“Yeah, I think she went into the bathrooms.”
“I’ve just been in there and she’s not there.”
“Maybe she went outside for some air?”
Ethan shakes his head, his gaze worried.
“Did something happen that I should know about?”
“I don’t know if I should be the one to tell you.”
“It’s best if you do. And quickly.”
“I asked her to move in with me.”
“You did… What?”
“And… To marry me.”
“Oh, my God.”
“I thought she reacted pretty well.”
“You don’t know her.”
“We’ve been together for eight months.”
“You don’t know… You’re not ready to live with her, believe me.”
“Maybe you should let me be the one to decide.”
“I don’t have time to discuss this with you right now.”
I slide my phone from my pocket and search for her number, pressing ‘call’. I wait for a few seconds, but it sends me straight to voicemail, meaning her phone is off.
“I tried, too,” Ethan says, confirming my suspicions.
“Has she seemed particularly agitated? Or overly happy, distracted, like she can’t hold a conversation…?”
Ethan shakes his head. “She seemed fine. Happy.”
Oh, Ethan. I think you and I have two very different ideas of ‘happy’. And I think this proposal was an insane, badly thought-out idea.
“You check in the next room. I’ll go outside. Maybe she went for a walk.”
Ethan nods, pushing through the crowd, as I head outside, phone to my ear as I try to get in touch with Mila.
I take a few steps out onto the pavement, scanning everyone in search of her, but there’s no trace of my sister.
I glance at my phone, my fingers trembling and anxiety coursing through my veins as I search forhisnumber and press ‘call’ again. I bring the phone to my ear and it rings four times before his voice brings me slowly back to life.
“Hey,” he responds, surprised. “I wasn’t expecting to hear from you.”
“I’m sorry, I know you’re at work…”
“What’s wrong? You seem upset.”
“M-My sister.”
