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When he could breathe again, he walked the few steps to her door and knocked. He heard no sound from inside and knocked louder. “Kiera?” Head down, he listened for movement.
Fear began crawling up his body, and he pounded louder. “Kiera, honey, it’s me, David.”
Still no sounds from inside. He looked down the hallway for an answer. Nothing. Tapping the button on the elevator, he waited as it opened, stepped in and found the answer he needed. A sign posted in the elevator read: Do you like what you see? We have units available, stop at Unit 101 and ask to see our floor plans and model unit.
Exiting the elevator, he found Unit 101, knocked on the door and waited again. An elderly gentleman opened the door with a smile on his face. “May I help you?”
“Yes sir, I hope so. I’m a friend of Kiera Donnelly in Unit 403. I’ve been trying to reach her. Her car is here, and her phone is in it, and I’m worried something has happened to her.” He pulled his card and security license from his wallet and showed the man. “Do you have master keys that you can use to let me in? I’m very worried.”
“I should probably call the police first. I don’t want to get in trouble with Ms. Donnelly.”
“Okay. Do what you need to do, but do you think you can do it right away? I’m serious about being worried about her.”
Time seemed to stretch as the man weighed his options. Trying to regulate his ragged breathing, he hoped trying to seem calm and rational would better suit this man and just open her door.
“Oh dear. I hope this doesn’t get me into trouble, but you do seem worried. Let me get the keys from the drawer.” The door closed and he closed his eyes. Perfect. He continued holding his phone in his hand in case he needed to call someone right away.
After what felt like an eternity and many paces in front of his door, the older man appeared with a ring of keys. “Hope you don’t mind if we take the elevator, my knees don’t allow the stairs any longer I’m afraid.”
“No, of course not.”
The lump in his throat grew with each floor they ascended. He held his hand out to allow the older man to exit first and followed closely behind, trying to keep from seeming too anxious.
Taking great effort to locate the correct key, his impatience grew thin at the slow progress being made. Finally, the old man inserted the correct key and looked up at him, face beaming. “Got it.”
He twisted the knob and opened the door. “Ms. Donnelly?”
David gently pushed passed him, unable to hold back any longer. “Kiera?” He walked to the bedroom, and there she lay on the bed. He went to her, sat on the edge of the bed, and gently shook her shoulders. “Kiera, honey, can you wake up?”
The old man appeared in the doorway. “Should I call an ambulance?”
“Give me a minute to see if I can wake her.” He felt her neck for a pulse and was relieved to feel one. Her eyes fluttered, and she took in a deep breath. Opened, closed, and opened her eyes again, seemingly trying to focus on him.
“David. What time is it?”
“It’s after eight.”
“Oh no. I didn’t mean to sleep that long.” Her voice was shallow and garbled.
“Let me get you a drink of water.” He stood to go, and the older man waiting in the doorway stepped back. As he walked to the bathroom, he whispered, “Thank you so much, Mister …”
“Oh. Koeppens. I’ll just go now,” he whispered in response.
“Thank you again, Mr. Koeppens.”
He stood for just a moment and watched Mr. Koeppens walk out and close the door, then turned into the bathroom and clicked on the light.
The bottle of pills sat perched on the counter, the cap laying alongside. He slowly lifted the bottle and read the prescription.Sumatriptan. Take one or two when needed to relieve the symptoms of migraines.
Sighing deeply, he replaced the cap and filled the glass sitting on the counter with water.
24
She struggled to sit up, but she felt a bit woozy. She tried swallowing, but her mouth was so dry. David entered the room, and the look on his face said volumes. His brows were dipped down, his jaw clenched, and his posture was rigid.
He handed her the glass and gently sat at the edge of the bed.
Her hands shook slightly, but the cool glass felt so good against her fingers, and her mouth was so dry. She sipped at the water and closed her eyes as the cool liquid slid down her throat. Then she cleared her throat, “I’m so sorry I didn’t call today. Things kept happening, and I meant to, I promise.”
