Page 88 of Painting Celia

He pulled out his phone and texted Celia. A numbing breeze coursed past as they waited for a response.

He called, on speaker. The taut silence while they waited grew more strained with each failed ring.

“It wasn’t a ride she ordered, just a car sitting here?” he finally asked.

Kelsey nodded, eyes wide. “What happened? I was at the bar and she came past, looking…well, really upset. She pushed the beers at me and rushed out.”

León clamped his mouth shut and strode back into the bar, Kelsey trailing behind. At the table, Andrew and Trevor still stood, tense.

“She’s gone,” León reported. “What the hell?”

Trevor shook his head at him. “Dude, she was standing right there when you said she couldn’t paint, and all you do is paint, eat, and fuck.”

“I didn’t—”

“You did! Well, Andrew did. You joked about fucking the model.”

León felt an icy numbness wash over him. No.

“That’s just an old joke of ours,” he said, exchanging stricken looks with Andrew. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. Our setup is perfect.”

“Is it, though?” Kelsey asked.

“She’s happy!” León said with a scowl. “I know she is.” The iciness kindled into an angry heat. Celia couldn’t have misunderstood. She knew him better than that.

“We should find her,” Kelsey prompted. “It’s not safe to get in a random car like that.”

Andrew finally snapped out of his silence. “She did what?”

Kelsey explained. Everyone exchanged grave looks. León turned back to his phone, staring in disbelief at unanswered texts.

“Look,” he finally said, eyes scanning the anxious group. “I’ll go back to the house. Trevor, you drove, right? If I can find out where that car was going, could you go there? And Andrew and Kelsey, stay here in case she comes back? I’ll keep calling her.”

Kelsey shook her head. “I’ll call and text. She’s more likely to answer me.”

León shot a frown at her. “Come on. Was it that bad? What we said?”

Trevor sighed wearily. “You basically called her your maid, a slutty maid.”

“There’s no way it sounded like that,” León snapped, then glanced at Andrew, who returned a worried look.

“You were crowing about how much she works,” Trevor said, “and how she can’t paint! It sounded bad, man.”

León bristled. “She’s happy!”

Kelsey put a hand on León’s arm. “Celia might not say if she wasn’t.”

“She would to me,” he fumed.

God dammit, Celia.

León shoved his phone into his pocket, head throbbing. “Okay, I’m going. Let me know immediately if you find her, okay?”

Andrew and Trevor nodded, but Kelsey shook her head again. “I’ll drive you there. You’ll have a way to get around if you need to.”

León nodded curtly. “Thanks.”

Andrew had his phone out. “I’ll try to find out where the car went. I have as much chance of finding out as you.”

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