29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Leif
“Have you seen Aliko?” I ask a few of the crew I pass on the sidewalk as I make my way back toward the arena. Aliko wasn’t in his hotel room, and he isn’t answering his phone. That’s not like him.
They shake their heads. “Maybe he went out to celebrate?”
“Yeah, maybe,” I mutter.
Though, I know he didn’t because we had plans to celebrate tonight. We were going to go out to eat, drink, then go back to the hotel and enjoy our last night doing that for a long time. Tomorrow, we head home and finally get to see the house we’ve been buying furniture for.
But I can’t find him. No one has seen him. It doesn’t make sense.
Last I saw, he was doing the meet and greet.
I went to grab food with Cody while I waited for him to be done.
When I went back, the place was empty. So was his dressing room.
I asked the other guys if they saw him, and they said they hadn’t.
Not since the meet and greet, when Aliko hung back to talk to one of the fans, but they haven’t seen him since.
My mind has been ridiculous enough to consider him being kidnapped, but by a fan? Aliko is huge. In order for someone to have taken him, they would have had to be even bigger and there is no way they would have gotten past security.
Should I check anyway? I’m running out of options, so I may as well. I’m starting to get worried that something happened to him.
I head back into the arena and go to the security office. A few of the guys are sitting and looking at cameras of the empty building.
“Hey, have you guys seen Aliko?” I ask, slightly out of breath.
“I haven’t,” one of them says, eyes on his cell.
“Nope.”
“Not recently,” another answers.
“But you did see him?” I ask. I glance at his name tag. It says Mikey. I think he helped me this morning when one of the storage rooms was locked and I needed to get in.
“Yeah, after the meet and greet he was talking to some guy. Said everything was fine. That he was family. They left together.”
“Family? They left together?” I repeat.
“Yeah, the guy seemed kinda pissed though.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. Something in his eyes…”
“Something in his eyes?” one of the other guys says with a laugh. “You’ve been reading too many books.”
Mikey rolls his eyes and gives the guy a middle finger.
“Where did they go?” I ask Mikey.
“Uh, went toward the side doors, so probably that way.”
“Fuck,” I hiss, turning and hurrying that way. Of course they aren’t here, and there’s nothing to tell me he was here or where he went.
My head is spinning. I am so confused. Family? Aliko doesn’t have family here. He—no. This doesn’t make any damn sense.
I try his cell again. This time it goes straight to voicemail.
“Come on, Aliko. What is going on?”
I stare at my phone for a few seconds after the call disconnects, willing it to ring—waiting for Aliko’s name to pop up on the screen.
It doesn't.
The parking lot is mostly empty now. A few crew members load the last of the equipment into trucks while security locks up the side entrances. Everything is winding down.
Everything except my brain.
Family.
The word keeps bouncing around inside my head.
Family.
Aliko doesn't have any family that would be here, so why would he say that? Why would he tell Mikey that the guy was family if he wasn’t?
Aliko’s family are giant kraken out in the ocean. They don’t know where he is, they don’t know he’s up here on land. And shifting for them isn’t a normal thing—Aliko does it because he has magic jewelry. Mikey said the guy he was talking to was human. None of this makes any fucking sense.
My stomach twists and I’m getting angry now.
I pull up our text thread.
Me
You alive?
Call me.
Seriously, Aliko.
I'm starting to worry.
What is going on?
Please call me.
It’s a little overboard maybe, but panic is swirling in my chest, my head is getting dizzy.
The messages sit unread.
I hate it way more than I should.
Twenty minutes ago, I was annoyed.
Then I was angry.
Now I’m teetering between pissed and fucking terrified. And every minute that passes makes it worse.
Did he leave me? Did he like… really leave me?
He wouldn’t do that. Right? No. He wouldn’t. Because why would he do it now? Like this? After all the time we’ve spent making plans for our home, our future.
Aliko wouldn’t leave me, so something is wrong.
I start walking toward the hotel because I don't know what else to do.
Every person I pass catches my attention for a split second. Every tall figure makes my heart jump before I realize it isn't him.
None of them are him.
By the time I reach the hotel, my stomach is tied into knots.
The lobby is busy. People from the show are hanging around the bar. A few fans are lingering near the elevators hoping to catch a glimpse of the band walking to their rooms. I consider asking them if they’ve seen Aliko, but what’s the point? I know the answer already. He hasn’t been here.
I glance toward the doors every few seconds as I cross the lobby.
Nothing.
I ride the elevator up alone. The silence inside is brutal, nearly making me nauseous.
The second the doors open, I pull out my phone to check for texts.
Nothing.
I unlock my room and step inside. It’s too empty.
Even though Aliko has never been here, or in any of my rooms, it feels off.
Maybe I should go wait in his room? No, that feels worse.
Because if I wake up in his room without him, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Best I just stay here, alone, and wait for a call or a text.
Maybe it’ll all be a misunderstanding. Maybe he’s out buying me flowers or getting food, and his phone died.
I change into something more comfortable, because if Aliko does show up, I don’t think I want to go out to eat anymore. He’ll be okay with ordering something. He always is.
I want to get into bed, crawl up into a tiny ball, and fall asleep.
Instead, I'm standing in the middle of the room staring at my phone like a lunatic.
I toss it onto the bed.
Five seconds later, I pick it back up.
Then I toss it down again.
Then I pick it up.
This is ridiculous. Fucking ridiculous.
He's fine. He has to be fine.
I drop onto the edge of the bed, my body numb. My brain is foggy, and I’m suddenly exhausted.
Aliko wouldn’t leave. He just wouldn’t. Not like this. Not without saying anything to anyone else. If he was going to be a coward and break up with me like this, fine. But he wouldn’t leave the guys without saying anything, and I believe that they don’t know where he is.
Aliko loves being part of the band. He loves the music.
And he fucking loves me.
He loves me.
He wouldn’t go.
My chest tightens. Something is wrong. Nothing else makes sense.
I should relax. Go to sleep. But I can’t. I’m restless. My brain won’t stop. I get out of bed, walk around the room, try to watch TV. Then I get back into bed. Nothing works. Nothing makes me feel better. With nothing left to do, I jump in the shower.
The hot water relaxes me a fraction, but mostly I just have memories of Aliko in here with me.
Where the fuck is he?
Emotion clogs my throat and I fight back tears. I’m being dramatic. It’s one night. One time. He’s celebrating the end of his tour. He’s probably out and just… forgot.
Forgot about me…
That’s shitty, yeah. It really is. But I can forgive him for that.
Problem is, as each second passes, it feels like a year. And I don’t think my heart can take much more of this.
My phone is lit up when I’m out of the bathroom.
I race toward it, but it’s just an email.
My heart sinks again. That’s when it all becomes too overwhelming and the tears spill.
Deep, heavy sobs wrack my body, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
I don’t bother throwing on clothes, I just turn the lights off, crawl into bed, and stay there until the morning.
The sun comes up. I didn’t sleep a wink.
And I still have no idea where Aliko is.