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She tries to shake her head in denial again, but it’s like she’s trying to convince herself, not me. Finally, she pulls away from me and buries her face in her hands again.
“Just one friend, and only in a joking way, since she was accusing me the night before of wanting to lose my V-card to Robert and I told her I wasn’t. I just admitted she was right, and I was wrong.”
With the way the day is going so far, I know where this is leading, because any sort of good luck has vanished from my life long ago. “Is this friend you told in college with you?”
“Yeah.” She sighs as she wipes her wet cheeks with her sleeves. “I don’t have to tell you her name, do I? I want to keep my friends out of this mess as long as possible.”
I’m already on my feet, grabbing my bag and my coat. “No, you don’t. I have a sneaking suspicion that I know who it is anyway.”
Patricia watches me leave, confusion on her face. I stop at Poppy’s desk and tell her to keep an eye on Patricia and to call her an Uber if she decided she wanted to go home.
I didn’t have any proof for my hypothesis about Patricia’s friend, but I just feel in my gut that I know the answer. Andries had mentioned Elise finding out about Patricia’s escorting through text, which meant Elise and Patricia are friends. If Patricia has told Elise about what happened, then I’m well and truly fucked, and will likely never be able to speak to Andries ever again. I don’t know if I can manage to keep this under wraps, but I have to try.
I’m on the edge of my seat the whole way to Andries’ apartment, calling him over and over to no avail. I know he’s been ignoring me for weeks now, but I at least thought he would be more likely to answer since he called me himself a few nights ago. Of course,he sends me to voicemail every single time, until I have to sit the phone down to avoid throwing it out of the moving car.
When I finally arrive at his place, I have an odd feeling looking up at the apartment. It being dark isn’t out of the ordinary, but there is this vague emptiness about the entire thing.
I park the car in a hurry and then hustle over to the keypad where I can buzz to be let into the apartment. I press the button over and over again, watching the window the whole time, and seeing nothing. Not even the flutter of curtains being moved away to check who is downstairs.
Now I know what the difference is. There are no more curtains! It’s a sinking feeling to know that Andries might have actually moved away from this place that had been so special to us, and that I’d never even get to say goodbye to it. But the melancholy needed to be saved for later, because right now I have things that must be done.
After trying to get a hold of Andries a few more times, I give in and call Dan. Thankfully, Andries’ friend has better social skills than he does, and he answers after a few rings.
“Hello?” he asks, a reluctance in his tone.
“Dan, it’s Roxanne,” I tell him straight away, and before giving him a chance to place another word, I add, “listen, this is going to sound crazy, but Ineedto find Andries. It isn’t even about our fucked-up relationship situation. A client of mine–”
“Hey,” Dan interrupts. “Roxie, he already knows. Patricia told Elise this morning that she was sexually assaulted, and Elise immediately told Andries.”
It’s all unraveling out of my control so quickly and it feels like it’s impossible for me to stop. I want to sink down to my knees and weep, but there isn’t any time to feel bad for myself. I swallow down my guilty nausea so I can speak again.
“It isn’t how it sounds, and I’m going to do everything in my power to help Patricia. I just need to talk to Andries so he knows that too.”
“He doesn’t want to talk to you, though. Those were his very specific instructions, so I’m afraid I can’t do anything to help you.” Dan sounds like he’s also a bit angry, or at least disappointed, and I can feel one of my biggest allies slipping through my fingers.
“Don’t tell me you’re turning against me too,” I ask, voice quavering. “Dan, look—”
“Roxie,” Dan interposes in a groan, cutting me off. “An eighteen-year-old giving her virginity up for cash is a little hard for even me to swallow. I just don’t think she was old enough to make smart decisions, and she got taken advantage of. No hate to you or your field, but it’s still a little much, you know?”
“Yes!” I say quickly. “I’m going to do things right by Patricia. I swear I didn’t know what my client was up to. It was just an escorting gig, I swear. But I’m afraid Andries will never believe me if I don’t tell him face to face.” I pause for a moment to take a few deep breaths. “Please help me on this. Where is he?”
Dan doesn’t answer immediately, and I hear nothing but silence on the other side of the line as he assesses my request, until he finally lowers his voice and says, “He’s here at my place. He doesn’t know I’m on the phone with you. But if you come, you have to act like you showed up on your own, not that I told you he was here.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
Hope swells in me no matter how hard I try to push it down. There is still a chance Andries could be convinced that I’m handling things correctly, and that I didn’t set Patricia up. He doesn’t have to like what I do for a living, but for some reason, I have to make it clear to him that I’m not using these girls.
Dan’s house isn’t far from Andries’ old apartment, so I jump back into the car and waste no time in getting there.
Dan lives in a townhouse in front of the canals and I recognize immediately the façade as I drive down the street. After finding a miraculous space to park, I hurry myself and bound up the stairs, knocking on the door while I try to catch my breath. Dan answers, jerking his head to the side to indicate that I should follow him.
I don’t waste any second as I step into the hallway and then into the living room but I stop right in my tracks when I find Andries there. As soon as he sees me, though, his features twist in disgust and he jumps out of the couch immediately.
“Why the fuck is she here?” he asks, his eyes on Dan.
Dan starts to answer, but I’m faster. “I had a hunch you’d be here since your apartment is empty. Andries, can we talk?”
He scoffs, barely looking at me as he does so. “The last thing I want to do is talk to you.”
