Late

Late


Ike’s POV

"Yes dummy, go find out why she's doing this," Mirian lets out in her ever-present blunt manner.

"Drive safely," Mom instructs, waving me off.

"Thank's mom," I kiss her cheek, running off to the hallway as I hear her say something on the lines of, "that boy should learn how to think things out for himself."

I shake my head in a quiet laugh as I abandon the interior of my mansion and go into the rain. Pressing the remote of the Ferrari which I left parked in front of the house and not in the garage hence I planned to use it to go pick up Ana for our date before this.

"Aki please open the gate!" I yell at the gateman who's sitting close to one of the bodyguards that surround this structure.

"Okay oga!" He shouts in response, rushing to the metal barrier as I enter into the vehicle.

Veering in the German floored arena, I steer towards the gate the exact moment it is tugged ajar. I wave at Aki as I drive out of the compound into the freeway.

"God please let Ana be alright," I pray, increasing the speed of the machine, zipping through the road in the direction of the estate she lives in.

A feeling of dread is struggling to settle in my gut, rather I don't let it as I struggle to cloud it with positive thoughts, not permitting myself to think of the worst-case scenario.

Concerning my speed limit and haste, I find myself taking the last corner that directs me to the gates of the building complex. I tap the screen of my phone twice and peer at it to note it's five minutes past six in the evening, the weather making it appear as if it's around nine pm.

Obeying a notion, I click the number and ring her, putting it on handsfree so I can hear it clearly if she answers or not. My heart plunges lower as the tone ends without any response whatsoever.

"Shut the fuck up," I mutter in frustration as the robotic message which I can now say offhand comes on because of the numerous times I've listened to it today.

Hissing in fear and trepidation, I speedily put the car back on track as I am almost about to hit down a wastebin that would probably leave my car smelling like a rotted pig's belly if not worse.

"Thank God," I sigh as I take back control of the wheel, now going at a normal pace opposite to the dead pace I was driving at earlier. 

Soon I attain to the gates and give the security guard on duty a clarification of who I am and who I'm meeting up with before he lets me in. I give him a tip that brings a smile to his lips and thrust in the path of the two apartment compound, the only one in the area.

Arriving there, I horn at the gate, instead, I receive no indication whatsoever that my presence is noticed. I repeat my action two to three times in hopes of getting observed, and it works thus the gate slides open automatically.

I spot Joe at the side of the gate with an umbrella that shields him from the rain while I glide into the premises, and park directly in the garage. Switching off the engine and lighting, I see him standing at the door, the same instrument in his hold.

"Thank you," I beam in appreciation as I join him under the shield, the both of us walking hurriedly to cover the distance to Ana's apartment.

"You are welcome," he speaks, and I'm stunned he hears me because of the loud drops of the rain.

"Whoof," I let out, discarding my soggy shoes and socks to abandon at the veranda as he does the same to his slippers and pushes the door ajar, permitting me to see and hear the sound of the television from the inside.

I stride into the place and slam the door after me to shut the cold out and go further, spotting Oluchi and Glory cuddled up on the settee as they watch the movie playing on the gadget, my existence not known yet.

"Where's Ana?" I boom in a voice that will be heard above the noise of the device, startling them out of their skin with Joe laughing from the other seat as they get shocked at my sudden appearance.

"Wow!" Oluchi calls out, throwing the blanket over her. "You just had to ruin our fun didn't you?"

"Yeah Ike, you should have at least said hello, sheesh!" Glory flairs up, firing me a glare thus I'm blocking their view of the program.

"At some point, I agree with them," Joe inputs as the sound of the film stops, Oluchi placing it on pause.

"Sure you'll agree, one of them is your girlfriend so I don't expect otherwise," I counter, having no mood for their dramatics hence I can recall that I saw Ana's car in the driveway, rather I don't see any sign of her in here, the scent of her perfume too is faint as if she's been gone a while.

"What are you thinking?" Oluchi implores, catching sight of the way my eyes are scrutinizing the area.

"I'm pondering on where any of you could have hidden Ana because she's not been taking my calls," I announce, my focus pointing at her.

"What do you mean by hid her?" Glory quizzes.

"And what do you also mean by she hasn't been picking your calls, did you two enter into an argument?" Oluchi investigates, providing me that scary gaze she's especially known for.

"Wait, what did you do?" Joe booms in inquiry.

"I didn't do anything," I exhale, holding in a scream of irritation. "We were supposed to go on a date."

"She didn't tell me any of the sorts," Oluchi utters as Glory's vision shifts to her.

"Then where did she go?" I implore. "Glory is here, you are, Joe is here then who must she have gone to see?"

"She was meeting up with Emily, I wonder why she isn't back yet," Oluchi replies sitting on the armrest of Joe's chair.

"Emily?" I ask in astonishment. "Why the fuck did you three let her go out with that she-devil?"

"I tried to hold her but she didn't listen," Oluchi retorts.

"You should have at least informed me," I argue, my brain going to many places. "Has any of you called her number?"

"I don't have her contact," Glory blurts.

"Neither do I," Oluchi excuses when I turn to her.

"Fuck!" I shout, producing my phone from my breast pocket, unlocking it to search for Emily's number.

Locating it, I press send, and put it to the loudspeaker, the others keeping silent as it rings.

"Emily," I greet the instant she picks.

"Hello Daniel," she responds, the background sounding eerily quiet.

"Where are you?" I request, not giving room for conversation.