eeded to check her house before I started jumping to conclusions. I went back down the stairs and started down the trail Keno and I had used to get to her house the night before. This was the first place I should have come looking for her, I thought. She was there taking care of whatever her emergency was.
I got down to the beach and walked up to her back porch, climbing the short flight of stairs. I banged on the door, knocking.
"Abby?" I called. Nothing. I knocked again, calling her name louder. Still nothing. I couldn't even hear anything inside. I walked around the house and tried the door on the other side. Same thing. Nothing.
Shit. She was a grown woman, and this was where she lived, but now I was getting worried. Where the hell was she? I started back up towards the hotel. Her boss had said that she had an emergency, but if that was what it was, why had Makani been gone, too? What was going on?
I didn't want to freak out and then find she had just gone to the store or something. Where was Makani? She was her best friend; she had to know something. Keno was her friend, too; maybe he knew something. He was at the bar. I took a detour, heading for the bar instead of the hotel building. I spotted Keno where he usually was. With him was Makani, strangely. She was sitting at the bar across from him.
"Nate," Keno said, noticing me. Makani stopped talking and watched me as I approached, smiling when she saw me.
"Looks like Abby and I weren't the only ones who made up last night,” I said walking over to them. I saw Makani blush while Keno laughed.
"Your girl knows how to put together a good night," he said. Good night? Yup, he had definitely gotten lucky.
"Looks like everyone got what they wanted," I said.
"You were down at the beach?" Makani asked.
"No, well, yeah. I actually went to check on Abby."
"Is she all right?" Makani asked. I blinked.
"You don't know?"
"Know what? She left earlier. She told me she needed a little time. Was she all right when you talked to her?"
"I didn't. She wasn't there. I wanted to ask you whether you knew where she could be." Makani and Keno exchanged glances.
"Can't help you, brother; I haven't seen her since last night," said Keno.
"Just wait for her. She should be back before nightfall."
"What happened?" I asked her. She bit her lip, looking down for a second.
"There was a little…incident in the morning when we were working."
"What?"
"It isn't my place to tell you. She will if she feels like she should. She isn't in trouble. She's a strong girl, Nate. Don't worry about her. Just wait. Let her come back when she's had time to think."
"Are you serious?" I spat.
"Nate, come on. Relax," Keno said.
"How can you two just stand there when Abby's missing?" I demanded.
"She isn't missing. She just needs a little time alone. We know her. She'll come back when she's ready." I ran my hands through my hair.
"Just tell me if you see her, okay?" I said. They both agreed that they would. I walked back to the hotel. She wasn't there, I had already checked. Where was I going? My suite? Sure. Why not? I'd be spending the afternoon alone anyway. Might as well play or try to write.
I got to my suite and fell on the bed, lying on my back. Great. Now what? I reached for my phone, remembering I didn't have her cell number. I laughed a little. Why the hell hadn't I asked her for it? Now I had to wait for her to show up from wherever she had gone to hide.
If something had happened at work and she had had to leave, she must have been upset about it. Whatever it was, it had been bad enough to knock her off her game for the rest of the day. It wasn't an injury or anything. She hadn't been hurt. Keno and Makani wouldn't have refused to tell me what the deal was if that was it.
I just wished I knew. I wanted to know so that I could be with her wherever she was. If something bad had happened, why hadn't she told me? What the hell could it even be? I thought we had cleared the air between us, like she could feel like she could tell me things now. Did she still not trust me?
No. Fuck this. I couldn't wait. I had to know where she was. That would have been great if she was in one of the places I fucking knew where to look for her. The island was only so big, but I didn't have her cell number. Where else was there?