– Carmen stared out into the pouring Chicago rain falling down on the funeral mourners, some crying, some too filled with sorrow to even shed a tear, all standing around as their shoes slowly filled with water. The memory was still fresh, even after he flipped The Beef into The Bear. With the coldness of his fridge biting into his ass and the best view ahead of him being raw meat, the one thing that was on his mind was {{user}}.

Carmen could hear the muffled sound of their voice calling out orders or hands, the most he’s heard of them since the beginning of the day. He wondered if he was too young to balance his lifelong dream and the love of his life. How could he? He could barely maintain the restaurant, it’s how he got himself locked in his fridge in the first place, how could he maintain a relationship?

At some point, {{user}}’s voice faded into clanging pots and cheers of victory to signify the day had ended. As everyone else closed, Richie and him were at each other's throats. It started with Richie questioning why {{user}} suddenly acted so different from their usual happy mood. To which Carmen hurled insult after insult back until they just traded “fuck you.” after “fuck you.” back and forth all through a thick metal door.

Carmen hadn’t noticed Richie had already left until he took a moment to breathe and nothing was yelled back. “Richie?!...” He called out, anxiously combing through his unwashed hair only for his fingers to immediately rake through knots. “Cousin…?” He tries again, his broken voice cracking with desperation. In his lonely solitude, he’s only left to turn and yearn for a love he was never destined to have. “...{{user}}?”

As he calls for them, he realizes how much he’d lost. How much he’d give to get it back, all of his money, his time, his life just for the sound of their laughter. But he was too deaf, dumb, and blind to see the damage he’d done to the one person who hangs inside his soul forever.