Darryl’s restlessness was obvious as he tossed and turned throughout the night, his mind consumed by thoughts of Vanessa. Guilt gnawed at his conscience, tormenting him with the mistakes he had made.
Yet, he felt a flicker of hope in his heart, convinced that he could make amends if only Vanessa would give him the chance.
As the first light of dawn crept through the window, Darryl’s anxiety reached the peak as he couldn’t handle it anymore. Quickly, he dressed and rushed to Vanessa’s apartment, his heart racing in anticipation as he drove to her apartment.
Upon arriving, he knocked on the door with urgency, but got no answer. With defiance, he continued to knock on the door but the only answer he got was the sound of his hand rapping on the door.
Worried by the deafening silence, he tried calling her phone, only to be met with the frustrating sound of a switched-off device. Fear gripped him as he tried calling her again, but he got the same answer.
With determination, Darryl returned to the door, his knocks growing louder and more insistent. He pounded on the door, his fists almost pulling it off its hinges, as if the sheer force of his regret could will Vanessa to appear.
“Hey, man! You got a problem with the door?” The security guard asked.
The security guard appeared in the hallway after he got a call from Vanessa’s next-door neighbor about Darryl’s persistent knocking.
The echo of the security guard’s question added to Darryl’s desperation as he stared at the man with frustration in his eyes.
“No,” Darryl answered. “I think something is wrong. I’ve been knocking nonstop and she is not answering. That’s not like her.” Darryl said to the man.
“She is not answering you because she is not inside.” The security guard answered Darryl.
“Do you know where she went? I’m sure she won’t have gone far away from her apartment.”
“Well, she left last night, and I’m sure she went far away from here.” The security guard explained.
“Why do you say that?” Darryl asked curiously.
“She had her luggage with her last night.” The security guard answered.
The look on Darryl’s face prompted him to explain further, “I’m just saying what I saw, she didn’t tell me anything about her whereabouts.” he added.
The security guard’s words lingered on Darryl’s mind as he stood frozen in the empty hallway.
“I would advise you to stop knocking because you are disturbing the peace of the neighbors.” The guard said before leaving Darryl, who stood there, enveloped in a whirlwind of emotions.
Darryl mentally encouraged himself, he couldn’t lose hope now. Vanessa might have left her apartment for Carolyn’s house. That’s logical.
With haste, he pulled out his phone and dialed Carolyn’s number. Carolyn’s morning was interrupted by Darryl’s call. Initially, she didn’t have the intention of answering Darryl’s call but Darryl continued to ring her phone, leaving her with no choice than to answer.
“You have no limits, do you? How can you call me so early, disturbing my peaceful morning.” Carolyn snapped at him as soon as she answered the phone.
“Why should I be limited when the problems in my life have no limits?” Darryl countered Carolyn’s remarks.
“The last time I checked, I was not the cause of your problems.” Carolyn retorted without hiding her irritation.
“I didn’t call you to argue, Carolyn. Can you put Vanessa on the phone? I want to talk to her.” Darryl said.
“I don’t get you. Why should I put Vanessa on the phone? Why didn’t you call her phone?” Carolyn rolled her eyes even if Darryl couldn’t see her reaction.
“I can’t call her because her phone is turned off. Can you just put her on the phone already? I know she is at your house. Darryl said firmly as he was sure of his assumption.
“At my house?” Carolyn’s voice laced with confusion and irritation at the same time. “I dropped her off at her apartment last night so she is not at my house. Next time, check her apartment before disturbing me.” Carolyn couldn’t hide her distaste as she spoke over the phone.
“Just so you know, Vanessa is not answering your phone because she doesn’t want to talk to you. So there’s no need to go to her apartment to disturb her peace like you did to me.” She added.
“Actually, I’m standing in front of her apartment door, and she is not in there. I was told by the security guard that she went out last night with her luggage.” Darryl explained as confusion gnawed at him.
“Darryl, what game are you at this time?” Carolyn asked him because she didn’t believe him. She dropped Vanessa off last night, so where could she have gone the same night?
“Have I ever told you something like this before?” Frustration gripped Darryl as he spoke. He was worried about Vanessa and Carolyn wasn’t making it easy for him.
“I got to Vanessa’s place as early as I could do. I can set things right between us. On getting there, I got the news that she had been out last night with her luggage. Does that sound like a fucking game to you? Darryl said, trying to control his frustration.
“I am not the one going around doing absurd things.” Carolyn said, causing Darryl’s eyebrows to furrow in annoyance.
“Please, Carolyn, if Vanessa is at your place, put her on the phone.” Darryl said calmly.
“I just told you I dropped her off at her apartment last night. I watched her enter her apartment. Didn’t you understand what I said?”
“Where else would she have gone with her things?” Darryl asked.
“She didn’t go anywhere with her things. I’m sure she told the security guard to talk you out of disturbing her. The least you could do is to let her be, Darryl.”
“I knocked persistently. I almost had the door down. If Vanessa had been inside, she would have answered me. She might be mad at me, but she won’t go through that length to ignore me.”
Darryl’s said, causing Carolyn to become alert. If Vanessa was definitely not at her place, where could she have gone to with her things?
“Are you sure about it?” Carolyn inquired, trying to confirm before she jumped to a conclusion.
“I am certain she is not here. I can feel something is not right. I have to do something before everything goes wrong.” Darryl said as anxiety gripped him tightly.
“Give me a minute, I will call her myself and confirm her whereabouts. I will call you when I’m done.” With that, Carolyn ended the call.
For the first time in a while, Darryl said a silent prayer in his heart, hoping his intuition was wrong.