Going Dark by Melissa de la Cruz

Author:Melissa de la Cruz [Cruz, Melissa de la]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Josh waited until sundown, watching the window to Amelia’s apartment from the shadows of the building across the street. He’d needed to make sure that the police weren’t milling around, and based on the darkness of Amelia’s apartment, they weren’t there either. He would bet a million bucks that the cops had already visited earlier in the day.

Her apartment was in one of the few high-rise complexes in North Park. It was a nice apartment, even though it was small for a studio, but she filmed all her YouTube videos there. It was a quick walk to the nearest pizza place, called Artie’s Pizza, where he and Amelia would catch up after they’d finished their classes for the day. They didn’t share any of the same ones. He ached to have that life back. Now it felt like it was gone forever, since the moment Amelia vanished.

The building was a little shabby, with several of the units already lit up in the quickly darkening evening, but Amelia’s unit remained unlit. The last time he’d been here, it had been a week before their trip abroad. He knew he looked like a pervert, staring up at the window of a woman’s apartment, but this was different. He couldn’t help the rush of fear, or maybe excitement, that vibrated through his body seeing her apartment now after she was gone. He felt like he was nearing the end of this nightmare.

It was time to finally get to the bottom of this. Whatever game Amelia was playing, it needed to be over.

He crossed the street and pulled out the keys to her place. He remembered when Amelia had presented them to him after they’d started dating, and she’d put them in a small box, the kind usually used for engagement rings, right after they’d finished eating at Artie’s. She’d made a big deal about it too, making it seem like this was a moment to be remembered.

“A girl giving a guy the keys to her apartment means she trusts him,” she’d said, her eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “So. If you accept, does it mean you trust me too?”

Josh opened the door to the main entrance. It always smelled like carpet cleaner and standing water on the lower floor, and he ascended the stairs to her fourth-floor apartment. He could hear people in their own units moving around, smell the dinners they were making, hear the television shows they were watching, the conversations they were having. He tried not to make too much noise as he went up, but the building was old, and the stairs creaked. He hoped no one would come out. Amelia had always talked about how she’d made friends with her neighbors, especially when they were cooking. She’d said that food was the best way to get to know a person. No doubt if anyone saw him now, ascending the stairs toward his missing girlfriend’s apartment, they would call the police.

Fortunately, he made it to her floor without incident, not seeing a single soul, and walked down the hall to her apartment, 4B.

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