Xander’s POV
A sigh slid past my lips as I reclined further into my seat. I had been doing that for the past hour now, and despite how sturdy the chair was, it was a surprise how it hadn’t snapped yet. I was pretty built, and even though the chair held my weight pretty well, I felt bad for testing just how durable it was. But even with that, you still couldn’t blame me. It wasn’t my fault. At least, not entirely.
I ran a hand through my hair, and if it wasn’t already obvious, it was a good sign that I was frustrated. I always did that when I was on the verge of losing it, and right now, I was only giving myself a few more minutes before I would go mad. Literally.
A million and one things ran through my mind. I was thinking about Kieran, about where she could be. Was she hurt? Was she safe? Has she had anything to eat today?
As more and more questions trooped in, I couldn’t help but wonder if Sabrina had a hand in it. It was definitely obvious she was playing some kind of game with me, and mother too, even though she was yet to recognize it. Did she really have a hand in Kieran’s disappearance?
I kissed my teeth. I didn’t want to believe it. Usually, I wouldn’t have considered it, but the last couple of days had been a rollercoaster and somewhat of an eye opener too. Whatever it was though, only one thing was certain, I was going to find out where Kieran was, whether she liked it or not.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance as my gaze landed on the clock high up on my study. It was exactly two o’clock, and it was an hour past the time Oliver and I had agreed to meet. Despite adjusting the meeting time, he still managed to be late. I had no idea how he did it, but I hated every single bit of it and the fact that I couldn’t do anything about it.
“Xander?” Someone called from behind the door. Before I could react, the door to my study flew open, just to reveal a disheveled Oliver running into my office.
“Xander,” he repeated .
I said nothing as my best friend took a seat in front of my desk.
A silence settled between us as Oliver’s eyes roamed the place. I had no idea what he was looking for, but for reasons best known to him, he made sure to avoid my gaze.
“What’s up man?” Oliver finally said.
“What’s popping?” he said and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What’s popping?” I snarled the moment the words slipped past his lips.
“That’s what you’re starting with?” I asked, struggling to keep my annoyance at bay.
“Xander, I know you’re mad.” he said and he had a comical expression on his face that would normally have made me crack up but for the life of me, I just couldn’t bring myself to laugh.
“But just calm down,” he said. How he managed to tick me off further, I could not fathom.
“Calm down?” I repeated.
“You want me to calm down?” I asked.
“I know I’m late but there’s a reason” he said and I raised a brow.
“It better be worth it” I said.
“I lost track of time and I got stuck in traffic” he said and I chuckled, but it was far from happy.
“Did you lose your phone too?” I cut him off immediately.
“I called you nonstop but it went to voicemail every single time. What happened to picking up or even sending a text? Or asking me to meet you halfway or at your location? You really don’t have an excuse right now.”
I was right, and he knew it, hence the small sigh that he let out.
“I’m sorry, man.” Oliver sighed. “I really did try to get here in time-”
“But what?’ I cut him off Immediately. For some strange reason, I wasn’t having it, and it was definitely unlike me. I had no idea why I was so aggressive. Oliver and I hardly had issues, and usually his face was more than enough to settle it, but not today. Maybe it had something to do with Kieran.
“Are you even listening to me?” Oliver’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Xander!”
“I’m listening.” I huffed, before settling back into my seat.
“I just zoned off a bit. What were you saying?” I asked.
“I was saying, I think I know where Kieran is,” he said.
“What?” I jerked up from my seat the moment the words slid past Oliver’s lips.
“What did you just say?” I almost screamed.
“Relax, Xander.” Oliver cooed, but I wasn’t having it.
“Just let me explain. I think I might have gotten a lead-” he started but I cut him off.
“Where did you see her?” I asked. “Why didn’t you start with that? Where the hell did your lead take you to? Come on, let’s go there” I said, getting off my chair.
“Xander, if you will just relax…” Olive tried to reason.
“If you don’t get out of that chair right now.” I threw Oliver a warning glare. Did he think this was funny? How could he laze around when we could be well on our way to Kieran right now?
“Come on Oliver, let’s go.” I said.
“Can you just listen?!” I froze at Oliver’s loud tone. I stared at the man in front of me and as seconds slowly ticked by, I realized I might have overreacted.
