Carolyn’s brow furrowed in concern as she stared at her phone, her fingers flying across the screen as she tried calling Vanessa for what felt like the hundredth time. But just like the previous attempts, it went straight to voicemail, indicating that Vanessa’s phone was still switched off.
“What’s going on with Vanessa?” She muttered under her breath, as she couldn’t bear the anxiety anymore.
Dawson, who had been sitting on the bed beside her, noticed the worried look on her face and that prompted him to ask.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he asked, his voice laced with concern.
Carolyn let out a frustrated sigh and set her phone down, rubbing her temples. She was left with no choice than to believe Darryl’s words.
“I’ve been trying to reach Vanessa, but her phone is off. I’ve called her more than ten times now,” she trailed off, her voice laced with worry.
“Darryl said he had tried her, and he got no answer.” Carolyn added.
Dawson’s expression turned sympathetic, and he reached out to place a reassuring hand on her arm. “Maybe she wants her time alone. Everything will be okay with Vanessa. You can’t be stressed over Vanessa, she isn’t a kid.”
“I know she isn’t a kid but.” Carolyn hesitated, unsure how much to share, but Dawson’s kind eyes put her at ease.
She took a deep breath, “I wanted her to come over last night, but she said she was fine. I understood because she needed time to digest all that had happened. But Darryl called to inform me that Vanessa wasn’t in her apartment and her phone was switched off.” she explained the situation with a worried look etched on her face.
Carolyn remembered the look on Vanessa’s face last night. If she had noticed any sign of inconvenience in Vanessa’s face, she would have forced her to come with her. Now, she was clueless about Vanessa’s whereabouts.
Her gaze moved away from Dawson towards her phone as she remembered she had to call Darryl.
“Hey!” She said calmly, willing to hide the surge of panic going through her.
“Did you get through?” Darryl asked, hoping Carolyn would give him a positive answer.
“Nah. Her phone is turned off and there’s no other way to get through to her.” Carolyn explained as worry laced in her voice.
“Damn it!” Darryl hit the steering wheel of his car, letting out his frustration. “I knew something was wrong.”
“Nothing is wrong and nothing will go wrong. She just wants some time alone. What happened to her last night was too much to handle,” Carolyn said.
“I know, but the security guard said she went out last night with her things. What do you think about that?” Darryl inquired.
Carolyn sighed, willing to let out her frustration. She has been trying to remain positive, but negative thoughts wouldn’t let her be. Truly, she dropped Vanessa off last night, but is it possible for Vanessa to leave the same night? It was already late, and it wouldn’t be safe, especially for someone without a personal means of transportation.
A silent prayer was on her lips as she thought about every possible thing that could have gone wrong last night.
“I should report to the police before things go haywire.” Darryl said, causing Carolyn’s worry to skyrocket.
“Are you out of your mind? Why would you involve the police?” Carolyn snapped.
Dawson, who had been sitting quietly beside her, followed up with her conversation with Darryl. Because he couldn’t talk, the only thing he did was to nod his head in disagreement or in agreement.
“She is missing from home and her phone is not going through. Isn’t that enough to involve the police?” Darryl had a private detective he could hire searching everywhere for Vanessa.
“To start with, she is not missing. And she turned off her phone just to stay away from the drama, especially you.” Carolyn said, her fear was slowly turning into fury.
“How would you know that when she is not even at your place? Carolyn, it is better to take actions now before it becomes too late.” Darryl explained, willing Carolyn would support his decision to involve the police.
“Because she is not with me at the moment does not mean she is in danger. Vanessa is not a child, and she has all the right to leave her apartment and turn off her phone.” Carolyn expressed her frustration.
“If you were this concerned about her, you wouldn’t have dragged her into your madness, Darryl. You singlehandedly brought this upon her, and you still want to involve the police. What will you say to the police? Tell me.” Anger laced in Carolyn’s voice as she said to Darryl.
Another wave of guilt filled Darryl as he listened to Carolyn. He knew he had brought Vanessa into his mess, but he was willing to do everything to bring her out of his mess without breaking her heart.
“That’s more reason why I want to ensure her safety.” Darryl muttered, enough for Carolyn to hear him over the phone.
“Well, I can assure you that Vanessa is safe and when she is ready to talk, she will contact you herself.” Carolyn said, causing suspicion to rise in Darryl.
“Are you telling me the truth?” Darryl asked Carolyn.
“Truth about what?” Carolyn retorted in confusion.
“Are you sure you don’t know about Vanessa’s whereabouts?” Darryl furthered his questions.
“Are you for real? Why would you think that I know about Vanessa’s whereabouts?” Carolyn blurted out in anger.
“You sounded sure like you’d spoken to Vanessa, and she told you about her plans to move out.” Darryl accused her.
“I didn’t know anything until you told me about it this morning. If you don’t believe me, then, that’s your fucking business. You can’t just lay false accusations on me when I’m just trying to be positive about the whole drama.”
“I’m sorry for that. I can’t just think straight at the moment.” Darryl could tell that Carolyn was already mad at him so he apologized for accusing her without knowing much about the situation.
“Carolyn,” he called causing Carolyn to give him her full attention.
“What?” She answered.
“I have to get in touch with Vanessa as soon as possible because we have a lot of things to talk about. Please, help me get through to her.” Darryl pleaded like his life depends on it.
“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk to you or listen to you. I guess it is time for you to let her go because you’ve done enough harm than good.”
Carolyn said before ending the call. Even in the middle of her confusion, one thing was clear to her. Darryl has gone beyond all limit with Vanessa.