When I got home from the bar last night my mom's bedroom door was closed, but her light was on so I could tell she was still awake. I brushed my teeth and went straight to bed. I’m just glad that David wasn't still around.
I reach for my phone and send Jess a quick text about last night.
Hey, sorry about last night. I hope that I didn't get you into too much trouble with your boss. I decided I should probably go while he was still talking to you. It was weird… I ran into Logan when I was leaving. I don’t imagine that was the kind of bar he would spend time at… it's kind of funny. Anyway… just text me later and maybe we can make plans to hang out the next time you have a day off.
I’m not quite ready to get up yet, so I linger in bed for a few minutes… using the excuse of waiting to see if Jess is going to text back. I cover my mouth and yawn. I thought I got enough sleep last night, but I’m still feeling kind of tired and I’m really not sure why. I finally give in after a few more minutes without a text back from her and I get out of bed.
I walk into the living room, covering my mouth as I yawn again. My mom isn’t in the living room, so I go to check her room… and she isn’t there either. It’s just after nine and I have no idea where she could possibly be. I sit down on the couch and pull her number up on my phone. I lift it to my ear as it starts to ring. The call eventually rolls over to voice mail and I sigh. I wait for the beep and I leave my message.
“Hey… just checking in to see where you are. It’s just after nine… wanted to know what your plans are for the day. Talk to you later.”
I end the call and set my phone down on the couch next to me. With my mom out doing whatever and Jess not answering my text, I’m not sure what to do with myself. There’s nothing to do in the apartment and there’s nothing I really need to go do. I thought about texting Spencer… but it’s like six in the morning there and I’m sure he’s still asleep.
The key. It’s the only thing that comes to mind that could burn up some time. I get up from the couch, grab my key and head out of the apartment. I struggle to lock it, but try not to make too much noise just in case David is lurking near the door of his own apartment. My whole body tenses as I start to get frustrated with the key, but I take a deep breath to calm myself and I give it one last try—the key turns and the bolt slides easily. I shake my head as I pull the key out and put in my pocket.
I head down to the office and knock on the door, but there’s no answer. I wait for a few seconds and knock again… still nothing. I just kind of assumed Rachel would be around to help if a tenant needed something, but I guess I was wrong. I’ve only been paying for a place of my own, as weird as that might seem, for one day and already I’m so irritated by the whole experience that I hope I don’t have to do it again anytime soon.
I knock a third time, just to make sure she’s not around, before walking away and heading back to the apartment. I struggle with the key just as much getting back in the apartment and collapse on the couch once I finally get inside. It’s stupid, but it makes me not want to leave when my mom isn’t here… it’s just such a pain to deal with it.
There’s a knock on the door just as I reach for my phone. I frown and stand up from the couch. I didn’t hear my mom struggling with the lock… maybe she forgot her key or something. I walk over to the door, wrap my fingers around the handle and decide at the last second to look through the peephole. I pull my hand off the handle and take a step back—it’s not my mom… it’s David. What the heck is he doing here?
“Amy?” he says, his voice carrying through the door.
I feel like I need to hold my breath as I retreat deeper into the living room… almost like if I make too much noise he’ll be able to tell that I’m inside and not answering the door on purpose.
“I know you’re in there… I saw your door close like a minute ago. I just want to talk.”
This guy just won’t give it up. I’m not sure what it is about him that puts me off so much. He’s not really weird or creepy or anything… I just feel odd when he’s around and he continues to encroach on my space. I’m starting to already regret moving to this apartment, but I still think it was the right thing because I feel like my mom needs to be close to the treatment center no matter the cost.
“If you change your mind,” he says, “and you want to hang out… or whatever… just come knock on my door.”
I wait a few more seconds just to make sure he’s actually gone and I hear his apartment door close. I shake my head when I realize that I had backed up across the living room and only stopped because my back was up against the wall.
My phone is still on the couch where I left it, so I sit down and check to see if Jess has texted me back. There’s no message from her, but there’s a missed call and a voice mail from my mom. She must have called when I went to the office to talk to Rachel about the lock. I pull up the voice mail and put my phone up to my ear.
“Hi… just saw you called. My phone was on silent and I was driving. I just got to the clinic for my second treatment. It should be just a couple of hours and then I’ll be home. I didn’t hear you come in last night, I figured it must have been late so I decided not to wake you. I hope you had fun… because dinner was fun. David is a great kid… the kind of guy I always imagined you would end up with. Anyway… I’ll see you in a few hours.”
I wrinkle my nose and quickly delete the message. I’m not sure what that’s even supposed to mean—she knows I’m dating Spencer and that I’m head over heels for him. The only thing that makes sense is that she’s trying to bring up David because she wants to try and force some kind of wedge between me and my life in Los Angeles. I wonder if she thinks I’m going to leave once she’s all set up and this is her way of trying to stop that.
