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“What’s going on?” I demand. Coming right out of the kitchen, I look between the two of them. I realize then that Link looks rumpled, like he never went to sleep.
Link shoots Simon a look, and I’m not sure what passes between them, but my already shitty mood is guaranteed to get worse the moment they decide to tell me what’s going on.
“Last night, Ruby and I met up with Bernie,” Link says. “She was at The Bar alone.”
What the fuck was she doing there alone?
“When we got there, we found out that some jackass had hit on her, and the bartender sent him away.” My body tenses as he continues to speak. “Dude, he knew her name, and she’s never seen this fucker before. But come to find out, and this is some fucking shit that we should have known about, but someone has been harassing her. Calling her, texting her, emails, letters.”
“She’s got a goddamn stalker, man,” Simon spits out. My blood is boiling. She mentioned the calls, but she didn’t mention it was as bad as that or the other shit.
Panic rises up from my gut, but I can’t tell if they’re done sharing. God help me if there’s more. I motion for them to continue as I move toward the front door.
“She thought he was in her apartment while she was there, man. Freaked her out, which is why she went out.”
Motherfucker. I can’t think. I can’t feel my legs. But I’m opening the front door. Behind me, Simon yells, “The police don’t think he was, though.”
I slam the door behind me. I don’t bother with the elevator and partially run and jump down the back stairwell. How I don’t break my leg is beyond me. My breath is ragged as I reach her door, my hand fisting and banging forcefully against the door. I try to steady my breathing before she opens up.
There’s no answer. I still have the bottle of water gripped in my other hand, so I stop my assault on the door to grab my phone out of my pocket. But I don’t have it. I left it in my room. I try one more time for good measure.
“Bernadette, it’s me. Wade,” I yell. I don’t hear any movement from inside her apartment, so I rush back to my own so I can call her.
I race back up the stairs and nearly take the door off the hinges of my apartment as I storm inside.
“Calm down, man,” Link says, still in the same place he was when I left moments ago.
“She isn’t in her apartment.” I’m acting like a fucking madman, but I need to have eyes on Bernadette, and I need to make sure she’s okay. I walk right through the living room and down the hall to my room.
Simon yells, “She stayed with Ruby and Gia last night.”
That’s enough to slow me down in pursuit of my phone, but I won’t be able to calm down until I talk to her. I find my phone on my bed, pick it up, and call her. No answer. I shoot her a text, and she doesn’t respond.
Pissed at me or not, we’ll talk about everything.
I fire off an email to my boss, letting him know I won’t be in today.
I try calling her one more time before wandering back out to the living room.
“She isn’t answering,” I mutter.
“Gia just texted that they’re on their way back over here,” Simon offers with a shrug.
I nod, looking around the space, trying to figure out what to do next. I realize my best bet is to just wait for her.
“Okay” is all I say as I head back out the door. Moments later, I’m outside her door again, knocking just in case I missed her arrival. Nothing.
I lean against the wall next to her door and close my eyes.
I shouldn’t have left her last night. I should have pushed and hashed out our argument.
I let out a breath and slide down the wall until I my ass hits the floor. With my feet out in front of me, I realize I don’t have any shoes on. I haven’t showered. Did I even brush my teeth? I think so, but it feels like it’s been hours since I woke up with a killer headache. I look at my phone, and sure enough, it’s only been about thirty minutes.
Fuck. I knew something was off.
The longer I sit there, the more anxiety I start to have. But then the elevator dings, and I whip my head toward it as the door slides open. Bernadette, Gia, and Ruby step into the hall, and
I push off the floor as Bernadette comes to a stop in front of her door.
