Trying to stay calm, I shoot off a quick text:
Me
Hey…everything okay?
Are you home?
I sit and wait for what feels like forever, tapping my fingers against my leg to try and keep the anxiety at bay. Not able to resist, I call Kayla’s phone, and it goes straight to voicemail. My heart drops into my stomach.Fleeting hope surges when my phone immediately vibrates in my hand.
Hunter
Hey man, you with Kayla?
Me
Looking for her now. What’s up?
Hunter
You should probably talk to her…
Me
Why? What happened?
Hunter
Kayla should tell you.
Me
Tell me what?
Hunter
Bruh, just find her.
I toss my phone on the passenger seat, trying to swallow down the frustration-filled lump in my throat. How does Hunter know what’s going on with Kayla before I do, and why won’t he tell me? I slam the car in reverse, angle out of the parking lot, and turn into the neighborhood across from Patti’s Place. If something’shappened, I need to know about it. Check on her. Make sure she’s okay.
I hesitate when I pull up to her house, considering more intrusive possibilities. What if she doesn’t want me here? What if I misread everything about yesterday, and she really doesn’t want to be with me? I slipped into relationship mode too quickly. What if I scared her off and this is her attempt at running? I check my phone again—nothing. Before I can talk myself out of it, I take a breath, open my car door, and walk up the steps of her porch.
After a knock and a brief wait, Ms. Harris opens the door. Deep-set bags above her cheeks bolster the red tinge in her eyes. “Sorry, I know it’s early. Is Kayla here? She’s not answering her phone,” I say, trying to slow down the words as they rush out of me.
Looking down at the weathered doormat, she shakes her head. “No, she packed a bag and left last night.” Tears well in her eyes, and she quickly swipes them away.
“Left? Where’d she go?”
“Maybe Ashlie’s?”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
She shakes her head again. “Kayla should be the one…”
That again. What the hell happened in eight hours that has everyone acting like I’m asking for government secrets. And why am I the last one to know about it?
“Okay…thanks…” I turn to head back to my car when Ms. Harris stops me.
“Chase, when you find her, could you tell her I’m leaving early for my next contract? I’ll be gone by noon today.”
