Kapitel 31: CHAPTER 31

OPHELIA'S POV

We were here.

According to the GPS we had reached our location, but, neither of us had built the courage to get out of the car. Xavier's shaky breath and fidgety movements along with my bobbing leg proved that. Even though it was just 10 in the morning, the whole neighborhood was silent. It wasn't empty, but no one spoke. In front of me, was a small building having 5 floors at the most.

With huge white fonts, Sam's Tech was printed on the signboard that was attached to the building.

A few people were walking on the street and the rest were seated in their parked cars.

I saw one man walk his dog alongside a woman wearing extremely flashy clothes. She wore a gold-sequined dress with a very low cut.

Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her makeup was bold. I don't think there was a person in this street whose attention she failed to catch.

"Are you ready, Lia?"

Xavier's hoarse voice brought my attention back to him. We had to leave. If we delay this any further, returning home on time would be next to impossible.

No scratch that.

It would be impossible.

I took in a deep breath to calm my nerves down and then looked at him. His face was stoic but a small smile emerged. I could still see the fear behind his eyes.

"No, but let's go."

We climbed out of the car and started walking towards Sam's Tech. This time, I grabbed Xavier's hand. We both needed it. He didn't even look back at me. He squeezed my hand back.

This squeeze spoke all those feelings that were left unspoken.

It exchanged all those words we wanted to speak but were too afraid.

We walked hand in hand into the building. The atmosphere in the building is what I would call professional. It was calm, with white walls and a potted money plant in the corner. And most of all, it was silent.

You could hear people breathing.

That quiet.

The clacking of the keys on the receptionist's keyboard stopped when she saw us come in. The receptionist was a pretty woman. She was a brunette with brown eyes and a small nose.

"Welcome to Sam's Tech! How may I help you, today?"

Her voice was calm and it echoed in the room due to the emptiness.

Xavier looked at me and I nodded back. He then proceeded to reply.

"We are looking for a certain Nicole Diego. She works here and we would like to meet up with her."

With her index finger, she pushed her glasses back. I hate it when people do that. I mean, why can't you just buy glasses that fit your face perfectly.

"Yes, sure! Let me just check the employee record. We have a lot of Nicole's working here. Please sit over there. I'll be back to you ASAP."

Her bony finger pointed at the bean bags that lied in the corner of the room.

Was that the waiting area?

As we walked towards the bean bags, I hard Xavier stifle a laughter. I wanted to laugh at it too. I mean, who keeps bean bags in their waiting room?

What was this, a waiting room in the kindergarten?

There were three green, two blue, four pink, and three yellow bean bags. I sat on the blue one and he sat on the yellow one.

"So, Xavier. Are you ready?"

Xavier's face was impassive and his eyes were blank. He had shut everything out. His fidgeting hands were the only thing giving his nervousness away. Hearing me, Xavier gave me a guarded smile.

"I'm not ready, Lia. I don't think I'll ever be. But I've got to do it now. You being here is kind of like a bonus to me, I guess. So thank y-"

"Hey guys, I just checked the employee record and we did have a Nicole Diego who worked with us but she stopped coming six months ago. The funny thing is, we only received her resignation letter just a few days ago."

I didn't know whether to be relieved or sad. I mean, I know I'm supposed to be sad, but a little part of me was scared of her reaction and whether it would erase all the progress I'd made with Xavier.

I looked at Xavier and I immediately felt guilty for feeling even slightly relieved. His face had fallen and disappointment clearly evident in his eyes. He looked at his hands and then back to me, a sad smile gracing his face.

"I guess it wasn't meant to be, then."

We thanked the receptionist and left the building. The courage and the hope that we'd built while coming into the building, burnt into the ashes of disappointment while exiting.

"Listen Xavier, we'll find your sister. Don't lose hope, okay?"

He squeezed my hand tightly and looked down. I could swear I saw a tear rolling down his cheek.

"You can't lose something you never had, can you Lia?"

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