Psychotic Maniac

Chapter 32

Edward woke up later in the morning, finding his neck stiff from sleeping on one side for teh whole night on the couch. He stood, stretching his body, and looked around. 

Estella still wasn't home. 

He was worried now as he couldn't find her or hear from her. It had been days. 

He made another visit to her room, checking the bathroom as well to see for one last time but it was just as empty as last night. The half-opened door of her window was rattling as the heavy drops of rain hit it. He saw little streams of water rallying inside, beginning to ruin the carpet. 

Pulling the curtain aside, he glanced outside the far house in the neighborhood for a quick glance before shutting it completely. The downpour made it impossible to figure out much. 

He sighed in worry. 

Back to the kitchen and with the proper daylight, he was now caught upon how out of place everything was. The undid dishes in the sink, spoiled food in the microwave, and hanging towels from the cabinets made him bite his nails. The kitchen was a mess. Estella wasn't any sort of attention–payer anyway but she likes things tidy. 

By the afternoon he had cleaned every corner—did the dishes, wiped clean counters, as well as organized cabinets and boxes. The power was out so he stayed away from the fridge and put away the dirty laundry in the bathroom. It was then he noticed his phone was nowhere to be seen. His frustration grew.

When the rain began to settle down to a slow pace, he was exhausted from his search for his phone. Edward clearly remembered keeping it on the desk before falling asleep. 

Finally giving up on searching he decided to leave and find Estella by the end of the night. He couldn't wait any longer to hold her. He couldn't imagine living without her any second longer. His life was now at its lowest point and all he could think of was ways to escape it. 

…

There was no trace of Estella at the Penthouse either. The lines on his forehead deepened as he thought of the places she could be. Presently all she had was her mother and Tanya and Edward never had the care to exchange numbers with her friend. He never thought he'd be needing it the most now. 

Frustrated and hungry, he decided to buy a new phone and a meal. The rain had stopped but it felt like the storm was coming. Everything has started annoying him. He couldn't rhyme with his heart or mind and Estella being not around was making it only worse. 

As soon as he reached the end of the building, he saw the familiar face of Asher, his assistant with his car, abundantly waiting for his boss. 

"Sir, we need to leave." He told Edward. 

Puzzled, he glanced at him carefully. Asher was looking like he was standing on the edge of the cliff. Edward grew worried.

Something was wrong. 

They went inside the car in hurry and before he had any time to spare, they were back at his house. Asher had kept quiet all the way and was unwilling to answer any of his questions. It didn't take Edward to realize who was pulling his string.

Mr. Blake had claimed his usual spot on the couch back in the living room. Edward saw him chatting with a man he thought he knew. 

The man who he recognized as the deputy chief, shook hands with his father and walked past him, murmuring Edward something like 'lookout, Mr. Blake,' and went out.

He shot another glare at his assistant but Asher had his head down. Looking past the couch, her stepmother, Vanessa was standing near the kitchen, overlooking them, her forehead covered in lines.