Page 39 of Shattered Saint
Before I could say anything else, he hung up on me. What the fuck was that all about?
He didn’t tell me when he needed me to be at this mysterious address. So, without a second thought, I left my apartment and headed over to Raven’s place before going to Nash’s.
15
BIANCA
Ipaced back and forth in my apartment as I tried to clear my thoughts. Something hadn’t been sitting right with me for days and I needed to think things through. The best way for me to do that apparently, was wearing a hole in my carpet due to the number of times I’d walked the same path.
After overhearing my Dad and Nash talking, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with Nash. He had been acting strange for a while now and hadn’t answered his phone when I called him last night either. He was more distant than usual and while I wanted to give him space to figure out whatever it was that was going on in his life, I was worried about him.
"Okay, enough is enough," I muttered under my breath. I grabbed my phone, found Nash’s number, and called him. The phone rang and rang, but Nash didn’t answer. I waited for him to text me back, at least letting me know he saw my call, but he didn’t, deepening my worry.
There was a chance he had class, I supposed, but if I remembered correctly, today wasn’t a practice day.
Still, I had a bad feeling, and I couldn’t just keep pacing in my apartment and doing nothing. I could call my parents and have them meet me at Nash’s place, but I preferred to do this alone in case I was overreacting.
I grabbed my jacket and a purse that would contain everything I needed and headed out the door. I was going to get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing I did.
The cool autumn air hit me as I stepped outside, but I barely felt it. The only thing that mattered was getting over to Nash’s place and finding out what was up with him. I walked down the street because thankfully, it was only a couple of blocks away from mine.
As I approached Nash's apartment building it began to rain.
“Damn it,” I said, wishing I would have driven instead. My heart began to race because I didn’t know what I would find when I got there. What if he was in some kind of trouble? The fact that the last thing I heard my father and Nash discussing was the Chevaliers did little to calm me down. Who knew what type of activities they were up to.
I inhaled a long, deep breath in order to steady myself as Ipushed open the heavy glass doors, making my way to the elevator.
I played with the key to Nash’s apartment as I rode up to his floor. The ride felt painfully slow, each ding of the passing floors irritated me because it sounded like a countdown to something ominous. When the elevator stopped on his floor, I tapped my foot as I waited for the doors to open and once they did, I hurried down the hallway until I reached his apartment.
I swallowed hard as I knocked on the door. When I didn’t hear anything in response, I unlocked the front door and stepped inside.
“Hello,” I said, and paused to see if I heard anyone. “Nash?”
"It's me, Bianca. Are you here?" But I didn’t get a response.
Thankfully, it was still light outside, making it easy to see the living area. Nothing was disturbed. I didn’t see Nash’s bookbag, laptop, or keys, any of which would have been telltale signs that he was home.
But then I heard something.
It sounded like… running water? My breath caught in my throat as I strained to listen, trying to pinpoint the source of the sound.
"Hello?" I tried again, louder this time. The noise persisted, and my concern for Nash reached an all-time high. This wasn’t fucking normal.
I looked around to see if I could find a weapon and walked over to get one of the large chef knives my mother insisted on buying when we moved into our apartments. It would definitely come in handy now.
I walked back into the hallway and was able to determine that the sound of water was coming from either the master or guest bathroom. Maybe Nash had decided to shower?
But then, his things not being in the living area didn’t make sense.
"Stay calm, Bianca," I told myself. “Nothing weird is going on here. You can do this.”
I made my way down the hallway, the sound of running water growing clearer as I moved forward. Once I stood in front of the doors that would lead to the bedrooms in the apartment, it became apparent the noise was coming from the guest bathroom. I walked into the guestroom and found a bag on the floor near the guest bathroom door. The gym bag was unfamiliar and didn’t look anything like Nash’s.
"Hello?" I called out hesitantly as my grip tightened on the knife handle. As I reached for the guest bathroom doorknob, my heart thundered in my chest. The metal was stone cold against my skin, sending shivers up my spine. I knocked on this door as well and didn’t get a response. It was possible that whoever it was couldn’t hear me over the running water. With a deep breath, I turned the knob and pushed the door open.
The sound of water splashing echoed off the tiled walls, and I felt guilty about walking in on someone when they were showering, but whoever this was they had no business being here. Everything about this situation felt wrong, yet I couldn't tear myself away. Nash's absence did nothing but bother me, and the presence of this stranger’s things only served to fan the flames of my concern.
But what I witnessed shifted my attention in a completely different direction.
