Do it for the memories and for Baltimore

Chapter 48

Alex's POV

I cant believe I've been looking for Rachel for 7 hours and have found nothing. Not to mention that she hasn't even answered her phone once or bothered to call or text back. Now I was getting really paranoid. What if she skipped town with a burly looking guy on his motorcycle and they're riding to Vegas to open up a friendly and fashionable pet clothing boutique? Ohhhkay...not just getting paranoid, but also getting a bit loopy. Some coffee is needed.

About a block away I stopped in at a Starbucks to grab a bite and a coffee for the road. The sun would be going down soon and I had to continue looking.

As I waited for my order I tried calling Rachel once more, only to be greeted by the same dial tone I've heard all day. Although this time I heard a phone ringing in the room as the line rang on. I searched the room looking for the generic iPhone ringer that I was hearing, knowing that Rachel had the same one.

"Shit." I said to myself as I laid my eyes on someone. In fact it was the someone that I was searching for all day.

There she was just sitting at a table with a coffee and her laptop, not even paying attention to her ringing phone placed just next to her.

I speedily walked over and cleared my throat as I ended my phone call. Her head rose and her eyes had a reddish tint to them. She had cried recently, I know it.

"Hi" was all that I could say at the moment.

"Hey. Wanna sit with me?"

Although she spoke in an emotionless tone, she seemed more pleasant than I expected. I nodded at her, and even though I heard the barista calling my name for my food and drink, I couldn't walk away. So I sat down across from her. "I've been looking for you for hours."

"I know. And I've been a jerk and didn't tell you that I was ok. Sorry for that" she apologized.

I forgave her and we sat there for a few seconds in silence. "You've been crying" I said quietly.

"Shit" she said and reached for a napkin to dry her eyes, "I thought my eyes would've returned to normal by now."

"Why have you been crying?" I asked. She gave me a face that said you know why but I urged her to tell me.

"Alex I saw some pictures. You said in your message that you thought you knew what I was upset about. Put two and two together" she sounded a bit bitter.

"Rach, I can apologize a million times for forgetting to tell you about me and Tay, but I know that wont change things-"

"They why didn't you tell me about it Alex? Its not like its still going on, right?" Her eyes started to water again. God I don't like being the reason for her tears.

"I dont know. Maybe its cause she's a good friend and both her and I decided to forget about what we once had and remain friends? When the tour started and you and her got along almost right away, it made me so happy. I knew having another girl on the tour would be beneficial to both of you, so I guess maybe thats why I didn't tell you now."

"I really dont want to get upset all over again, Alex. Lets just drop this now." she sighed and returned to whatever she had opened on her laptop.

"Okay, but I don't want to leave you right now. Can I at least stay with you here?"

"I guess so, Alex" she was half occupied by her computer.

"What are you looking at anyways? Work stuff?" I asked trying to keep the conversation alive after another silent minute.

"Not exactly."