First responder, second love

Chapter 21

   "Can I speak with Sam?" Evan asks right after the door of her apartment opens. Malia is standing in the doorway, but doesn't say a word. She just stands there, still in her pyjamas.
    "Malia, I need to speak with Sam," Evan says again, but a little impatient. All Malia does is shake her head. "Has she talked to you? I know what I said was wrong, and I came to apologize," he explains.
    "We all thought she was with you," is all Malia says, and she looks worried. What is going on? Where is Sam, and what does she mean with all of us? "Sam, never came home, last night," Malia continues.
    "What do you mean with 'never came home'? She went home right after she left me, I think."
    "Well, she didn't, so we thought that she stayed at your place, but apparently not," Malia answers, and she lets me into the house. I follow her, through the door, into the living room.             "Where could she be?" Malia asks, kind of worried. She takes her hands through her short, dark brown hair, and starts staring at me. I have a feeling she expects me to have the answer.
    "Have you tried, Eddie?"
    "Could she have stayed with him?" Malia asks hopefully.
    "They hang out a lot, so you could at least try," I tell Malia, and I feel the jealousy entering my body again. Did she really go to Eddie, right after we fought about him? Maybe I was right, and there is something between them.
    "Can I have his number?" Malia asks me, and I give it to her right away. She starts calling Eddie's cell, and I turn around to leave the apartment. There is nothing here for me. Eddie is going to tell Malia that Sam is actually at his house, and Sam and I are done. But at the moment I want to open the door, I hear Malia ask if Eddie knows where she went last night.
    "What do you mean 'she went straight home'? She didn't come home, Eddie, and at work they're wondering where she is too. She's more than three hours late. Holly called me, when she realized she hadn't seen Sam anywhere at the hospital," Malia speaks, and I can hear the panic in her voice.
   "She's not at Eddie's?" I ask out loud, and Malia shakes her head.
   "Yes, I will keep you updated. Thank you. Please let me know if you hear something from her as well," Malia says, before she hangs up. She stands in the middle of the living room, and says nothing. She stares at me, like she did when she opened the door. Only now with a lot more worry in her face. "I have no idea where Sammy is," she says, and I can hear her voice almost breaking.
    "Don't worry, I will find out where she is."
    "What if she did something to herself? What if she finally gave up?" Why would Malia say something like that? Why would Sam hurt herself? "It's my fault, I was too busy to really spend time with her these last few weeks. I didn't pay enough attention to how she was doing, and feeling."
    "Why would Sam hurt herself, Malia?"
    "Because of Ben. I know she is dating you, and you guys are having fun. But she still misses Ben immensely," Malia answers, and I get it. Sam lost the love of her life, the one who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Her best friend got taken away from her. Do you ever really get over that kind of loss?
    "Sammy wouldn't do something like that, she is doing really good Malia," I say to her, and I really hope I'm right. "I will drive through the streets, maybe I will see her somewhere." Malia nods her head, and I run out of the apartment. 

I get on the elevator to the parking lot. I walk to my car, but I stop for a second to check if I see Sam's car anywhere. And right at her parking space, I see her car, like nothing is going on. I walk up to it, and start looking around. There seems to be nothing wrong with the car. When I look at the ground around the car, my heart stops for a second. Because right beside the door is a cell phone lying on the ground, and it looks like Sam's cell. I pick it up from the ground, and when I push the home button, my feeling is confirmed. Because on the homepage I see a smiling Sam, surrounded by her two best friends. I stand there for a few moments, unable to move, or do anything. My heart is raising, and I feel panic setting in. What the hell is going on? Where is Sam and what the fuck happened to her?
   
    "I think we need to call the police," I say when Malia opens the door again.
    "Where did you go?" she asks surprised, not expecting me back this soon.
    "Her car is still in the parking lot. We need to call the police, Malia," I say again, and I walk past her into the living room.
    "How is that possible? She drove to work yesterday, and she never came home after that."
    "I'm afraid she did," I say, right when I show her the cell phone. Malia stares at the thing and starts to shake her head.
    "This isn't happening, this can't be happening."
    "Malia, we will find her," I can help but say.
    "Why didn't I believe her?"
    "Believe what?" What are you talking about, Malia?"
    "She thought someone was watching her, like someone was following her. And that guy from the ambulance never got caught again."
    "You actually think that he came back to abduct her?"
    "Don't you?" And I realize that it doesn't sound that strange, but completely terrified. Sam has told me about how that guy seemed to have an interest in her, when they drove on the ambulance. He was telling her how beautiful she was, and it creeped her out. Could that man actually come back after all this time, only to take Sammy with him?
    "We need to call the police, right now," I hear myself say.