Firework of happiness

4

Julia sat huddled on the couch and winced when the door fell shut.

She was alone again. Painful groans as she moved her hands, which were zip-tied tight behind her back.

Where did I get myself into?

Trapped in a small hotel room, has she been waiting for hours? Days? Weeks? The red-haired woman had lost all sense of time as there was no clock. And the cell phone? The other woman had taken it from her.

A few weeks had passed, and it all started when Rachel moved into her own apartment after the whole truth came out in court. With tears, the young woman also said that her mother had beaten her. There were extenuating circumstances for Gabriel's ex-wife – because of unsoundness of mind.

The court had only given the four of them this one small ray of hope ...

Because as unfair as that was and as hard as the others tried to get their point across, she got away with a suspended sentence and two months of therapy in a psychiatric facility.

This therapy had ended a week ago, but nothing had changed – except that Julia suddenly got caught between the fronts.

With a head shake, Gabriel put the cell phone on the table and sat down, head in his hands. For two days, he tried in vain to reach his girlfriend.

Sure, both of them were very busy with work, but she didn't even report back ...

"Something's wrong," Gabe murmured absentmindedly and, a few moments later, decided to head to her apartment.

"I'd like to accompany you, but I have a lecture in an hour ... we'd just knock on her door," his little brother replied.

"I ain't gonna knock at all," Gabriel grinned and wiggled the apartment key in front of his face.

"Hope you two can work this out. I like Julia."

With a disparaging snort and saying that neither of them had anything to work out, he grabbed his jacket and shoes and stormed out the door.

He thought about it as he drove. The last three months were among the most amazing in his life.

But there was a catch to the whole thing. With a smile, he decided to ask Julia if she'd want to move in with him because the constant driving was annoying. The hours that the two spent on the street could also be put to better use.

When the dark blond man was in the stairwell, another attempt was made, but like countless times before, only the mailbox could be heard.

As the spare key was put in the door, he rolled his eyes again.

How often had he said that it was child's play for burglars if the door was just pulled shut instead of locked.

...

"Honey?"

The apartment wasn't big, so it didn't take long until the last corner was searched – no sign of Julia.

And as it turned out, his girlfriend apparently hadn't been here for a long time.

The dried dishes and roses he'd brought when he last visited four days ago were indications of this. But she was always so tidy ...

Something was wrong; Gabriel had a bad feeling.

Since it was only a few minutes to her place of work, he wanted to find out more.

"She's been missing for the second day without an excuse," the boss murmured, who was already worried because it wasn't Julia's way of not getting in touch.