I'll Take You Away From Him

Chapter 12

For hours of waiting, I can hardly find a place for myself.

I keep spinning the phone in my hands, torn between calling or at least texting Will, but I pull myself back each time. I can't be pushy.

He went off on business, considering his appearance, and I'm at his home, of course, he'll return as soon as he's free. What else is needed?

I remember my dad always getting annoyed when my mom distracted him with some trifles. But that's his wife, she had that right.

And who am I? Essentially nobody.

Well, not entirely nobody. I am, after all, his date, since Will invited me out. But I definitely don’t have the right to bother him with questions about when he’ll be back. That would just push him away, I thought.

Almost half an hour passes when my phone pings with a message. Hope flares up briefly, then dims almost instantly. And in its place comes anxiety as I open and read the message.

Yasmin is having problems, and she urgently asks me to come to her. She sends the location and then doesn’t say anything else.

Immediately, I called her several times, hoping to hear some explanation, but my friend didn't answer any calls. Then I tried to text her, asking about what was happening, already standing at the door of the apartment, grabbing my bag and putting on my shoes.

Of course, I’ll go, but I don’t like this silence from her side. Is there something bad that happened to her?

Locking the apartment, I genuinely appreciate Will's foresight. It’s good he left the keys. I got a cub, taking the stairs down to the first floor, completely forgetting about the elevator.

I’m not used to high-rise buildings, I’ve always lived in a house, and if I’m honest, I don’t feel very comfortable in elevators. My several attempts to pay for a ride through the app have failed and I groaned in frustration.

Mom has already blocked my card. For real. Just great!

Thankfully, I got some cash, it’ll be enough for the taxi and I can get back on public transport.

While waiting for the car, I once again try to reach Yasmin, but it’s futile again. I’m getting anxious and nearly forget that I need to warn Will that I’ve left.

At first, I considered calling, but then I decided to text him instead, to not distract him unnecessarily. I write that my friend got into trouble and I had to leave urgently, but I’ll be back.

Why is everything falling apart? It feels like everything is against me. I’m a bit angry at Yasmin, ‘cause she could at least explain what happened instead of scaring me to death.

Already in the car, an idea that seems simple but still genius at the moment strikes me. She was supposed to be at the party with other classmates. If that's the case, I should call one of the girls and ask them what happened.

I couldn’t reach for two of our friends and the third one was clearly not in a state to give a reasonable reply. They must be having a great time over there…

Finally, I manage to get through when Alice answers and I know she’s definitely clear-headed. We’re similar in some ways, which is why we understand each other well.

She focused on her studies as well as me. Of course, that doesn’t mean we have to become hermits and refuse to have fun. In that case it’s just needed to know how to set your priorities right, and we manage to do that.

At parties, she also behaves decently, controls herself and doesn’t allow anything excessive from herself or others regarding her.

“Hey, Alice. Have you seen Yasmin? She texted me that she needs help — and then she disappeared off the radar.”

In the background, music is playing loudly, I can hear all the noises and laughter. Everyone is having fun, and to my surprise, I’m not even missing it.

Last night by the lake in the arms of a man, who occupies all my thoughts, I enjoyed much more. Even though I had to feed the mosquitoes.

“Hey. The last time I saw her was at night,” Alice shouts back, trying to outvoice the music. Then I hear her moving away because the background noise gets quieter. “There are a lot of people here, Aura; you can't keep track of everyone. I'm gonna to ask around, maybe someone has seen her, and I’ll text you. I won't call, sorry, ‘cause if I lose that hand at cards too — I'll have to write an essay for Alex. And I can't stand him,” she huffs, which brings an involuntary smile to my face.

“Okay, thanks.“

Alex isn’t giving Alice a break, and she’s ignoring him in every way. I’m sure she has no chance of winning this round against him.

A few minutes later, I receive a message from Alice detailing what she managed to find out. As she said, Yasmin was last seen at night. Where she went is unknown. Allegedly, she stepped out of the house to get some fresh air and hasn’t been seen since.

Damn it!

Should I call her mom? But if Yasmin wanted to, she would have called her parents herself, this way, I’d just get her in trouble. It’s really not like my friend — although she has a fiery character, she doesn’t have a habit of getting into trouble.

Upon arriving at the location, I looked around in surprise. The taxi driver is looking at me curiously as if waiting for me to say I got the address wrong. I

t’s a rather sketchy place.

An abandoned building, not a soul around. I check the location again — it’s all correct. Under the watchful gaze of the taxi driver, I call Yasmin again, but of course, it’s in vain.