doorway and the wind blew against the window. Each of these sounds alerted me and made me think Miguel was back... it has now been 5 days since I left the house... I decided to search Miguel online, today. There were so many people with his name, but when I narrowed it down to my city I found him... he was tagged on Jack's page. I followed the tag, Miguel's page was private and hadn't been updated in years, for obvious reasons. But the photos I could see were only of him Jack and one person. At first glance, I thought this other person was a girl but upon closer inspection, I realized they were just a petite boy. Following their page I found out that their name is Chris. There were several photos of him shirtless, which made his gender more pronounced, and they had over 20k followers. I guess a guy who looks so much like a pretty girl is popular. There were even pictures of him cross-dressing with tons of views.

Well, this can't be who Miguel, was in love with... but it's a start and I can't just sit around moping. I made him a promise, I know he wouldn't leave for no reason. No matter how prickly he is sometimes, I know Miguel cares about me. I continued scrolling and that's when I saw something on Kris's page, a four-year-old photo. 4 people in the photo, Chris, Jack, and sitting beside Jack was a girl. The photo looked like a timed one, Jack's guitar lay between Jack and Miguel, Chris sat on the floor putting up the victory sign and smiling, Miguel's head was inclined slightly and when I looked closely I could tell his gaze was on her. I saved the photo to my computer and my phone. To be honest, this discovery has shaken me up, but one photo isn't enough... I have to be sure. Perhaps I should talk to Chris...

The next day was an unlucky one. The weather was awful and it seemed like everything I touched broke. I'm just glad it's Friday, instead of roaming the campus after class I should just go home. ☻

"Beautiful" The director commented after I finished going over my lines, "I can hear the anguish of loss in your voice, you've really embodied the character today Lemiette. I was worried when you missed practice, but it seems you've been working hard regardless."

"Thank you, sir," I stated, fighting the urge to smile,

"Don't thank me, thank yourself. Your focus is admirable." At this point, I did smile but shook off my excitement, to get back into the role. I am playing a single mother who struggled and fought to provide for her son. She was so busy making sure she protected him, that she didn't notice him growing up, as he neared adulthood he began to resent her for never letting him experience anything, in trying to protect him from all pain, she made him hate her and he left. Our situations are different but this is the first time I could really empathize with a loved one pushing her away, even though she had good intentions. As I was leaving the auditorium and heading down the stairs, the steel railing fell at my touch... maybe it's a bad omen. I'm not usually superstitious but living with a ghost for a few months has changed me. A few people rushed over asking if I was okay, but I couldn't hear their voices clearly, outside of the theater I felt numb again. The weather outside was still terrible so I got an Uber ride home and spent that evening trying to find out more information on Miguel... but I couldn't find any other clues without sending him a friend request... which I know he would never accept, that would be too easy, but out of the blue I saw a post, with Miguel tagged on Chris's page.

"My friend that disappeared for 3 years finally came to see me, He has a lot of explaining to do!" Chris's post had several comments asking why he was missing for 3 years, but Chris hadn't replied to any yet. I'm not usually the type to check these things but if I want to be a celebrity, I should probably start. Miguel would never accept but there's no harm in sending Chris a friend request. The weekend ended, I checked several times but he didn't respond to my request or the comments on his page, This is getting me nowhere... I didn't want to resort to this but I might need to meet him in person.

Based on the pictures I could tell he was in the music department, like Jack, looks like he plays the drums. I feel like a stalker after finding all this information but I can't afford to sit still any longer and I think this is the best way to get my answers. That afternoon I walked around the music dormitory, looking straight ahead, hoping I might just get a glimpse of him, I tried to appear casual because it wouldn't help me to stand out right now. 30 minutes of walking and I got no results. I feel like someone who looks like Chris should stand out but I can't find a trace of him anywhere. So I will just come back tomorrow then.

When I got home, I saw my request was still being ignored but he had replied to the comments, asking where his friend had been, with the same answer "It's private" ending his comment with a shushing emoji. There was one comment that said,

"I'm glad you got reunited!" to which he replied "Me too, he's my best friend." He tagged Miguel in this reply and to my shock he replied,

"More like your only friend, you f**king loner." Chris gave a laughing reaction,

"I have two friends!" He replied defensively and Miguel reacted to his retort with a laugh of his own... They seem really close, I'm almost jealous. I wish I could be casual with him like that, right now. But because of this comment, I noticed Miguel's profile picture has changed, it was him in his chef outfit, without his glasses and with his hair tied back. He must be returning to school for real!