There was no other way to contact her, so I could only send her a private message and hope she’d reply. I dropped my phone back on the nightstand and fell back into bed.
What if she didn’t respond today? What if I had to wait days before she did? I was growing more desperate by the day, and I figured, if there was no other way, then I’d really go to Ben and ask. He was my stepdad now, so he could at least listen to a request of mine, right? He’d told me to stay away from Zoe, but he had to wonder about where she was himself.
I didn’t know how long I lay there, but my stomach started to ache with hunger. I checked my phone, but there was no new notification, and I went to the kitchen to get something to eat. I didn’t feel like cooking, so I found some instant noodles and boiled some water. Ten minutes later, I sat at my table eating my lunch. My phone was on the table beside my hand, and when it vibrated, I picked it up. I paused, when I saw it was a notification from Facebook.
Kayla had replied. She must have been on her lunch break. I opened the message quickly, she was asking me what I wanted.
I typed quickly.
“I haven’t heard from Zoe in a while and I’m worried. Do you know where she is?”
I chewed on my noodles as I waited for her to reply back, and she was quick. The answer was simple, too.
“No.”
“Dammit,” I cursed.
“Then, can I meet you? I need to talk to you about something.”
She might not know where Zoe was, but they were close friends. If there was something wrong with Zoe, then Kayla might know. Even if it was just clues to where she was, or getting my message across. Zoe wasn’t responding to me, but she wouldn’t ignore her friend, right? The only other issue was whether or not she would tell me even if she did know anything, and if I could get her to talk.
“Sure. After work, though.”
She sent me her address and let me know to be there by six p.m. it was hours until then, but I figured I could waste the time at home. I did regret missing practice now, though. I felt like I would play well if I was on the field now, because at least, I would get answers instead of just sitting around worrying.
The excitement followed me for the rest of the afternoon, and it felt like time was crawling at a snail’s pace. I wanted it to be time already so I could go. In the end, I decided to try and take a nap, setting my phone for half an hour before six. I lay on my bed and closed my eyes, laying there for a while in frustration.
I must have drifted off, though, because the next thing I knew, my alarm was ringing, and when I opened my eyes, the room was darker. I turned off the alarm, and went to the bathroom to wash my face. Kayla lived a bit far from my place, but I knew the area. I called for a taxi before I left the apartment, waiting outside for the cold air to wake me up.
By the time I arrived at her door, it was exactly six. I knocked, and paced around in impatience.
“Coming!”
I heard her call through the door, and I stood still and waited. Some seconds later, the door opened.
“Kayla?” I said.
She was dressed in a skirt suit, obviously having just come from work, with her red, wavy hair left to fall around her shoulders. I’d only seen her once before and for barely a minute, but even if I hadn’t seen her pictures on Facebook, I was sure I could have recognized her if I
passed her on the street again.
Kayla looked me up and down, then stood aside and gestured inside. “Howard. Please, come in.”
She wasn’t unwelcoming or anything, but for some reason, I got the feeling she didn’t want me there. I wondered what Zoe told her about us, if she’d even said anything at all. After closing the door behind us, she led the way to the living room. It wasn’t a big apartment, a bit smaller than mine.
“Why don’t you sit down?” She said. “I can get you something to drink, if you’d like? Beer, juice, or water...”
“I’m fine,” I said quickly. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I really just wanted to ask you about Zoe.”
She sighed and took the single seat, and I went to sit on the couch.
“I figured that out from your messages earlier. I don’t know why you came to me, though. Like I told you, I have no idea where she is. It’s been more than two weeks since I last spoke to her.”
“Right,” I murmured.
I leaned forward with my elbows braced on my knees, fingers folded together as I rested my chin on top of them. My body wanted to fidget, but I forced myself to look calm. Actually, I was the furthest from calm. I desperately needed Zoe.
“Did she say anything to you?” I asked after collecting my thoughts. “She hasn’t spoken to me and she’s not picking up my calls, answering my texts. I’m just worried about her, if something happened to her, or if there’s something I should know. Does she not plan to come back?”
That would be bad. I didn’t doubt, though, that I would follow her no matter what. I’d been daunted, before, by the thought of starting over if I didn’t have football, but I’d been an idiot for thinking that. So what, if I couldn’t play the game I loved in an official capacity? I was sure there were ways of getting around it. Starting over wouldn’t be easy, but there was nothing impossible about it, I was just afraid. But, I was more afraid of losing Zoe just when I’d come to realize how much she meant to me.