Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)

I practically sprinted to the front of the line, with Hannah hot on my heels.

The building was an old walk-up, and according to the faded numbers on the door, we were looking for Apartment 302 in Block B. We found the door and I knocked impatiently. But after several knocks, there was no response, and I could feel my heart sinking.

Maybe they're heavy sleepers and didn't hear? I knocked harder, but still, nothing.

Just then, the door across the hall clicked and creaked open a fraction. We all turned to look.

A head poked out, glanced at the few of us in the hallway, and then quickly retreated, about to shut the door.

Ronan was quick on his feet, "Excuse me, madam," he called out, his voice smooth and polite.

Perhaps it was his courteous tone that made the woman hesitate. She opened the door a bit wider, revealing half her cautious figure.

I totally got it. After all, it was well past midnight, and knocking on doors at this hour was rude.

Plus, a group of people at your door could put anyone on edge.

That was when I got a good look at her; a woman in her forties, clad in comfy pajamas.

She was eyeing us warily, asking, "Who are you looking for? No one's lived across the way for a while."

My heart just about broke. Stepping forward, I stood in her doorway as she tried to close it, and I quickly stuck my hand in the gap.

"Please, just a moment," I pleaded, "I just wanted to ask about the people who lived across. Do you know where they might have gone? Did they have a child, a beautiful child?"

I was talking a mile a minute, barely coherent.

The woman shook her head and said, "I don't really know them. They were gone by the time I moved in."

"How can you not know them? Aren't you neighbors?" I persisted, gripping her doorframe tightly, not willing to let her close the door.

"And when did you move in?" I pressed.

Ronan, seeing my state, stepped up behind me and gently asked, "Madam, do you rent or own your place?"

"I'm renting. Moved in about six months ago and I've never seen anyone living across from me," she said, her tone flat, probably annoyed by my interrogation. My heart kept plummeting. Six months?

I was still in a coma back then, and Hazel was still with us. How could they just disappear?

What was going on?

Six months had gone by, and where had they gone? Where was my child?

I finally found a clue, but I didn't expect them to leave.

Just as I was grappling with the dead end of our lead, the woman tentatively added, "You might try asking Adela in 202 downstairs. She's been here forever, might know them."

At that, I was re-energized, ready to bolt downstairs, but Ronan caught me by the arm.

I looked at him, confused. He glanced at his watch and said, "Allie, let's wait till tomorrow. It's too late now."

I bit my lip, wanting to argue, but reason won out, and I just looked at him with eyes full of defeat.

"We'll head back now, and get someone to come by in the morning. It's too late to get anything useful," Ronan said, probably sensing my desperation.

I slumped against the wall, my gaze fixed on the firmly shut door, crying silently inside.

The woman quietly stepped back and softly closed her door.

I gave the door one last hopeless glance, then turned and took a step down the stairs.

As we were about to descend, the door cracked open again, and a timid voice said, "The day before yesterday, someone else was looking for the people across."

Ronan quickly asked, "What kind of people?"

Seeming a bit frightened, the woman's door gap narrowed.

Hannah quickly flashed her badge and assured, "Don't worry, we're police officers."

The woman then relaxed, opened the door wider, and nervously told us, "They looked rough, all men, big and burly. They had a menacing air about them, and knocked on my door too, asking about who lived there. They also asked if there was a child."

I whipped my head to Ronan, my whole being on edge.