A few minutes after they left the hall, Samson received a call that made him leave in a hurry. He didn’t give her much explanation and had simply told her that he had something important to take care of.
She had called him repeatedly when she got home but he didn’t pick up and still hadn’t called back. Something was wrong and she had to find out if he was okay.
Immediately after her shift ended, she changed out of her uniform and headed to his house.
———
Isabella was surprised when she knocked and Samson’s front door was opened by Vanessa, who looked equally surprised to see her.
“Isabella” Vanessa said, with a small frown on her face. “You are here”
Isabella didn’t fail to notice the look on Vanessa’s face as she stood in front of her. “Yes I am. I came to see Samson. I have been trying to reach him on the phone but he hasn’t called back and I was getting really worried. He left in a hurry last night and….” she paused, realizing that she was explaining way too much and asked, “Well, is he in?”
Vanessa seemed to come out of her trance that moment, and an apologetic smile crossed her features. “Oh yes, he’s in” she replied, “I’m so sorry, that was very rude of me, please come in.”
Isabella smiled back and followed Vanessa into the sitting room, where Samson, Raymond and Mark were seated. They looked up suddenly, like she had interrupted a very important meeting, making her feel like an umwelcomed guest.
Samson looked fine, Isabella noticed. At least now she was sure that nothing bad had happened to him. It kind of pissed her off a little. Even if he was busy, how many minutes would it have taken him to pick up his Damm phone or at least send a text
He must have noticed that she was angry because he stood up and began to walk towards her.
“Belle” he said, but Isabella ignored him. Instead she diverted her gaze to Raymond and Mark, saying a quick hello to them before letting her eyes fall back on Samson. He was in front of her now and he looked quite disturbed.
Isabella glared at him, “Well, at least I see now that you are fine and my calls were being ignored on purpose. I think I will just leave now so you can get back to… Whatever this is”
She turned to leave, but Samson grabbed her arm, stopping her from moving. “I’m very sorry” he said softly, “But a lot has been going on and I just had to handle it. I wasn’t ignoring your calls. In fact I don’t even remember where I dropped my phone. It’s probably upstairs in my bedroom.”
He realized then that the room was quiet and that everyone’s attention was on the both of them, so he said,”Will you please come up stairs with me?” he asked.
Isabella wanted to say no, but the look on his face made her change her mind. He looked so worried and she began to suspect that something was seriously wrong. All she wanted to do now was find out what it was and if she could help in any way.
Samson led the way and she followed him up the stairs. As they entered his bedroom, Samson noticed her giving her surroundings a brief glance. The four-poster bed, the floor pillows in front of the huge fire place, the paintings.
He noted with joy that nothing held her attention for long. Instead her eyes moved back to him. His worldly possessions didn’t seem to influence her. He believed he could have brought her into a shabby hut, and her expression would have been the same as it was now.
She had never been in his bedroom before, Isabella thought. Hell, she hadn’t even known him for long, but she felt very close to him and the fact that he was upset right now worried the shit out of her.
“What’s going on Samson?” she asked
“My friend. A friend of mine is missing and I have to find him before something horrible happens to him” Samson replied.
Okay, that wasn’t what she was expecting to hear. Although she wasn’t quite sure what she had expected him to say. But it didn’t matter, a person missing was a very serious issue that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“Oh that’s awful” Isabella said, as she took his hand in hers, trying to comfort him in any way that she could. “Are you alright? Oh, of course you’re not. Your friend is missing and that was a silly question. Have you called the police and reported the problem?” she asked softly, but was surprised when he skook his head.
“There’s no need for that. I will handle it myself”
Isabella was sure that this was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard come out from anyone’s mouth.
“What? Are you insane?” she asked, “Why won’t you just call the police like any other normal person would? What exactly are you planning to do? Search the entire town with your friends by going from door to door ”
Well good thing he wasn’t any other normal person. Samson thought, as he pulled his hand out of hers. “You won’t understand and I don’t have the time to explain things to you”
“Then try to make me understand” Isabella insisted. “This is just crazy. If you are planning to do this yourself, then you know where to look. If you know where to look already, why don’t you just call the police? It would make things easier, won’t it. What exactly are you planning to do?” She suddenly looked scared, “You are not into anything illegal, are you?”
Samson shook his head, “No I’m not. I just need you to trust me, and maybe it’s a good thing that you are here, because at least I can sure that you are going to be safe here at my place.”
Isabella was startled. “Excuse me. Safe? Safe from what? What does any of this have to do with me? Could you please tell me what the fuck is going on here”
“Damn it, Belle,” Samson yelled, although he didn’t mean to. But he fed up with the whole thing. He felt responsible for George because when he had turned him, he had promised to look after him. He had failed to fulfill that promise, and he sacred of what might have happened to him.