Someone You Loved ; Caleb Finn

11

After talking and getting advice from China, we said our goodbyes and parted ways. I went back to my apartment, hoping to myself Caleb wasn't anywhere near the apartment complex waiting for me so I would have no choice but to talk to him. As if luck had been on my side, I walked all the way to my apartment without any disturbances. I sighed, locking the door behind me and putting down my bag on the couch and making myself tea. I took a short shower before deciding to think about what else I could write, opening my laptop. Attach the reader to the antagonist. All the times Caleb made me laugh when I felt down, the times he would be able to help me with whatever problem I had. While typing, I realized that reminiscing probably wasn't a good idea, especially when I'm trying to move on, but this was the best I could think of. Making readers think the antagonist was a good person, only for them to betray the protagonist. After hours of writing, I decided to go to sleep after my laptop was on low battery. It was only 8pm, but I had school and an afternoon shift the next day.

The next day came by quickly. Before I knew it, I was heading to the same cafe China and I met at yesterday. "Hey," I greeted, before realizing there was a boy sitting across from China. She stood up in shock. "Oh, Lumi, hi. This is Chris. Chris, this is Lumi," I squinted my eyes at him. "Wait, Chris Harper?" "Yes?" He hesitantly answered. "It's me, Lumi Mays from middle school," I told him, mentally crossing my fingers that I wouldn't make a fool of myself, thinking he was my best friend throughout middle school and high school. "Shit, Loony Lumi?" "Yup! And I still don't have a nickname for you. What are you doing here?" he hugged me, letting it linger for a few seconds, before pulling away with a huge grin on his face. "Well, I'm just staying here for a few days. It's a project for school," "You still took photography?" "Yep. I'm studying in New York, but I have a few days off and homework in progress so I decided to go back to my hometown to show off its beauty, you know?" I chuckled. "Okay, you two know each other," China said as if she was weirded out by it. "Yeah, we went to the same school in middle school and high school," Chris explained. "Hey, how do you know Chris?" I asked out of curiosity. "Oh, we met when I visited New York and I was thinking of applying to some colleges there, he thought I looked lost so he offered to help, even though I was born and raised there," China chuckled, glancing at Chris. "I felt kind of embarrassed, so I took her to the nearest cafe for a cup of coffee because I also thought she was cute, but she had a boyfriend so it was just a friendly date," Chris added. "That's a rollercoaster of emotions," I said causing the two of them to chuckle. "Alright, I'm gonna go get some coffee, what do you guys want?" China asked. "I'll have a cappuccino," Chris said
with a smile. "It's fine, I'll order my own," I was about to stand up when China placed two hands on my shoulders. "No, it's okay Lumi. I don't mind," she insisted. "She'll have a decaf," Chris said. "You still remember that, Seriously?" I chuckled while China went in line. "Of course. You rarely went in the cafe's, but you always ordered the same thing," Chris chuckled. "Hey, so how have you been?" "I've been doing great. I mean, I'm sleeping on my friend's couch as of now, but it's okay. I go back to New York in less than a week," Chris explained. "How have you been?" he asked. "I'm majoring in writing, actually. I also work a part-time job at the diner not too far from here," "What about relationships?" There it was; the question I hoped he wouldn't ask. "Well, I just got out of one not long ago. Now he's like— following me around trying to talk to me when-," I laughed it off. "Oh, I'm sorry I brought it up," Chris said, his voice filled with sympathy. "No, it's fine. I'm kind of trying to get over it now," I ran my fingers through my hair. "Okay, so fun fact, I actually kind of liked you in 4th grade," he panicked. "What?" I chuckled at the abrupt change of subject. "Yeah, but don't worry I like someone else now," Chris said, leaning in as his voice turned into a whisper. "Really? Will you tell me who it is?" I played along as if we were still in high school talking about our crushes. He covered his mouth from China's view, who already had their coffee cups and was making her way back to their table. "China," he mouthed. I gasped, mouthing back a "No way," with furrowed eyebrows. "Hey, what'd I miss?" China put down their coffee cups. "Nothing," I quickly sipped on my decaf so I wouldn't be able to talk. "Seriously, why are you suddenly acting so mysterious?" China asked suspiciously. "Sorry, can't talk, I'm drinking," I joked, Chris, doing the same. "Come on, guys," Chris suddenly chuckled into his drink, causing a bit of his drink to splatter everywhere. We all laughed, causing a few people to turn their heads and look at us weirdly, but we didn't care.

After a while, we all parted ways and I headed to the diner for my shift, my uniform stuffed in my small bag. I entered through the back door to avoid getting criticized by Bob for not wearing my uniform, swiftly changing, clocked in, and went to the counter next to Tierra. "Hey, you seem happier than the last time I saw you," she commented. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. I was just having a bad day the day before," I shrugged. "Lumi, customers!" Bob shouted before Tierra could respond. I gave her another shrug before grabbing my small notepad and a pen, approaching the table with customers. The rest of the day progressed normally, not a Caleb in sight. I thought it would last all day, until my 8-hour shift ended and Caleb was there, waiting outside the diner. Upon seeing him, my eyes widened, meeting his, before I ran back to the back door. Unfortunately, he had always been a much quicker runner than me and he was turning around the corner when I left through the door. "Lumi, please just let me talk to you," he pleaded again. "Caleb, just leave me alone," "Please, just give me one minute of your time," I rolled my eyes, looking at my wristwatch. "Fine, one minute," I said so he would finally leave me alone. "Look, I'm sorry I broke up with you through the phone, I just couldn't bring myself to drive to your flat and say it to your face," "You've said that before, it's not exactly new to me," I said coldly. "Just let me talk," Caleb sighed. "What's there for you to say? It's okay, a lot of people break up with their lover through their phones, you're not special. You broke up with me, I ended up heartbroken, that's how breakups work— is there something else I'm missing?" I snapped. "Your minute is over," I turned my back to him before he spoke again. "This is because of that guy you were with at the cafe, isn't it?" Caleb asked. "What are you, keeping tabs on me now?" I faced him again, still keeping my distance. "Chris has nothing to do with this," I chuckled dryly. "Chris? That's his name? You're already moving on," "Of course I'm moving on, but not with Chris. He's a friend," I practically shouted. "He's just a friend to you, but I don't think he thinks of you the same way," Caleb argued. "Stop, Caleb! You're a maniac! Chris likes someone else, why do you care anyway? You're not jealous, are you? In case you've forgotten you broke up with me already, you don't have control over me, you never have. I can talk to whoever the fuck I want," before he could say anything else, I walked away from him as fast as I could, tears forming in my eyes in anger.

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