Page 77 of Aftersome
My eyes immediately went into search mode, going from left to right in hopes she might be close by.
“She’s upstairs. Second door on the right.”
Nodding in her direction, I had given her a quick thank-you before rushing up the stairs where my heart rate began to triple in beats. I had no idea what I was about to walk into. A replay of the night in the hospital? Maybe worse? I had no way of knowing or preparing.
And whose fault was that?
Maybe if I had reached out to her I would have known. Yet, here I was, eleven years later checking in on the girl I had left in the past.
Funny how things worked out…
Once I reached the top step of the stairs, I was thrust down a hallway where my eyes immediately connected with her door.
I paused.
Already I could feel the shift in the air. Seeping up underneath the small gap on the bottom of the door, I could feel her sorrow filling the space around me. So palpable, and sodamn heartbreaking, I slowly waded through the thickness of the air until I stopped in front of her door.
Then gradually lifting my hand, I gently rapped my knuckles onto the door.
“Doe, it’s me.” I continued a few more knocks until I stopped to listen for any sounds or movement. At first, I didn’t hear anything. It was eerily quiet in her room, until finally she had responded back.
“Go away, Mal.” Her voice sounded full of anguish, like she’s been crying for hours.
I hated it.
“Can’t do that.”
I heard a faint groan on the other side of the door.
“I don’t want you here.”
I know you don’t, but I don’t care.
“Sorry, I can’t hear you. You’re goin’ to have to open the door and tell me to my face.” I tried a different tactic but of course, she wasn’t falling for it.
“I swear to God, Mal…” she grumbled quietly to herself. “How the hell did you even get in here anyway? Did you break in like you broke into my car?”
The side of my mouth raised up.
“It’s not breaking in if your car is unlocked and you don’t steal anything. And no, I didn’t break into Hendricks’s house. But, if I had no other way to get up here to you, then I would have.”
She then went silent. It lasted over a minute or two, until finally the sound of the door handle turning had me taking a small step backward. Slowly she began opening the door and soon stopped, creating a small gap where I still wouldn’t be able to see her.
“What are you doing here?”
I tried peering through the tiny slit, but couldn’t make out anything of significance. Only a partial view of a bed and a lamp.
“Making sure you’re okay,” I answered, hoping she’d believe me.
“And why would you do that?”
“Why don’t you let me in and I’ll tell you?”
I guess I hadn’t thought about the idea of her not letting me in to see her. I figured after our talk at the gender reveal, she’d be more open to me.
Or at least, she’d realize that I wasn’t the complete asshole I make everyone believe I am.
“Nice try, but no.”
