"Damien?" I asked, looking at the black-haired man who was glaring at me intensely. His face instantly lit up after I said his name, and he smiled.
"You talked about me, Miguel?" he asked, his tone now cheerful. Then he threw his arms over Miguel's shoulders with a gleeful expression. I felt completely disregarded.
"Hello, Princess. It's a pleasure to meet you," the other man said with a slight bow. I bowed my head in return."I'm sorry our meeting is so short, but I must be going," he added.
"Oh, it's alright, Tzadqiel," I said, waving my arms dismissively. He smiled at me.
"I hope we meet again soon, Lemiette," Tzadqiel said while waving goodbye. His voice was so relaxing, I felt all the tension drain from my body.
"Miguel, I'll talk with you again later," Damien said, still ignoring me, and then the two of them vanished in a blinding light.
"Hey… um, I think I found her. I definitely found someone…" I began. Miguel lay on the couch and looked up at me.
"Really?" he asked. I nodded.
"She went to the same high school as you… I heard you two were very close."He stayed silent, staring at me. For some reason, retelling this information—and having him focus on me so intently—made me uneasy."I'll be your medium and you can meet her again soon…"
He scoffed."Why are you working so hard all of a sudden?" Miguel asked, completely brushing off what I'd just said.
"It's just… I want to do something for you. And I've grown so used to having you around… I've started liking it so much that… in my selfishness, I… was starting to want to give up on finding her. So I felt that I have to make sure I do what I promised, as soon as possible. I don't want to fail you…"
I feared I'd said too much. Miguel sighed, then started smiling.
"I… only spoke to the girl I'm in love with once when I was alive. You have the wrong person."
A wave of relief hit me like a tidal wave.
"So… was Cerena your ex-girlfriend when you were alive, then?" I asked.I looked at his face, but his expression didn't change.
"No."
He obviously had no intention of elaborating, so I just got up and sat beside him on the couch.
"Alright… I won't ask anymore."
Miguel shocked me by stroking my back. The chill from his fingers made me jump, and then he wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me in place.
"How was your day?" he asked, pressing his face against my shoulder.
"It was very tiring… I… um, saw my ex!" I blurted.I regretted the words instantly because Miguel let go of me.Even though I was freezing, I wanted to be held a little longer.
"What happened?" he asked flatly.
"He… showed me the way to Cerena's room… that's all," I replied.He stayed silent.
"Are you getting back together?" he asked.
"No… I wouldn't do that. I'm surprised you even asked."It was strange that he cared about my relationship with Jack…but maybe he was worried that a relationship would distract me from helping him.
"Alright…" Miguel said. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but just then I received a call—it was my mom.
"Hello?"
"Hey, dear! Oh, how I've missed you! How are you? Have you been eating enough?"
"Yes, I've been eating fine," I replied. Mostly thanks to my new roommate.
"I've been craving to see you! Could you please come visit this weekend?"Mom sounded excited—like she already assumed I'd say yes.
"I have plans this weekend," I said.
"Oh…"The disappointment in her voice hit me hard, like having to say no to a puppy.
"But… next weekend I'm free," I offered.
"Oh, wonderful! I'll prepare your room for you! Please come! I'll have Maxwell cook all your favorite dishes… I love you, sweetie. Bye for now!"
"I… love you too, Mom. Bye-bye."
"You and your mom get along better than I expected…" Miguel commented, startling me.
"Oh, well, yes. She is my mom, after all…"It would be too hard on me to be irritable with her every time we spoke.Plus, she's so sensitive… and I don't want to hurt her feelings.
"You never talk about her, or go into detail about what she did…" Miguel said, leaning back on the couch.
"I'll tell you… if you tell me something about your family," I bargained.Miguel smiled.
"You're much more cunning than I initially thought."I folded my arms and pouted.
"Alright… it's a deal. Should I go first?" Miguel asked, sitting up beside me and putting his feet on the floor.
"Yes! Because I'm always telling you stuff about me, so it's only fair."
Miguel laughed, then gently stroked my head.
"Fine… I'll go first. My father owns Arivera Airlines."
I gasped, despite myself. That's one of the most widely used and trusted airlines in the world.
"My mother is co-owner. I'm their firstborn child, so they wanted me to inherit the business so they could retire, but… I wanted to be a chef, so I turned them down. They didn't approve of me going to college, but they still paid my full tuition. My father is very stern, and my mother is taciturn, but I never doubted that they loved me."He was quiet for a while.
"So it's my turn now?"Miguel nodded, smiling at me with curiosity.
"Well… my dad is very handsome. Whenever we go out, all the women stare at him, and since lately Mom isn't with us, it gets kind of awkward. Like, if we're in a restaurant, people will approach him on the assumption that I'm his daughter and try to flirt with him. He's very easygoing and smiles a lot. He was the first person to call me Lemon. Oh—and in his free time, he watches a lot of classic movies with a projector in his room. While my mom… is very beautiful. She acts like a spoiled child whenever she's with my dad but… if they're apart even for a short while, she cheats. She slept with almost every male co-star she acted with—and even strange men off the street. She was caught in the act four times before my father finally had enough and divorced her. That was five years ago. She was crying and clinging to him, begging him not to leave, but he left anyway. She didn't eat for three days after he left and took a month off work. She probably hoped he'd come back if he heard she was starving herself but… oh, I'm sorry. I'm rambling."I blushed, embarrassed by how long I'd been talking.
"You're fine… I asked because I want to listen to you," Miguel replied, giving me a gentle smile.
"Oh… well, needless to say, nothing she did brought him back. My dad is still single, but my mom is in an open relationship with five men right now."I rubbed my head nervously."That's it."
"I see why you don't want to be like her now," Miguel said.
"I love her… but I don't want to end up like that. I want to be able to control myself and not hurt someone I love. I don't want to lose them. I want to value their feelings and boundaries just as much—no, more—than my own."I clenched my hands into fists. Miguel placed his hand on top of mine.
"I know you're capable of that. You're already amazingly considerate… and you're a very committed person. The Lemon I know is so nurturing that it's a blessing just being near her."
My chest felt warm from the compliments.
"Thank you…" I whispered.He removed his hand and stood up, stretching.
"You skipped lunch today, so I'll cook you something."
I watched him walk into the kitchen, stunned.
I thought he left me alone at school… how did he know I skipped lunch?