Locked Away

Missed Calls

You stare at the caller ID for a minute, hesitating to pick up and watching as the call gets sent to voicemail. It's been a while since you talked to her or Alex. Why would she call you so suddenly and so many times out of nowhere? Something had to be happening. You stop Seto before you could really get out to the main area.

"I'm sorry. I think I need to answer this." You tell him.

Holding up your phone, another call comes again. He looks at the phone and then to you. He nods as you pick up the phone. Watching you.

"Hello?" You ask a bit nervously.

You hear crying in the background. Before you can say something else the phone is hung up. What the fuck? You go to try and call back but a text from her pops up.

"Sorry. I just need to call to grab your attention." She texted you.

Your furrowed your brows at the text. This was weird.

"I haven't heard from Alex since yesterday. He was saying stuff all week that scared me. Talking about dying." She continued the text.

You were starting to get a bit concerned. Even if you and Alex weren't really friends anymore, you couldn't help but still feel concerned for him. You weren't sure what to even text back but you could see the little typing animation. You waited for her next text.

"He was giving stuff away the other day and he just texted me this now." She sent a screenshot. The image was a text exchange between them. You didn't pay much attention to their earlier texts but Alex's last text caught your attention.

"Goodbye and thank you for all the good memories."

This was all coming out of left field. You were worried and starting to panic. You weren't sure what to do. This was a lot to take in. Sure Alex wasn't the greatest of people but you didn't want him to hurt himself.

Seto could see you starting to worry. You looked at him. "I need to go. Alex could be in trouble." You blurted out.

He looked at you for a moment. You thought he would protest or try to talk you out of it.

"You should go check on him." He said.

"Are you sure?" You asked.

"If you think it's serious, you should go." He reassured you.

"Thank you." You hugged him.

He was a bit stiff when you hugged him. He seemed taken off guard and surprised by the sudden gesture. Slowly he started to ease into the hug. You let go of him just as suddenly as you hugged him, you let him go. You both stared at each other a bit surprised.

"I'll get an uber!" You spit out.

"I can take you there." He replies.

That would save you money but Alex seems to really hate Seto. Right now probably isn't the best moment for Alex and Seto to see each other.

"No. Seeing you might make him upset." You say softly.

You didn't want to hurt Seto's feelings but he looked a bit disgruntled at this. He let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine. But if you don't contact me after an hour to let me know you're safe. I'm calling the police." He told you.

You nodded. That was probably for the best. You didn't want to really call the police in the first place because sometimes that could make things worse. He looked apprehensive to let you go on your own.

"If shit goes sideways, I'll call the police immediately. And, I'll have my other friend there with me." You did your best to try and reassure him.

"Call me first." He replied sharply before sighing. "Then call the police."

You held back a remark and just nodded. You just held onto the hope that this wasn't as serious as you knew it probably was. You order the uber and Seto waits with you for the car. He looks anxious as you get in the vehicle. As the car leaves, you watch as his figure slowly gets farther and farther away.

While in the car you text Alejandra. Asking her questions about what else had been happening when you're going to arrive. She texts you back sporadically. She was probably not thinking straight and also rushing to get to Alex's place.

When you finally get there, she's hadn't arrived yet. You waited for a while and looked at his house. There didn't seem to be any movement or loud noises coming from the house. You felt almost like a stalker yourself just standing there looking at the place.

You wait for ten more minutes for no texts or arrival from her. Growing impatient and concerned you go to text her again. Maybe it was better to call the police.

"Almost there. Knock on the door. I'll meet you in a minute." Was the texts she finally sent you.

You look down the street in both directions. Well, she said she was almost there. Why not save you both some time and knock?

When you knock, there isn't a response. A minute passes with no response. Concerned you knocked again. You ring the doorbell once. This time you hear what sounds like someone walking up to the door and a lock opening.

You stand there as the light from inside the house lights you up in the dark night. You stand there, looking at Alex. He looks like shit. His eyes looked tired and bloodshot. His hair was disheveled and looked like he hadn't slept for a while.

"Can I come in?" You asked.