SEBASTIAN’S POV
I had been pacing in my office for the last hour, the same call log glaring back at me every time I checked my phone.
Sasha wasn’t answering. It wasn’t just that she wasn’t answering, she wasn’t even reading my messages. Each one was left unopened, cold and stagnant, like a ghost of an attempt to reach her.
My patience was dwindling by the second. She could be hurt, angry, or… avoiding me. None of the options sat well with me.
I tossed the phone onto the desk and ran my hand through my hair, trying to think.
What was I missing? This wasn’t like her. Even when we’d fought before, Sasha always let me know where she stood.
The silence now felt deafening, worse than shouting, worse than any argument we’d ever had.
The phone buzzed, jolting me out of my thoughts. It was Roland.
“I know that look,” he said when I answered, his voice calm but with a hint of judgment. “What’s going on? Did you find her?”
“No,” I replied sharply.
“She’s not taking my calls, not answering texts. It’s been days. Something’s off, Roland.”
“Well, maybe if you gave her some space instead of hovering”
“I did give her space!” I snapped, frustration boiling over.
“And look where that got me. I have no idea where she is, and that’s not normal for her. She’s avoiding me, Roland, and I need to figure out why.”
There was a pause on the other end, the sound of Roland breathing deeply as if preparing for whatever chaos I was about to drag him into.
“What are you planning to do?”
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m going to her place. She’s not answering the phone, so I’ll make her answer the door.”
There was silence again before Roland spoke, this time with a tone of finality that told me he was already putting on his shoes. “I’m coming with you.”
I exhaled sharply, rubbing my temples. “There’s no need for you to”
“I’m coming with you, Sebastian,” Roland interrupted, his voice leaving no room for argument.
“If Sasha’s upset, someone’s going to need to keep you calm. You’re a damn mess right now, and I’m not letting you go barging in there alone, making things worse.”
I clenched my jaw, my natural instinct to argue fighting with the small voice in my head telling me he was right. “Fine,” I muttered.
“But we’re not wasting time. I’m heading over now.”
“Meet you downstairs at ten.”
True to his word, Roland was waiting by the car when I stepped out of the building,
keys in hand and a determined look on his face. Without a word, We got into the car, the tension palpable as I started the engine.
The drive to Sasha’s old house was quiet, the air thick with unspoken questions. Roland didn’t push, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk.
When we arrived, I pulled up to the curb and killed the engine, staring at the familiar facade of the house that had once felt like a second home.
It looked the same as always-quaint, unassuming, and utterly devoid of life.
I stepped out of the car, Roland closed behind, and walked up to the front door. The closer I got, the more unease settled in my chest. Something about the place felt… off.
I knocked, the sound echoing through the empty silence. Nothing.
I knocked again, harder this time, my pulse quickening when there was still no response.
“Sasha?” I called, my voice louder than I intended. “It’s me. Open the door.”
No answer.
I exchanged a glance with Roland, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
My fingers hovered over the keypad to the door’s lock, hesitating for only a moment before I entered the code.
The lock clicked, and I pushed the door open, stepping inside with Roland close on my heels.
The house was… empty.
Not just quiet, not just unoccupied. Empty.
I froze in the entryway, my eyes scanning the barren living room.
The furniture was gone, the decorations, the little touches that had made the space hers, all of it was gone.
“What the hell…” I muttered, my voice trailing off as I took a step forward, my mind raced to make sense of what I was seeing.
Roland was the first to speak, his tone carefully measured. “Did you know she was moving?”
“No,” I said sharply, the word cutting through the air like a knife. “She didn’t say anything about this. Nothing.”
I moved through the house, each empty room a punch to the gut.
The kitchen, the bedroom, even the closet where I half-expected to find at least a forgotten box or stray piece of clothing, everything was empty.
“This doesn’t make sense,” I muttered, more to myself than to Roland. “Why would she just… leave?”
“Maybe she didn’t want you to know where she was going,” Roland suggested carefully, his eyes watching me closely.
I spun to face him, my frustration boiling over. “Why the hell would she do that?
Why wouldn’t she tell me she was moving? This isn’t like her, Roland.”
“Sebastian,” he said, his tone firm but calm, “take a breath.
We don’t know what’s going on yet. Jumping to conclusions isn’t going to help.”
I turned away, running a hand through my hair as I tried to collect myself.
My mind was racing, a hundred questions piling on top of each other with no answers in sight.
“Sasha wouldn’t just disappear,” I said finally, my voice low but resolute.
“Not without a reason. She has to be somewhere.”
Roland hesitated before asking the question I hadn’t dared to voice.
“Does she have… another house? Somewhere else she might have gone?”
The question stopped me in my tracks.
Did she?
I thought I knew everything about her, but now… Now I wasn’t so sure. This house had always been her sanctuary, her safe place. If she had another house, she’d never mention it.
But then again, there were things she hadn’t told me recently, weren’t there?
“I don’t know,” I admitted, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “She’s never mentioned anything like that.” Roland nodded.
His expression is unreadable. “Then we need to start figuring out where she went. Because this?” he gestured to the empty house around us.
“This isn’t just her trying to get some space. This is something else entirely.”
I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling in my chest.
Whatever was going on, one thing was clear: Sasha was gone, and I had no idea where to find her.
For the first time in a long time, I felt completely lost.