You Belong To Me

chapter thirteen

Lailah's POV

"Come on, Cee." I mutter to myself as I pace around my room.

"The number you have reached is not available." Shit. I hang up.

That's the sixth time that I've called him.

Worried, I grab my key and leave the room. I go to his dorm, walking frantically.

I run up the steps and knock on his door. "Cee!"

No answer.

"Cee!" I begin pounding on the door. "Cee!"

"Is everything okay?" Someone asked. I turn around and see a boy standing in his doorframe across from me.

"Y-yeah. I'm just looking for my friend."

He looks at me suspiciously. "Okay."

"What? What are you looking at?" Screw this. I go downstairs and leave the building.

"Lailah?" A voice calls out.

I look behind my shoulder. Devon was leaning against the building, a cigarette in between his fingers.

"Hey."

"Hey. What's going on? You okay?"

I shake my head, panicking. "No. I don't know. Do you know where Cade is? Like, at any point today, have you seen him?"

"No. Why?"

"Because, I haven't heard from him since yesterday. I've been calling and texting him, but he hasn't picked up. I even went by his room and he didn't answer. I'm scared, Devon. This isn't like him. What did y'all end up talking about yesterday?"

He shrugged. "Nothing much. He just told me to leave you alone."

"How come you didn't tell me that he came over?"

"Guess I forgot."

"So, that's it? Y'all didn't talk about anything else?"

He shakes his head. "Pretty much."

"I don't believe you. Cade would never just take off without a reason and not tell me about it."

"I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm telling the truth. Look, if you want, I'll drive you to some of the places that Cade often goes to. Maybe he's just blowing off some steam."

I stare at him, contemplating.

He's so lucky that I don't have a car, or else I'd say no. "Fine."

We walk to the parking lot and get in his car. "Can we swing by the cafe? He's practically always there."

"Sure." He starts the car and peels out of the parking lot. I notice the first few turns that he takes are in the opposite direction of the cafe.

"Uh, Devon? You took a wrong turn. The cafe's back that way."

"I know. I have someplace else better in mind."