apartment 23 // mitchel cave

24

mitchel's p.o.v.

the next week or so seemed to fly by fast despite my growing anxiety. i'd spent most of my days in and out of the studio and running to countless jewelry stores across los angeles. my goal was to set out for two necklaces, one with a "m" pendant and another with an "a" pendant. none of the jewelers seemed to have exactly what i wanted, which unfortunately extended the span of my whole mission. not that i really complained though, although it did suck up quite the bit of gas in my car. i planned on trying, note trying, to recreate the setting of the restaurant we ate on our little trip. i definitely wasn't a chef but i could probably google a few recipes and get instructions. i'd have a whole little "speech" planned out about how much i love and appreciate her and how i'm so glad that she's in my life. then i'd give her the necklace as a constant reminder of me to be hung around her neck. the boys were in on it too: christian had promised to act sick and bedridden for the day while clinton said he'd go to the studio and mess around for a bit. i needed them out of my hair for the day, so i really appreciated that they were willing to do that for me.

after what felt like going to countless amounts of stores, i eventually found the necklaces i wanted. both had a thin gold chain with a small circular pendant with the corresponding letter etched in a cursive font. a small diamond was in the center of each of the pendants, creating a tiny glimmer when the light hit it. they were simple, but were perfect in my eyes. consider it "minimalistic".

angeline sat across from me on the bed, her legs crossed as she scrolled through the laptop sitting in front of her. she had on this white strapless top and loose jean shorts. she looked absolutely adorable. i checked the time on the my own laptop which was right in front of me. it was 4:06 and i knew that i would have to start preparing this whole "event" soon. i quietly took a deep breath and picked up the sweatshirt christian had given to me, claiming it was alexa's and she forgot it here. this was the plan: angeline leaves to go drop off the sweatshirt at alexa's house and by the time she comes back, everything is all ready. she sees the necklace, is completely shocked, and then we enjoy a nice meal together cooked by yours truly. it seemed pretty solid to me at least as long as angeline agreed to leave the house. i don't know why she wouldn't. she always loved seeing alexa.

here goes nothing...

"oh shit... love, do you think you could drive to alexa's house real quick and drop this off. christian asked me to because he's sick but i have no idea how to get there and clinton is at the studio." i said suddenly, causing her to snap her attention towards me. i grabbed the grey sweatshirt and held it in my hands which were slightly shaking.

"i mean... i guess. you wanna come with?" she asked reluctantly. she looked at me with an odd look but she seemed to be believing it so far.

"i have a lot of stuff i need to work on for the band." i said, faking a frown and gesturing to my own laptop which was seated in front of me. i was never one to lie, but this was something to benefit her. i had to lie in order to make this work.

"okay, that's fine with me. see you in a bit then." she said as she shut her laptop and grabbed the sweatshirt from my hands.

"i love you angeline." i said as she stood up from the bed and walked towards the door. she turned in my direction and smiled.

"i love you too mitchel. don't miss me too much." she said with a wink. i heard her footsteps slowly disappear as then the front door shut.

i was alone. the plan was set to go.

i quickly snuck out of my room and rushed to the kitchen, grabbing pots and pans and random ingredients for the meal. while angeline had been scrolling through her emails, i had been searching for recipes and i had managed to find one that she would enjoy. at least i hope she would enjoy...

i grabbed all the ingredients and began working at making the meal. i prayed this would work: i definitely wasn't anywhere close to gordon ramsay, let's be completely honest here. i could barely make a grilled cheese on my own without almost setting the kitchen on fire.

i finished the dinner within thirty-ish minutes. it was a simple recipe, but it definitely looked edible. i ran back to my room to grab the bag of stuff i had bought to set the table. there was a maroon tablecloth, a few white candles, and some dried rose petals for a little "romantic" feel. i pulled out two plates out of the cabinet that i'm pretty sure we never used and some wine glasses. i set the table, trying to replicate how restaurants did it.

i wanted this to be special for her. she deserved this.

at this point it had been around forty five minutes to an hour since angeline had left. i didn't want to set out the food until she got here so i just left it on the stovetop so it would stay warm. the case for the necklace felt heavy in my pocket. i could hardly wait to see what she thought of it.

i poured us each a glass of wine as a way of killing time and avoiding my growing anticipation. i felt my phone buzz in my pocket and i quickly pulled it out, hoping it was angeline and not clinton. to my luck, it was her.

angeline
i just left, see you soon babe xx

see u soon, love u xx
read 5:17 pm

i quickly tapped out my response and shoved my phone back into my pocket. i took a deep breath as i adjusted my shirt. i pulled out the box for the necklace and placed it on the table in front of her seat before adjusting the one that hung around my neck. i lit the candles, watching as the light from the flame reflected off the small diamond and the etched "a" on the pendant around my neck.

and then i sat down and waited.

i'm not sure how long i waited on that stool, just anxiously tapping my foot on the hardwood floor. i kept on checking my phone, only to be met with no new messages, just a read receipt under my last message.

i sat there as the minutes progressed, simply wondering what was taking so long. even with traffic, it shouldn't be taking this long at all. although i really didn't know where alexa lived, christian never took this long driving home from her place. my anxiety grew and grew, just anticipating for her to walk through that door any minute. her smile would light up the room and suddenly i would wonder why i was even worried in the first place. she was the first person who i had felt entirely comfortable with in a long time. i was willing to spend my life with her. i wanted to.

i needed to.

she kept me sane. she kept me grounded. i meant every thing i had said to her on our vacation. there was so much more i wanted to say but half of my feelings towards her couldn't be translated into words. there was no way to define these feelings, but they were there.

she was my world.

yet she never walked through that door. the minutes turned into an hour as i sat there, just listening to the faint sound of police sirens and ambulances. i was startled when a fire truck drove past the house: the siren was almost deafening. it's lights shone through the window, vaguely illuminating the room in red. once it passed, the room returned to its darkness, the only lights were from the candles in front of me, which were slowly melting. the wax would drip onto the maroon tablecloth, immediately hardening and staining it with a white spot.

where was she?

i was snapped out of my thoughts when i heard christian's footsteps running down the stairs. he saw me and ran over to me quickly. he was completely out of breath and his eyes looked glassy. i looked at him with a confused expression on my face. did something happen?

"mitchel, i think you should check the news."