Fevered Kiss (MewGulf AU)

🌻Chapter 33

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It was already getting dark by the time he reached the station where they had met Yaya. Gulf left the platform quickly and made his way through the crowd to the turnstile. After his brother had left, he'd called Mew's cell phone, but Mew's phone was turned off. He'd tried calling Mew's apartment, but he'd gotten the answering machine.

This was the first time he hadn't been able to reach Mew.

'Mew wouldn't have gone back to Kaownah, would he?'

Gulf hung up impatiently and called Yaya, who told him that she hadn't heard from Mew either. When Gulf confessed that he couldn't reach Mew, Yaya told him the address of the cafe where Mew and Kaownah had gone to talk, and just in case, the names and addresses of the clubs and pool halls the two had frequented in high school.

"Do you want me to help you look?" Yaya had asked.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine," Gulf answered.

There was silence for a moment. Yaya said she was sorry and for Gulf to be careful. He'd thanked her and hung up.

'I'm the one who should be apologizing,' Gulf had thought.

This was a problem between Mew and himself. Yaya shouldn't feel like she needed to help them. If only he had been paying closer attention.

First, Gulf went to Mew's apartment. By now the doorman knew Gulf, but he shook his head when Gulf asked if he'd seen Mew. Gulf thought about waiting for Mew to come home, but he was sick of waiting for things. He decided to look in the places Yaya had mentioned. If he didn't find Mew there, he would come back to the apartment. Mew was sure to be home by then.

On the train, Gulf  found himself searching the crowds in the station, hoping to see Mew.

'There are many people here, why isn't Mew among them? Why can't I find the person I'm looking for?'

An unspeakable anxiety coursed through him.

Yaya had said that Kaownah was Mew's former hook up. Mew himself said that it was all in the past---that his heart had never been it. There was no way that Mew could be doing something with Kaownah. But then, why hadn't Mew called him? Why was his phone turned off? Why hadn't he gone home yet?

Mew was such a nice guy. Kaownah could have tricked him somehow. After all, Kaownah had been in love with Mew far longer than Gulf had.

Gulf's thoughts grew darker by the minute. Gulf pressed his lips together, and then he realized that he was staring at the ground.

'No! I can't lose my nerve now!'

The important thing to do was to find Mew. Gulf tilted his head up and went through the turnstile. He stopped outsiden of the station and took out his phone. There were no icons to indicate a missed call or any new mail. He tried Mew's cell again.

He pressed the phone to his ear and listened it ring. After several rings, Mew's voicemail picked up. So Gulf immediately called Mew's apartment. Once again, the answering machine picked up.

Gulf took a gulp of air and realized that his hands were shaking. As he did so, he felt a sharp pain behind his eyes. He's worried his urgency and anxiety would suffocate him.

'Why doesn't Mew pick up? Where is he?'

"Mew!" he called softly with a shaky voice.

There were dozens of people around him. A group of high school boys were rough housing nearby. A father carried his sleeping child on his shoulders. A group of young women who had just come back from a trip were loaded down with bags of souvenirs. Everyone was mourning the end of the holiday, but regardless of that, they all seemed to be enjoying themselves.

Until now, Gulf had always been fine, even in the midst of so much commotion. He hadn't felt a thing. But it was different when Mew wasn't with him. Without Mew, the hustle and bustle around him seemed empty. Gulf hated it. It made him feel anxious, like he'd been abandoned in a strange land. It was a loneliness he'd never felt before. A loneliness he could only feel after being with Mew.

The only way to end the loneliness was to find Mew.

'I can't stop,' Gulf thought.

TBC