“At least let me speak.” he reasoned and I sighed before sitting down again.
“Fine.” I said as I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.
“I don’t know the exact details yet.” Oliver said.
“I said I think I have a lead, but I’m not sure yet.” he said.
“Why didn’t you start with that?” I shot back.
“I did.” Oliver frowned. “If you had just listened to me and calmed down a bit, maybe you would have heard me.” He said and I froze, allowing his words to sink in. In a way, Oliver was right. I had basically disregarded everything he’d said at the mention of Kieran’s name.
“Fine.” I sighed reluctantly. “What do you know? What were you able to find out?”
“Thank you.” Oliver shook his head slowly. “So, based on the info you gave me, I was able to track Kieran down, I think. But when I got there, the stories didn’t match up.”
“What do you mean? What stories?” I asked, leaning forward slightly out of curiosity.
“You said Kieran works at a salon, right?” he asked.
“Yeah… I mean, I remember her being really excited about it… I think…” I drawled, totally unsure of myself.
“What do you mean you think so?” Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose.
“If you gave me wrong details, then our lead might as well just be a dead end.” he said.
“Arghhh” I groaned. I was so frustrated. How the hell wasn’t I sure of what work she was doing? I’ve been so terrible.
“I don’t know man, I’m so confused” I said as I buried my fingers in my hair.
Oliver’s resolve softened before he let out a sigh.
“I understand.” he said, breaking the wave of silence that had settled between us.
“I completely understand what you’re going through. Come on, let’s just go there again.”
“Go where?” I raised an eyebrow.
“We’re going to check out my lead, duh.” Oliver got up on his feet immediately. Without so much as a second glance, I watched my best friend strut towards the door.
“Now, are you coming along, or are you going to sit there gaping like a confused fish?” he said and I sighed.
*************
“Can you at least give me a hint?” I was whining and I hated it. I had lost count of how many times I’d asked Oliver that question in the past thirty minutes, and he still wasn’t budging. “Oliver!”
“If I do, will you stop bugging me?” Oliver sounded tired. Not because he was driving, but because he was tired of hearing his name.
“I’m driving and I swear if you call me one more time I’m definitely going to run into the next car or something,” he said.
“Yes. Now tell me.” I demanded.
“We’re going to a diner,” he said. “We should be getting there soon.”
“We’re searching for Kieran, and you thought this was the best time to get food?” I pressed my eyes shut. “You’re unbelievable.”
“Ugh” Oliver groaned before he continued, completely ignoring me.
“Based on what I got from you, I was able to get a lead, or sort of. I searched all the salons I felt she could be at, but there was no sign of Kieran. Until I bumped into an old lady who had a clue. I followed up that clue, and it led me to a diner.” he explained.
“A diner” I echoed. I wasn’t exactly sure what kind of work Kieran was into, but I could bet my life it had nothing to do with the culinary arts.
“Are you sure? I could swear that where she works has nothing to do with diners” I said.
“No, I’m not sure.” Oliver shook his head as he pulled to the right. As he continued driving, a small building came into view.
“That’s why we’re going together. When I went there, I figured it didn’t match up with what you said but I didn’t want to risk searching and her seeing me and fleeing before I would the information to you” he explained further and I processed everything.
I said nothing as Oliver found a comfortable spot to park. We got out of the car and walked inside.
The smell of coffee and some weird stuff I couldn’t recognize hit me square in the nose. The diner had a homey vibe to it, and if there was one thing that was glaring about the place, it was how at home the clientele felt. My eyes jumped from one patron to the other, slowly taking them in. Once I was done with my survey, I felt a tiny part of me break inside.
Kieran wasn’t here.
“Excuse me.” Oliver was quick to flag down a waitress. While he had a huge smile on his face, a frown ran deep to her cheeks. At first, I thought maybe she recognised us.
“We’d like to make a little bit of an inquiry. We’re looking for someone named Kieran. She’s somewhat petite-” he started to say.
“You’ve got the wrong place.” She spat. “And I suggest you leave, if you’re not here to order anything.”
“But…”
“Leave.” She cut Oliver off again, staring into his eyes. There was something off about her, something I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but before I could get a closer look at it, she stormed off, leaving both Oliver and I stranded.
If I really wanted to, I could use my status but I was conflicted on that.
Shit. What the hell were we supposed to do now?