How to Survive Your 19th Life [BL]

Chapter 39: Double Take

Emiel Hugo was my boyfriend. The only problem was that everything was too familiar. When he sat down to align our schedules to maximize our time together, I knew exactly how and when we would be able to see each other. It was like fitting together a puzzle I had an outline for. The first meal he cooked for me was swordfish steak with peppercorn butter, and I could barely taste the dish over an overwhelming sense of deja vu. 

When he surprised me with a VHS player to watch 80's action films, a sense of pending doom settled over me. 

Even if the dream were some sort of view into the future, Emiel treated me incredible. If anything, maybe it was there to warn me to be more careful. I remembered to text Malai more often as well, though we still didn't have much time to hang out. 

"You'd never hurt me, would you?" I asked Emiel when I slept over one night.  I laid next to him in bed, stark naked from fooling around earlier. Emiel was fully clothed. He said he wanted to purely be a giver that night. It was safe to say I was fully devoured and satisfied.

"What do you mean?" Emiel asked me, rolling over to his side to face me. I reached over and grabbed the edge of his sleeve, just to hold something of his. I learned in my time with him that I was quite sensitive at times.

I suddenly felt foolish. "Never mind, love," I murmured. "I had a really weird dream the other night. It's bothering me."

"Tell me about it." His hazel eyes shined at me with all the empathy in the world. 

I shook my head and laid back, staring at the ceiling. I didn't want to relive it, especially not with him. But a thought came to my mind, one I couldn't quite shake. "I ran into Jason when I was buying a suit for the Sweetheart Dance," I said. "Are you not friends with him anymore?"

Emiel sighed. "Get some sleep," he murmured, turning over to face away from me. I looked at Emiel's back, so broad. I wanted to touch him, but thought better of it.

It didn't take long for me to hear his breathing drift into sleep. He had the softest snore, which I'd grown accustomed to listening to like the sweetest lullaby. Even in my.... dream.... he was weird about Jason. Distant and cold. 

This can't be a coincidence. Though I knew better, I reached under Emiel's pillow where he stashed his phone. I found it, close to the edge of his pillow thankfully, and pulled it out as slowly as possible. I hated being the guy snooping around. I am not even sure what I was looking for.

I already knew his code –my birthday. I saw him enter it before and found it cute. Now, the trust he placed in me was being exploited second by second. 

After unlocking his phone, I went immediately to his text messages. There were all kinds of messages here, mostly from people I didn't know. I found his group texts with The Outings Club and even a separate chat log with Sylvia. Otherwise, it seemed he held conversations with people about nearly everything... sports, movies, music, history, politics, etc. I didn't realize Emiel was so popular. He spent all of his free time with me.

I searched "Jason" in his texts, but nothing came up. Absolutely nothing. No mention of him nor any old texts between them. I had Jason's number so I searched that as well. Nothing.

On a whim, I searched my own name. Hundreds of texts filtered. Many of these texts were him gushing over me, or telling people he had plans with me. 

One particular text thread caught my eye.

Geschke: Solomon has been assigned to room with you during the dorm repairs.

Emiel: Good work. 

Geschke: Delete the video please.

Emiel: I will after he moves in. No switch-ups.

Geschke: Understood.

(The next day)

Geschke: Solomon attempted to switch the boarding assignment to someone else, but I blocked it. It is settled now.

Emiel: Video is deleted. All copies are gone. 

I looked at the date of these texts. This was just after the fire, right when the temporary boarding assignments were issued. Confused, I turned his phone off and gently slid it back under his pillow.

I pulled out my own phone and searched the school's website.

Pip Geschke  -- Student Life Coordinator

That was who I spoke with about changing my boarding assignment to room with someone else.  She blocked it... for Emiel. Back then, she told me that there wasn't anywhere else for me to go, not to a hotel in town or any other students. Thinking about it now, I should have found that suspicious. But what was I to do?

I shut my eyes tightly. Something weird was going on.

Jason's dorm caught on fire.

Out of nowhere, Jason hates Emiel.

Emiel blackmailed the student life coordinator to board us together? 

No, that's impossible. What am I even insinuating? Emiel isn't a psycho. He is a little eclectic, but that's all. 

I decided to put it out of my thoughts and go to bed.