I’ll bring ice cream
Addison:
On my way
THIRTY-EIGHT
Dane
I’ve been obsessively checking my phone to see if she texted me back. It doesn’t indicate ‘read’, so she hasn’t even seen it, or she’s ignoring it. Maybe I’ll surprise her and stop at the salon with an iced coffee since I didn’t see her this morning. She’s usually swamped during the day; it’s not unusual not to hear from her until she has a break between clients.
It’s concerning that she hasn’t texted me back. Off to the coffeehouse to buy her favorite summer coffee, an iced mocha, and swing by to bring it to her. My chest is tight thinking that there’s a reason she isn’t responding.
I park at the front and walk into the salon. My eyes scan for fiery red hair. When I don’t see her, I walk up to Sally.
“Afternoon, Sally. Is Kendall here?”
She scowls at me, which is odd. Usually, she is overly excited to see and talk to me, but not today. Instead, she is abrupt. “She left.”
“Left?” I ask, genuinely concerned.
Sally gives a slight nod. “Yeah. She wasn’t feeling well—headache.”
My heart pounds in my chest, caught between worry and frustration. Why couldn’t she just text me and tell me she wasn’t feeling well? I would have dropped everything to be with her.
“Is she okay?”
“She didn’t say much.” Her voice is clipped. “Just said she needed to go home.”
That’s out of character for her. I glance toward the spa hallway, half expecting her to appear, roll her eyes, and tell me I’m overreacting.
I look back at Sally. She’s reorganizing pens, avoiding eye contact.
“Did something happen?” I ask.
“No,” she says too fast, not convincing me. “Not that I know of.”
Bullshit.
But I nod anyway and back away from the desk. “Alright. Tell her I stopped by?”
Sally gives me a tight smile. “Of course.”
I walk out with the coffee still in my hand, completely untouched, its condensation dripping. And suddenly, I don’t feel so sure about anything, and I start questioning everything.
Sliding back into the driver's seat, I put the coffee in the cup holder. Sighing. I massage the back of my neck, and there’s something wrong; I need answers.
Dane:
Hey, stopped by the salon. Missed you. Hope you’re okay. Call me.
I wait for a good ten minutes before deciding to call Joel. I need to figure this out.
“Joel, hey, where’s Kendall?” I drum the steering wheel, losing patience.
“You sound agitated. She’s home, and her friends are all here.”
I lean my head back on the headrest. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on. Do you know anything?”
