lighting under the rim, but is left unoccupied. Silver starburst patterns adorn the dusky blue and white walls that surround me.
Swallowing the ball of apprehension, I stroll to the bank of four elevators along the left wall, and push the ‘call’ button. With my hands nestled in my pockets, I anticipate the arrival of the car and attempt to find the words––any words to converse. The numbers over head of the elevators offering a nervous distraction as they dwindle their way down, until eventually, the elevator doors glide open to allow my entry on the ground floor.
I never thought ascending fifteen floors could seem so lengthy, yet my mind remains a void. Soon I come to a slow halt, the doors glide open. Come on, Hayden…you can do this. I draw in a lungful of air and step from the confinement.
I’m stood in the center of a stark white hallway occupied with only two doors. Apartment forty-five, Fillmore Point, Fillmore, I recite the address from her résumé. I peek up at the first door that is directly in front of me. It bears a gold forty-five number plate, and without warning, my heart jumps into my throat, while the butterflies do their morning aerobics in my gut. My hands and knees are trembling with both eagerness and apprehension, my blood and adrenaline gushes franticly through my arteries. My mouth is as dry as a wasteland. I dash my tongue across my cracking lips before heaving a sigh and attain my composure.
I knock the white wooden door. At that point where I wait patiently yet anxiously for Samantha to answer, I aim my focus on an invisible spot on my shoes, my hands still harbored in my pockets.
I lift my head as I overhear the door unlock.
A brown-haired woman with green eyes arches her brow at me expectantly. I stare bemused, unable to find my voice. I definitely didn’t expect this.
“Can I help you?” she asks politely.
“Sorry, I um…was looking for Samantha Kennedy,” I stutter. “I’m Hayden Wentworth.”
She offers me her hand. “Ah, Mr. Wentworth, the boss,” her expression brightens somewhat. “I’m Samantha’s roommate, Jessie. It’s nice to meet you.”
Sense my awkwardness swelling, I guardedly shake her hand.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wentworth but…” the woman hesitates and takes in a cleansing breath. “Samantha’s not here at the moment. Could I take a message?”
“I was just…” find the word, Hayden. Find the words. I sigh defeated. “Last night, Samantha disclosed some information to which seemed to have an––unnerving implication,” I wince, while the woman smiles sadly. “I was concerned for her safety––I didn’t relish the idea of her driving home in the state that she was in.”
Heaving a sigh, I glance down at the floor. An icy chill freezes the blood that pumps through my veins as I contemplate the disagreement that one night, which nears a year ago to the day…the things that were said, the thing I took back…but it was too late. I lift my head back to face the petite brunet and cock it to the right. A pained expression consumes me.
“I just want to know if she’s safe…I couldn’t bear it if she came to any harm because of the…discussion we had had before she left.”
“That’s a very considerate gesture. An unfamiliar one when it comes to, Samantha.” She licks her lips and glances to her right, beyond the door. Stepping into the hallway, she closes the door somewhat behind her. “Listen,” she whispers conspiratorially, “Samantha is going through a great deal at the moment. She voiced a few things last night about why she had behaved the way she did.”
I feel all the blood drain from my face, my stomach churns and knots as embarrassment feasts upon me.
“I––”
She holds her hands in the air to halt me in my tracks and shakes her head impetuously. “No, no. It’s nothing to do with me, I don’t want details. I am not scolding or interfering,” she retorts.
“But she is okay?” The urgency in my voice is
Swallowing the ball of apprehension, I stroll to the bank of four elevators along the left wall, and push the ‘call’ button. With my hands nestled in my pockets, I anticipate the arrival of the car and attempt to find the words––any words to converse. The numbers over head of the elevators offering a nervous distraction as they dwindle their way down, until eventually, the elevator doors glide open to allow my entry on the ground floor.
I never thought ascending fifteen floors could seem so lengthy, yet my mind remains a void. Soon I come to a slow halt, the doors glide open. Come on, Hayden…you can do this. I draw in a lungful of air and step from the confinement.
I’m stood in the center of a stark white hallway occupied with only two doors. Apartment forty-five, Fillmore Point, Fillmore, I recite the address from her résumé. I peek up at the first door that is directly in front of me. It bears a gold forty-five number plate, and without warning, my heart jumps into my throat, while the butterflies do their morning aerobics in my gut. My hands and knees are trembling with both eagerness and apprehension, my blood and adrenaline gushes franticly through my arteries. My mouth is as dry as a wasteland. I dash my tongue across my cracking lips before heaving a sigh and attain my composure.
I knock the white wooden door. At that point where I wait patiently yet anxiously for Samantha to answer, I aim my focus on an invisible spot on my shoes, my hands still harbored in my pockets.
I lift my head as I overhear the door unlock.
A brown-haired woman with green eyes arches her brow at me expectantly. I stare bemused, unable to find my voice. I definitely didn’t expect this.
“Can I help you?” she asks politely.
“Sorry, I um…was looking for Samantha Kennedy,” I stutter. “I’m Hayden Wentworth.”
She offers me her hand. “Ah, Mr. Wentworth, the boss,” her expression brightens somewhat. “I’m Samantha’s roommate, Jessie. It’s nice to meet you.”
Sense my awkwardness swelling, I guardedly shake her hand.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wentworth but…” the woman hesitates and takes in a cleansing breath. “Samantha’s not here at the moment. Could I take a message?”
“I was just…” find the word, Hayden. Find the words. I sigh defeated. “Last night, Samantha disclosed some information to which seemed to have an––unnerving implication,” I wince, while the woman smiles sadly. “I was concerned for her safety––I didn’t relish the idea of her driving home in the state that she was in.”
Heaving a sigh, I glance down at the floor. An icy chill freezes the blood that pumps through my veins as I contemplate the disagreement that one night, which nears a year ago to the day…the things that were said, the thing I took back…but it was too late. I lift my head back to face the petite brunet and cock it to the right. A pained expression consumes me.
“I just want to know if she’s safe…I couldn’t bear it if she came to any harm because of the…discussion we had had before she left.”
“That’s a very considerate gesture. An unfamiliar one when it comes to, Samantha.” She licks her lips and glances to her right, beyond the door. Stepping into the hallway, she closes the door somewhat behind her. “Listen,” she whispers conspiratorially, “Samantha is going through a great deal at the moment. She voiced a few things last night about why she had behaved the way she did.”
I feel all the blood drain from my face, my stomach churns and knots as embarrassment feasts upon me.
“I––”
She holds her hands in the air to halt me in my tracks and shakes her head impetuously. “No, no. It’s nothing to do with me, I don’t want details. I am not scolding or interfering,” she retorts.
“But she is okay?” The urgency in my voice is
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