(1049  words)

Saturday, June 28, 2025

By the third day, the apartment no longer felt simply quiet. It felt wrong in a way none of them could ignore. It was as if something had changed and refused to go back to the way it had been before.

Michael was sitting on the couch with his phone in one hand, but instead of scrolling through the screen, he just stared at it, lost in thought. Leo stood by the window, watching the street far longer than necessary, while Mark moved slowly between the kitchen and the living room, opening drawers, closing them again, and stopping every few moments as if he had forgotten what he was looking for.

Nobody mentioned Alicia's name.

Even so, everything in the apartment reminded them that she was gone.

There was no proper food, no plans, and no feeling of control. The longer they stayed silent, the more uncomfortable the apartment became.

Then someone knocked on the door.

This time, all three of them reacted immediately. They turned toward the sound as if they had been expecting it.

"Open it," Michael said after a moment, his voice quieter than usual.

Mark walked to the door and opened it.

Mrs. Parker stepped inside almost immediately. Her expression was polite, but her eyes quickly moved around the apartment, noticing far more than she let on.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," she said. "I just... wanted to see how Alicia is."

Nobody answered.

She continued, speaking more slowly this time.

"I haven't seen her since Wednesday morning. She always leaves at the same time, and I usually see her from my window. At first I thought I had simply missed her on Thursday. But then yesterday passed... and now today."

She paused.

"She never left. And she never came back."

The room fell silent.

Michael shifted slightly on the couch.

"Were you watching her?" he asked.

Mrs. Parker did not seem offended.

"I notice things," she replied calmly. "We live next door to each other."

Leo frowned.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Sometimes," Mrs. Parker answered. "More often than you might think."

That made Michael uncomfortable.

"Well... she probably just went somewhere," he said, although his voice no longer sounded confident.

Mrs. Parker took another small step forward.

"For three days?" she asked gently.

Nobody answered.

Mark rubbed his face.

"We thought..." he began, but could not finish.

Michael spoke instead.

"Sometimes she needs to get away. She needs some space."

Even he did not sound convinced.

Mrs. Parker watched him carefully.

"And you're not worried?"

This time nobody answered right away.

Finally, Mark spoke.

"We don't know what to think."

The atmosphere changed immediately.

"When did you see her for the last time?" Mrs. Parker asked.

"Wednesday morning," Michael replied. "She left for work."

"And after that?"

"We weren't here."

"All of you?"

"Yes."

Mrs. Parker turned to Leo.

"And you?"

"I stayed at Noah's house," Leo said. "I spent the night there."

"All night?"

"Yes."

Then she looked at Mark.

"And you?"

"I went out with my friends."

Mrs. Parker nodded slowly.

"So none of you were home that night."

"No."

Then she looked directly at Michael.

"How interesting."

Michael frowned.

"Why?"

She held his gaze.

"Because I saw you twice."

The room became completely silent.

Michael did not move.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Mrs. Parker spoke calmly, choosing every word with care.

"On Wednesday evening," she said, "around nine o'clock, I saw you coming home."

Leo immediately turned toward Michael.

So did Mark.

Michael swallowed.

"I came back to get something," he said quickly.

Mrs. Parker did not react.

"But then," she continued, "I never saw you leave."

Silence.

"And the next morning," she added, "I saw you again. Thursday, around ten o'clock. You were coming back into the building."

The words felt heavier now.

Stranger.

Leo spoke quietly.

"You said you came home after midnight."

Michael did not look at him.

"I stayed at my girlfriend's house," he said. "Then I came back."

Mark took one step forward.

"That's not what you said before."

Michael looked at him.

"So?"

"Then what's the truth?" Mark asked.

Michael's face hardened.

"Why does it matter? I wasn't here."

Mrs. Parker's voice became softer, but her words carried even more weight.

"It matters," she said, "because something doesn't fit."

Nobody argued.

For the first time, the silence was no longer there to avoid an argument.

It was pure tension.

Leo finally spoke.

"You lied."

Michael said nothing.

Mrs. Parker took another small step toward him.

"You need to understand something," she said. "When someone disappears, the last few hours matter. Even the smallest details can make a difference."

Mark looked at her.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that all of you need to start telling the truth."

Michael reacted immediately.

"No police."

Again, he answered too quickly.

Mrs. Parker noticed.

"I didn't mention the police," she said. "But you need help. It's obvious that you don't know what to do."

Mark slowly looked around the apartment.

"She did everything," he said quietly. "We don't even know where to begin."

Michael remained silent.

Mrs. Parker spoke more gently now.

"Then let someone help you."

Nobody stopped her.

Because, for the first time, they needed someone.

Even if they did not trust her.

Leo looked back at Michael.

"You were here," he said quietly.

Michael did not answer.

Mark stepped closer.

"Where were you?"

Michael picked up his phone again.

"I was out."

"All night?" Mark asked.

Silence.

"That's not true."

Leo slowly shook his head.

"I said drop it."

Michael's voice had almost disappeared.

Mark did not move.

He simply looked at him.

Not like a father.

Like someone seeing the truth for the first time.

And in that moment, the question was no longer where Alicia was.

It was what Michael was hiding.