Page 116 of Muted

He grinds his jaw and furrows his brows in thought. “Maybe there’s proof on there of what he’s been doing? I didn’t tell her I knew he was skimming. I should have, but I figured she didn’t need to get drawn into that. I thought if I told her, and with the way he’s been acting toward her, it would make it worse.”

“Hindsight and all that. Can’t change it now. I’m sure once the lawyer gets things going, he’ll get access to the phone.”

Chaz nods, but he doesn’t seem relieved. I’m not either. Something is niggling at me, like we’re missing a massive puzzle piece. Pulling out my phone, I tell him, “I’m going to let her know we didn’t turn her in. That you know she wasn’t stealing, and Cliff confirmed it.”

“Good. Good. I’ll apologize when we see her. Hopefully she’ll hear me out,” he says. I can tell that he’s feeling an incredible amount of guilt for shouting at her the way he did, but I don’t have it in me to comfort him right now. Not until I lay eyes on my girl.

Once we’re parked behind my truck, we make our way up to Susu’s apartment and knock on the door. I hear voices, then the door is whipped open. Briefly, I have hope that it’s Susu, but my shoulders fall when an irate, dark-haired Miriam is glaring up at me with a curled lip like she’s ready to attack.

“Ustedes son unos malditos imbeciles!” she growls at me, and I raise my brows in surprise at the venom lacing her words.

Somewhere inside the apartment, Vance calls out, clearly exasperated at this point with the roommate. “What the hell doesthatmean?” Coming up behind her, he seems exhausted when he shares, “She’s been yelling at me in Spanish ever since I told her what happened.”

Spinning around, she points in his face and hisses, “Isaid, you’re all fucking morons!” Then she throws her hands up and marches back into the apartment, leaving the door open for Chaz and me to enter.

Shutting the door behind me, I look around the space and sigh. “She’s not here, is she?”

“She sure isn’t,” Miriam calls from the kitchen, banging around in there before walking back out with some bottles of water. “Here. You may as well sit down while we wait. I have no idea where she would go. Eventually, she has to come home.”

Taking the bottle, I thank her and sit next to Vance on the couch. Nobody speaks for what seems like hours, the clock ticking from the kitchen growing louder as each minute passes.

I send her more texts, but all of them all go unread. My eyes stay locked on the screen until finally she reads them. “Thank God,” I murmur and everyone’s head turns to me. “She’s reading my texts,” I tell them, then smile when I see the bubbles dancing across the screen.

Susu: I’m fine. I’m not coming back to the apartment. Just go home.

My smile falls abruptly. “She says she’s not coming back here.”

“What?” Miriam shouts, making us all jump at how loud her voice rings out. She’s not pissed, but obviously worried.

“Just wait,” I tell her, then respond to Susu.

Me: Baby, please come back home. Chaz knows you weren’t stealing money from him. We’re all sick about what happened and worried as fuck.

Susu: It’s not about him. I can’t come home. I’m sorry. Please don’t text me anymore.

“GODDAMNIT!” I shout, gripping my phone until I hear it crack. Then, tapping her number, I call her. Fuck texting. I need to hear her voice. The phone only rings four times before she obviously sends me to voicemail. So, I call again. Two rings, back to voicemail. I try three more times, and these calls are directly to her mailbox, telling me she’s turned off her phone.

I leave a quick message, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice on the last call. “Baby, please don’t disappear on me. Call me back or text me. I don’t care how you do it, but please, don’t shut me out. I—” I cut off, realizing that I was about to tell her I loved her in front of everyone. I’m not embarrassed by it, but I can’t tell her for the first time over a voice message. Clearing my throat, I continue. “I care about you and need to know you’re safe.”

Another phone starts to ring, and we all watch Vance as he digs his cell out of his pocket with hope that it’ll be her. His face falls, then he grumbles, “It’s my parents. I need to take this.”

Standing up, he walks into Susu’s bedroom and shuts the door behind him. Sitting back, I look up at the ceiling and tell the other two people waiting with me, “I don’t know what we should do.”

Chapter 33

Risoluto

Vance/Chester

Vance

“Hello mother,” I say, answering the phone just as I shut the door to Susu’s bedroom. Looking around, I feel an extreme sense of loss. Sitting on the end of her bed, I take in her meager things and hate that she believes she’s not going to come home. She has literally nothing with her except her small bag.

Does she have enough money for travel and food? Where is she going to sleep tonight?

“Good evening, Vance.” Her voice is stilted, and I know she’s pissed I haven’t given her the details about Susu she’s been itching to know since she stopped by unexpectedly the other night.

I continue to scan the room, finding nothing and everything in here. “How have you been?” I ask, knowing the pleasantries need to happen before she dives into her questioning.

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