The penthouse was too quiet. After searching for a fewminutes, it registered in my head that no one was there and I was alone.
Where the hell did they go?
Fear flashed inside me, and I quickly reached for my phone and dialed Milk’s number. It rang about five times before, thankfully, she picked up, and I spoke first.
“Hey, what’s up? Where are you guys?”
“Hi!” she said cheerfully, heaving a breath; distant sounds of people chattering met my ears. “We’re at some adoption home under refurbishment, and I’m currently scrubbing toilets. There is so much black mold on the ground, and I don’t want to think about what it was before it turned into mold.”
“Hold on, wait, what are you talking about? What adoption home?”
“Oh,” she said. “He didn’t tell you?”
“Who didn’t—wait, you guys are supposed to be resting—What adoption—Who—”
“Is that Zahra?” Elio’s voice sounded from the background.
“Yup,” Milk answered.
“Give me the phone; I will talk to her.”
A little shuffling and his voice became more pronounced. “Zahra.”
“There better be a good fucking explanation for why you declined my call.”
“Yes, there is indeed one,” he started. “I did not hear it ring the first two times you called, and when I tried to answer the third time, the screen of my phone got a little too dark, and I could not see it because the sun was affecting the brightness—and by accident, I declined instead of answering.”
Knowing how possible that was, I ignored it.
“What’s going on? What are you doing with my friends? What adoption house was Milk talking about?”
“Are you well rested?”
I blinked. “Did you hear what I just asked?”
“Yes, and I apparently ignored you, if that wasn’t clear,” he said. “Are you well rested, Zahra?”
I let out a sharp sigh, my patience running thin. “Yes, I am well rested,Elio,” I gritted out.
“Wonderful. I will have your friend share the location with you so you can join us. We need more hands on this if we want this organization to open next week.”
“What organization? What are you talking abo—”
“When you arrive, I will explain in detail what I mean. Please arrive wearing something that permits you to do hard labor…” He trailed off, his voice going low. “I would not want to inconvenience the apple of my eye.”
“What the f—”
“See you soon.”
The call disconnected, leaving me standing there, my heart swelling and my cheeks growing warm at the phrase he’d used.
Always manages to leave me speechless—this man.
The location was sent shortly after, and I got to work getting ready to see what was happening.
It was chaos—okay, maybe not exactly chaos—but people were everywhere, some on ladders, some moving in furniture, some working on rooms I could only peek into to see what was happening. I almost bumped into someone carrying a bowl of black—oil?
I looked around, confused beyond belief.
