My hand hovers over the doorbell, but I decide that knocking will be less rude at this time in the morning. I knock once and step back on to the welcome mat in front of the door. I wait a few seconds before stepping closer to knock again.
I end up knocking three times, though no one answers.
I take a few more steps back, until I am at the edge of the porch, for a better look at the house and to see if any lights have been turned on. I know it’s a weekend, but for as long as I have known Leo, he’s always made mention of Rose being an early riser.
I turn to look at the driveway and see Leo’s Cavalier, along with Rose’s CRV. So, I know they should be home.
I stand there, scanning every window, until I finally see slight movement in the window that I know is Rose’s room. While the outside of Rose’s house is brick, compared to the white siding Mama chose when her and Papa built the house, both the interior layouts are identical.
I head back to the front door to knock again, this time with more exertion. Growing more impatient, I don’t wait between knocks. At this point, my knocking has arguably morphed into pounding.
In my peripheral, I see the striped fabric of the curtain move in Rose’s room. What the hell is going on? Why is she avoiding me? I know she must have seen me, let alone hear me pounding at the door.
“Hello?” I speak into the door, unclenching my fist from knocking to a flat palm I lay across the wood.
Still, no one answers. I can still see movement by the bedroom curtain. So, I decide to walk down the porch steps and around to the side of the house. There is an all-glass sunroom just off the kitchen that if nothing else will get Rose’s attention when she enters the kitchen. At least then she will have no choice but to answer me, instead of continuing to ignore me as she is clearly doing.
Suddenly, I see Rose’s purple robe as she walks down the stairs into the kitchen. Her back is turned to me as she turns on the small light above the kitchen sink. She reaches for a coffee mug in the holder next to the sink, and as she walks to the other countertop, where she keeps her coffee machine, she makes eye contact with me.
Flailing my hands, jumping slightly outside the glass sunroom, I shout, “Rose!”
Flustered, she puts her coffee mug down and walks through the kitchen in the direction of the front door.
I pick up my pace and head to meet her back at the porch. I hear the front door swing open. As I scurry up the porch steps, which creak even more this time with my fast pace, I am met with Rose’s arms crossed with the distinct look of disapproval on her face.
I try to catch my breath, not realizing how much I exerted myself running to the porch to meet her.
“Rose, I’m sorry to bother you. It’s just that I have been knocking and—”
She cuts me off, abruptly, “You need to go,” she says in a robotic tone.
I ignore her request and continue. “I’m sorry,” I apologize, again. “I know it’s early, it’s just that I have been trying to get ahold of Leo and I haven’t heard from him.” I can see she is about to cut me off again, so I talk louder and at a faster pace, forcing her to listen to me. “He left me some weird messages last night after we hung out, and I just want to make sure he is ok.”
Unlocking her crossed arms, Rose takes two steps out of the door, meeting me closer on the porch. She looks around, as if she is afraid someone might be watching us. It’s a lot like the look she had on her face last night, when she was urging Leo to come inside the house when we got home from Oogie’s.
She scans the empty road of our neighborhood once more before clearing her throat to speak. “I wish I knew the right words to say, but I don’t,” she says, with a slight tremble in her voice. She takes a deep breath, trying to steady her voice, before she continues to speak. “Leo loves you. He has since the day he met you.”
I feel my brows lower, pulling closer together as confusion once again begins to settle in. “I know Leo loves me. I just want to make sure he is ok. Can I come in?”
Her demeanor is confirming my worst fears. That something has happened to Leo.
Instinctively, I try to walk past her. As rude as it is, I feel desperation take hold and I just need to see Leo. Even if he is sleeping, I don’t care, he’ll get over me waking him up. I just want to make sure he is ok, that he is still here.
She steps back onto the threshold of the door, raising both arms as she grips each of her hands on the frame of the doorway, preventing me from getting through. I feel tears begin to form in my eyes.
“I’m sorry, Sienna, you need to go home,” she orders. “Leo is not here,” she says, keeping her body barricading the doorway.
I try to push past her, but she won’t let up. The tears I felt forming just moments ago have now escaped my eyes. Wet droplets begin to fall, turning into a steady stream of tears moving down my face.
Releasing myself from my attempts to get past her, I raise my hands to wipe away my tears, when a revelation strikes me.
If Leo is not here, then something bad must have happened to him. I immediately think of the man I saw standing across the street from Oogie’s yesterday. I’m not even sure who that man was, or if he has anything to do with this, but I figure it is worth a shot mentioning, to maybe find out what the fuck is going on.
“Wait!” I blurt, startling Rose. Her thick, black hair piled on top of her head bounces as she reacts to my dramatic outburst. “There was a man watching us when we were in the tattoo shop.”
Her eyes widen. “A man?”
“Yes. He was watching Leo and me from across the street. But before I could get a better look at him, he was gone.”
