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I reach out and press the bell as usual, the bouquet behind my back. Seconds pass, and she doesn’t come to the door.
Harper can see me through the doorbell camera. Which means she’s at home but doesn’t want to see me, so she’s going to ignore me until I leave.
What are the chances she’s standing in front of the camera now?
“Harper,” I say softly. “I was stupid. I overheard you on a call with your mom and you said some things that made me…I don’t have any excuses for what I did or the text I sent, and I know it hurt you.”
“I’m sorry and I want to make amends. Please give me a second chance.”
Then I try the bell repeatedly, but the door remains unopened.
“Mr. Everhart.”
I turn around and see the building superintendent.
“Hey.”
“Good evening,” he says. “It’s been a while since we’ve run into each other. Are you…looking to rent out this apartment?”
“What apartment?” I ask.
“This one?” I point to the door, and he nods. “Why would I want to rent it out? Someone lives here, right?”
He shakes his head. “Unfortunately, she got a job in another city and had to move out. But Miss Quinn’s lease hasn’t expired, so she asked me to rent it to someone for half the rent.”
“Are you interested? I hear you throw parties regularly. You might want someone you know renting this apartment so they won’t complain about the noise.”
I stop hearing him when he says that Harper moved out and my lips are parted in shock. Caleb walks up to me.
“What happened?” Caleb asks.
It can’t be, I shake my head. It was only a couple of days. How could she have moved out that fast, and how did I not know about it?
“What happened, Gabriel?”
“Are you Mr. Everhart’s friend?” The superintendent turns to him. “Perhaps you’d be interested in renting out an apartment with a great view for half the rent. The woman who lived here just moved out, but she left the place in good condition.”
“Oh no,” Caleb exhales, and I nod. “She moved out?”
***
I scrub my hands over my face so hard I feel the sting from the impact. We’re sitting in my car, and I’m stumped, trying to figure out where Harper might have gone.
“I don’t know what to do, Caleb,” I run my fingers through my hair and over my face again, exhaling heavily. “I—I don’t know where she might have gone. He said she got another job in another city. What city?”
“Maybe Harper told him that because she knew you might come after her, and she didn’t want that.”
My head snaps in his direction. “You think?” I can hear my voice, and it sounds desperate.
Caleb sucks his teeth.
“I’m not sure, but if I were pissed at someone who I thought loved me and wanted to get away, I might try to throw them off my trail.”
“Or not,” he shrugs. “Harper might have been telling him the truth because she didn’t factor in you coming to look for her.”
The big question is, how could I have missed it? For God's sake, she lived under me. I should have heard the noises or seen something—her, the moving people.
I tell Caleb.
