I stayed there for an hour before leaving.
By the time I got back to the Ritz, I was depleted.
I walked inside the suite, still wearing the same clothes from the night before.
The room looked filthy suddenly.
I sat at the edge of the bed and stared out at the city.
My phone kept going off.
I turned the phone face down.
I hadn’t cried since my grandfather died when I was ten, but tears started falling before I could stop them.
And after that…
I stopped answering everybody for days…
Sade
“The silence from Vaughn started bothering me more than our arguments ever did.”
The weekend was over, and it was time to get back to work. I had spent the whole weekend with Marcus trying to get back on track. He had taken me shopping, to the movies, and instead of an expensive restaurant, he cooked for me at my place. I was controlling the space between us, making sure things stayed surface level. Minimal kissing, only hugging, and no cuddling or spending a night. For me not to have a relationship with Vaughn, I kept thinking about the things he said to me.
You embarrassed me.
He violated you.
If he come to my buildings, I’ma beat him the fuck up.
All that meant more to me than it should, and it was scary. Lately, I thought about him more than usual. Not about work either, his well-being, the way he cared about me, the way he looked at me, and respected me. I never even thought a man like him would look my way because it was no secret that he liked me.
When I got to Crown Heights Monday morning, Vaughn wasn’t there.
That wasn’t unusual at first.
He had meetings, inspections, and business outside the project all the time. I didn’t think too much of it until lunch came and Denise told me she hadn’t heard from him either.
“He probably sleep after a long birthday weekend,” Laila said while eating fries at one of the kitchen islands.
I nodded, but something about that answer ain’t sit right with me.
By Tuesday, he still hadn’t shown up.
The workers noticed too.
His best friend, CK, came through once that morning, handling paperwork and talking to Denise, but he left fast. I tried reading his face while he talked, but he moved regular like nothing was wrong.
Wednesday came and went the same way.
I found myself looking at my phone more than usual, waiting for messages from him that never came. Even the work emails stopped. Everything started coming through Vanessa.
That made me uneasy.
“You gon’ go blind looking at that phone so long,” Laila said while we reviewed samples Thursday morning.
“I’m working.”