I guess I need to make it very clear to her that I’m not going anywhere until she’s better and now is the time to do that. I know she said she didn’t want me to go with her when she went to the treatment center, but I need to talk to her right now. I grab my purse and head for the door. Hopefully, I can lock the door quickly because I don’t want David to know I’m in the hallway.
The lock yields to my wish for speed and I’m down the hall by the time I hear David open his door. I shake my head as I round the corner and head for the exit. I’m glad I missed him—he’s starting to really get on my nerves. It would seem I might not be able to blame him for that entirely, because I have a feeling my mom might have been encouraging him. I need to talk to her and then I’ll have a talk with him.
I hear my phone ringing a few minutes into the walk and I pause to take it out of my purse before continuing. I’m a little surprised to see it’s not my mom, but I’m happy to see that it’s Dex’s name and number that have appeared on the screen of my phone. A smile creeps across my face as I swipe my finger and lift my phone to my ear.
“Hey.”
“Amy… how are you?”
It’s nice to hear his kind voice, especially after how strange some of the events of the last twenty-four hours have been.
“I’m good… just hanging in there. How are you?”
“I’m fine… everything is good here. How’s your mom?”
“She’s good… I guess. She was pretty wiped out by the first day of chemo, but she agreed to move to Salem so she wouldn’t have to drive so far for treatment. I got us an apartment near where she goes and that’s where she is right now.”
“That’s good. I… I hope everything goes good with that.”
“Thanks… we’re hopeful that things will work out, but….”
I trail off as I’m talking. It’s still really hard for me to talk about it and I’m not sure it will get any easier unless the treatment works to the point that her doctors tell us that she is on the road to getting better.
“Sorry,” Dex says, “I didn’t mean to bring you down.”
“No… no, it’s fine. It’s just a tough thing.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it is. I don’t want you to feel like you have to talk to me about it, but just know that if you need to talk… you can always call me. I mean it.”
“Thanks… I really appreciate it, Dex.”
He’s such a good guy. It’s still kind of crazy that my mom ended up with him, even if it didn’t last. They are so different from each other and she was going through such an odd time in her life that I kind of wonder what he could have possibly seen in her. I guess it doesn’t really matter… I should just be glad that things worked out exactly as they did because I’m so glad that I got to meet Dex and be a part of his life. I’m sure I would have felt exactly the same way if he hadn’t cast me in his movie.
“Of course… you’re the closest thing I’ll ever have to a daughter, so I want you to be happy.”
It’s such a kind thing for him to say and I’m suddenly on the edge of tears. It’s amazing that we were able to connect on such a level after such a short time and I think that I’ve made a great friend for life. That’s not even taking into account how my relationship with Dex ultimately led me to meeting Spencer.
“That’s so… sweet of you. I’m so glad to have you in my life… even though things have been hard and they still are tough… I feel like there’s always hope and you have a lot to do with that.”
I turn the corner of the building that holds the treatment clinic my mom goes to… and there’s a woman in scrubs at the front door and it looks like she’s locking the door.
“Dex… sorry, but can I call you back?”
“Of course.”
I hang up the phone and slip it into my pocket as I hurry to catch the woman as she steps away from the door.
“Excuse me,” I say, as I get within a few feet of her.
She turns around and looks at me as she takes her keys out of her purse.
“Did I just see you lock the door?”
“I’m sorry?”
She has an irritated look on her face… almost like I’m using up precious seconds of her life that she’ll never get back again. I try not to let it get to me and I stay calm.
“Sorry… I was just curious because my mom called me a little while ago and she said she was on her way here to get treatment.”
“We close from eleven until noon every day.”
“There’s nobody in there getting treatment right now?”
“No… everyone was gone ten minutes ago.”
“Was my mom here earlier?”
“I have no idea… who is she?”
I tell the irritated woman my mom’s name and give her a brief physical description.
“No,” she says, shaking her head, “she wasn’t here today… and I haven’t seen her before.”
“Do you have another location?”
“No… this is it.”
“She just started treatment two days ago… are you sure you haven’t seen her?”
“Yes… I’m sure… I’ve never seen her. Now… please leave me alone… this is my lunch break.”
The woman turns and walks away before I can even say anything to her. I wanted to at least thank her, but by the time the shock starts to dissipate she’s already getting into her car on the other side of the parking lot.
I walk back to the door and read off the name of the treatment center and look it up on my phone. I’m one hundred percent sure it’s the place she’s getting treatment… but why would she tell me she would be here if she isn’t?
I sit down on the curb in front while I try to think of what to do next. I decide to call her and find out where she is. I pull up her number and her phone goes straight to voice mail. I frown as hang up without leaving her a message. Where the heck is she?
I tap my foot on the pavement as I try to figure out what to do next. I don’t really want to go back to the apartment… so I decide to just sit here and wait for her to either turn up or until she answers her phone.