“I can’t take my mind off Vanessa’s disappearance,” Said Carolyn as she and Dawson sat in the living room.
“The last time I checked, you said Vanessa didn’t disappear. What exactly do you want me to believe?” Dawson replied. He was sitting on the couch, his gaze fixed on the screen of his laptop, his fingers occasionally typing away as he listened to Carolyn’s words.
“What else can I say? She had been gone with no trace since ten days ago, no calls, no texts, not even a message to put me at ease. Carolyn lamented to Dawson, but it was as if she was engaged in a conversation that seemed to be a one-way dialogue.
“I’m not the only one here, am I?” Carolyn said, reacting to Dawson’s silence.
“I’m sorry, I just want to send this email to my secretary.” he retorted without looking away from his laptop.
Since Carolyn started the conversation about Darryl and Vanessa, his responses were scanty. Dawson talked only when a reply was expected of him and his voice was always brief and to the point.
With defiance, Carolyn seemed to carry on with the conversation, with or without her husband’s response. Although it was a one-way dialogue, her words kept on flowing freely as she spoke.
After clicking the send button, Dawson put the laptop aside, fixing his gaze on Carolyn’s frame curled up on the couch opposite him.
“Do you want me to send a search squad out to find Vanessa?” Dawson said with a serious tone.
“Are you being sarcastic?” Carolyn snapped at him.
Carolyn couldn’t help but wonder if her pregnancy was fueling her frustration with Dawson’s behavior, making his usual behavior feel more irritating than usual.
“I’m not joking about sending the search team only if you want me to,” Dawson replied, ignoring her tone.
“Why would I want you to send a search team? She is not wanted, neither is she a criminal. Sending helicopters and armed men sounds absurd.” Carolyn explained, sounding furious and irritated at the same time.
“Babe, calm down. A search team doesn’t necessarily mean helicopters and armed men like you see in the movies. But I can pull that too if you want to see how it works,” Dawson replied with a sly smirk on his face.
He knew Carolyn was furious but him making a little joke could help ease her worries about Vanessa.
Right from when he heard about Vanessa’s disappearance, he had suggested they get help from experts to search everywhere for her, but Carolyn declined, saying it wasn’t necessary to make a scene. Now, who is making a scene? Dawson wondered as he stared at his wife.
“I don’t want you or anyone else to create a scene because Vanessa won’t appreciate it when she comes back,” Carolyn clarified.
“What if we don’t create a scene? What if I employ an expert to find her?” Dawson suggested.
Carolyn’s lips pushed up as she engrossed herself in deep thoughts. She didn’t know if Dawson’s idea was the best thing to do at this point.
Before, she had believed that Vanessa would come back after a day or two, but now she didn’t know if she would ever come back home.
“I don’t know what to think,” Carolyn sighed as her hands went through her hair, combing through it.
“You should not be stressing over this, Carolyn. Think about yourself and our baby.” Concern laced in Dawson’s voice as he said.
He got off the couch and, with a long stride, he walked towards where Carolyn was occupied and sat beside her. Placing his hands on hers, he gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“You should be cautious about the things you do now. You should not overthink or worry about anything. Like you said before, Vanessa is not a child, and she can take care of herself. You have to do the same and take care of yourself.” He said with his eyes glued on her.
“I’m aware of my condition and I know how cautious I have to be, but what would you do if you were in my shoes?” she asked.
Carolyn’s eyes moved from Dawson’s face to their intertwined hands sitting pretty on her lap.
“What would you do if Darryl was unreachable for a day, not to talk about ten days? I’ve tried my best to take my mind off it. I want to be at peace with everything. I want to believe that everything is under control, but how can I do that when I don’t even know if my best friend is safe or not?” Carolyn complained.
“I know everything is not fine now, but things will get better soon. Vanessa probably had her reasons for not calling you or informing you about her whereabouts.” Dawson tried to calm Carolyn down.
“Have you called her mother?” Dawson inquired with a concerned look on his face.
“Vanessa’s mother isn’t answering her phone and that’s unlike her,” Carolyn said. She couldn’t help but wonder why Vanessa’s mother had refused to answer her phone.
“Aside from waiting, how can I help you find your best friend?” Dawson asked.
Carolyn’s well-being was Dawson’s priority and if finding Vanessa was the only thing that could ease Carolyn’s anxiety, it would be better to do it before things got worse.
Carolyn’s lips pushed up as she dived deep into her thoughts, thinking of the best answer to give, but before she could reply, the sound of Dawson’s phone interrupted her.
Dawson, who heard his phone ring, ignored it as his gaze lingered on Carolyn.
“You should answer your phone.” Carolyn chirped, removing her hands from Dawson’s hand to retrieve the phone from the table. “It is Darryl.” She added.
“I know.” Dawson gave a sparse reply.
“Answer it.” Carolyn said as she passed the phone to him.
“I don’t want to,” Dawson said, ignoring the phone in Carolyn’s hand.
“Why? What happened between you and him?” Carolyn inquired, staring between the now silent phone and Dawson, who had refused to answer his phone.
“Right now, my focus is on you, I don’t need any interruption.” Dawson retorted as he collected the phone from Carolyn.
His plan was to drop the phone back on the table but the chirping sound of his phone stopped him before he could do that.
“A message. Is it from Darryl?” Carolyn asked, stretching her neck to have a glance at the screen of the phone.
“This dude is not giving up.” Dawson said as his fingers scrolled through the screen of his phone, checking whatever Darryl had sent.
“I’m outside your house. You would rather open your door, or I set your house ablaze.” Dawson read out the message in astonishment. He didn’t expect Darryl to show up at his house, and he was left with no choice than to invite him in even if he was still kind of mad at him for the stunt he pulled at the club.