The overhead sun coming through the curtains woke Lom. He rubbed his eyes and realized it must be late morning. As he reached over for Fah his hand felt nothing but a bedsheet.

“Fah where are you?” he asked, stretching. 

He was surprised by how tired he still felt, he seldom liked to sleep in. He thought it was probably due to all the stress he and Fah had been through with each other and the family. Looking for Fah he headed to the bathroom. Something was different but he wasn’t quite sure what. Slowly, it dawned on him, all of Fah’s toiletries and belongings were missing. 

He finished up in the bathroom and walked through the condo. Fah’s luggage had disappeared. Looking out at the parking lot he noticed Fah’s car was missing. He began panicking although he was unsure why. He walked through the apartment again. This time he noticed an envelope on the kitchen counter. Opening it he found a letter and two sets of keys. 

Thank you for last night. Thank you for many things including being there when I had no one. I'll be eternally grateful that your family saved me from the streets. As your parents have requested, I will never show my face again.

Thank you for being honest with me. You showed me who I am and made my dreams of being with you come true. I’m sad you only wanted me for a night or two. 

I’m not mad, just hurt. I should tell you the truth – Mek and I didn’t sleep together; I messed up his bed and lied to you. We’re both bottoms, something I thought you would've realized. I've loved you for years, and once we were together, I thought I'd spend my life with you. 

I’m leaving the area. If I saw you with somebody else, I couldn’t handle it. I hope you live life on your terms, not Ton's, because you're smart and capable of so much more. 

I don't want to be a burden to you - someone you don't want to hurt but someone you don't want to date.

Even though we’ll never see each other again, I'll love you until I die. Hopefully in the next life things will work out for us. I’m sorry I had to put a sleeping pill in your iced tea so I could leave without a scene. Please forgive me. I wish you health, happiness, and success. 

I love you,

 Fah

PS Here are the keys to the condo. One is Manao's and the other is mine. No one else has keys. I didn’t take anything I didn't pay for, so all the kitchen stuff, furniture, and linens are still here. 

Lom pulled on his clothes and grabbed his phone and keys. He tried calling Fah, but his phone was turned off. He called Manao knowing it would be awkward.

“Hello? Who’s this?” Manao spoke politely but couldn't hide her irritation.

“Manao, it’s Lom, Fah’s friend. Or brother if you want. Have you heard from him?”

“No, why? What’s going on?”

“I’m at the condo now. Yesterday my father made us show up at the family house.”

“Yeah, Fah had me pick him up at the train station and give him a ride home.”

“Oh, are you two friends again?”

“He needed a ride, so I helped him out.”

“Did he tell you what happened?”

“He said everything was fine.”

“He lied to you. My mother said he was no longer part of our family, and my parents kicked him out of the house. They won’t pay for his school and they’re taking the condo away from him. They said he had to leave and they won't help him with anything ever again.” 

Manao began to cry softly. “It’s my fault. I never should have sent that picture.” Manao sniffled. 

“Well, last night we came here, and he yelled at me while he packed. Then he seemed to be okay, and we watched a movie. He gave me drugged iced tea and while I slept, he finished packing, wrote me a letter goodbye, and left. He said he won’t stay in this area because he doesn’t want to see me with anyone else.”

“Why would you be with anyone else?”

“I wouldn’t be! He misunderstood some things and all I have is a letter saying goodbye to me and he’ll remember me until he dies. Do you have any idea where he’d go if he wasn’t staying in this area?”

“Perhaps he went to visit his father.”

“I told you, my dad threw him out.”

“Not your father, his father. He doesn’t have much information on him. He knows he is rich, and he has a photo of his mom holding him as a baby. His dad was in the picture, but his mom ripped it in half. The only part of his father that's visible is an arm with a tattoo on it.”

“I remember the photo. But right now he needs to find a job and somewhere to stay because he has no place to live and no income. He didn't tell you anything? If he told you something and told you not to tell me, please tell me anyway. I’m very worried and I didn’t get to tell him something important.”

“Lom, honestly, I have no idea where he is. He lied to me yesterday saying everything was fine. He even said he’d talk to me at school next week.” She sniffled again.

“Okay, thanks Manao. If you find him or hear from him, or if someone gives you news, please call me. It’s important.” Hanging up with Manao he called Mek.

Mek answered on the first ring. “Hi Lom, did you guys work things out?” 

“No. We went to my family’s house and they kicked Fah out, took the condo back, and stopped paying for his school.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah, and he's mad at me. I said some things in a way that made him misunderstand. He gave me a sleeping pill in an iced tea and took off. I don’t know where he’d go and I’m worried. Did he say anything to you? Have you seen or heard from him?” Lom was beginning to hyperventilate.

Lom was becoming frantic because Manao and Mek were the only two people he knew who also knew Fah. 

“No, he never said anything to me. Hey, I need to tell you that nothing sexual happened between us. I don’t know why he said that yesterday morning.”

“He was pissed off at me. He admitted nothing happened in his letter.”

“Oh, good.”

“If you hear from him, will you please call me? I don’t care what time of day or night. I must find him.” 

“I’ll do my best,” said Mek. 

Hanging up the phone, Mek turned to Fah. “You owe me big for lying to him.”

Lom called his father. Ton answered on the first ring. 

“What’s going on? Is everything alright? Why didn’t you come home?” Lom hadn't expected his father to be angry at him as well.

“I came to talk to Fah. He wasn’t speaking to me for hours. Before bed, he gave me a drugged tea and left.”

“What do you mean he drugged you and left?” 

“He spent the day packing his stuff. He said it was your condo so he had to leave right away. We ate dinner, we watched a movie but he barely spoke to me because of what I said at the house yesterday. Before bed, he gave me tea but he put a sleeping pill in it. When I woke up this morning, I was alone. He left a note with the two sets of keys for the condo.”

“Did he take everything? Because I bought a lot of things in that place for him. I bought all the pots and pans, the...”

“Dad! Shut up! He didn’t touch anything he didn’t buy himself. I can’t believe he’s missing and you’re worried about pans. All I want to know is did Fah contact you at all? Did he say where he was going?”

“No, why would he? I told him he wasn't part of this family.”

“Yeah, it was a long shot. I hoped he messaged you that the condo was empty and said where he was going.”

“No, he hasn’t called or texted me or your mother.”

“Okay, thanks.” Lom hung up.