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Bailey scoffed and paced. “Apologized. There are things apologies can’t fix.” She was stressing about her words. “That night you almost missed her exhibition showed how important she is to you.”
“You can’t make such an assumption from that.” Dereck was standing now.
“Oh?” Bailey stopped abruptly and raised her eyebrows. “Actions speak louder than words.”
The frustration was building within Dereck and the last thing he wanted was to explode on Alina’s friend. That would make an already difficult situation even more complicated. “Are you going to tell me where Alina is or not?”
“Why do you think I’ll tell you where she is? Alina’s avoiding you for a reason, and I’m loyal to my friend.” Her voice was firm.
“Goodbye, Bailey,” Dereck said and cut off his phone. Bailey may love to talk, but he could tell from her tone she would say nothing.
Dereck was not gentle when he removed his doctor’s coat and hung it on the hanger. Then he strolled out of the office with even more frustration. His feet led him to the bar where he knew his friends were going to be. Maybe one of them could aid his situation.
“You look like shit,” Martin said bluntly as he took the last empty chair at the table.
“Thanks,” Dereck said, grabbing the beer from his friend and chugging it down. When he dropped the bottle, all eyes were on him.
“Damn, Dereck. Is Alina still not responding to your calls?” Lee asked.
“She doesn’t answer, no matter how many times I call,” he said, grabbing another beer.
“You need to try harder,” Lee said.
Martin spoke up immediately. “Try a different strategy.”
Dereck passed his hand through his hair a little too rough. “I don’t know what else to do. I even called her friend Bailey today, and that was a bust.” He dropped his elbows on the table with an enormous sigh. Then he jerked upwards as if just remembering. “Lee. Can you get in contact with Taylor?”
“Already tried that. These women aren’t stupid. They know you will try to get in contact with Alina through me.”
Dereck pushed on his forehead with his finger to tame the headache that was beginning to surface when Lee smacked him on his back. “If there is nothing you can do about the situation, how about you enjoy yourself tonight?” he said, handing his friend a beer.
Martin objected as Dereck started to drink. “This is not the answer, man. You need to be level-headed to think this through.” But Martin’s words were being drowned out with every gulp.
Soon enough, Dereck was intoxicated, but instead of returning to his apartment at the end of the night, he found his way to Alina’s place.
“Alina.” He banged on the door with great effort. “Alina. Open the door. I need to speak to you.”
He did this for several minutes before a neighbor opened their door and yelled at him. “I just want to talk to my girlfriend, man, so mind your own business.”
“Well, your girlfriend does not want to talk to you,” the elderly man rebutted. “So why don’t you take your ass home? You’re disturbing other people in this building.”
“I’m not leaving until I speak to Alina,” Dereck said as he returned to banging on the door.
The neighbor was making his way across the hall when Taylor opened the door and apologized for Dereck’s rude behavior. After the neighbor left, Dereck peered down at the long dark-haired woman. “Well, well, well. Look who resurrected.”
“You’re drunk Dereck. You should go home,” she said, pulling the robe around her tighter.
“I’m not leaving until I talk to Alina,” he said and brushed past Taylor to search Alina’s apartment. The luxury apartment was organized for once, which made it seem even bigger. True to her word, Alina must have tidied up after her exhibition.
Taylor closed the door behind her and followed him in. “She’s not here, Dereck,” she said in an annoyed tone. “And no, I’m not telling you where she is either, so you can stop calling my phone.” Then she added. “And tell Lee the same thing, too.”
“Why isn’t Alina answering my calls?” There was a heavy slur in Dereck’s voice.
Taylor stressed her words. “Because you two are no longer together.” She did actions with her hand so that he could understand in his drunken state.
“That’s what I want to talk to her about.” Dereck went to the fridge and took out a bottle of water. “I need to find out why.”
Taylor’s hand went up to her hip then. “I thought she told you why.”
