John moves closer and they both listen to the menu options quietly. When the menu finishes, he pipes up, “press 3, the one for accounting, I think that’s her.”
Now it’s Rayna’s turn to say, “really, you don’t know?”
John shrugs. “She really is private about her work life.”
She nods silently as the phone line transfers and begins to ring. It rings for awhile before an automated answering service answers, letting them know that business hours are Monday through Friday, from seven in the morning until six in the evening. Rayna hangs up.
“So she’s not at work.”
John motions to the desk. “Her shoulder bag is here, anyway. I’ve never seen her go to work without it.”
Suddenly, a thought strikes Rayna. “How did you get in here, anyways?” she asks in an accusatory manner. Remi’s mentioned that John doesn’t have a key.
“Daisy,” John answered with a shrug, naming Remi’s roommate, whom Rayna has, embarrassingly enough, not yet met.
“Is she still here?” Rayna raises an eyebrow.
He stands up and heads for the door. “Not sure, but let’s find out.”
Rayna sets down her phone and follows him. They head down the hall a few steps, to the closed door of the room that once belonged to Rayna.
John knocks, calling out, “Daisy?”
There’s no reply.
He tries again. “Daisy?”
Nothing.
Slowly, John twists the knob and pushes open the door to Daisy’s room. It’s too dark to see anything. John flips on the light.
The room is barren. There’s a queen bed against one wall, covered by a plain white duvet. The shelves where Rayna kept her CDs stand bare. There’s a three-drawer dresser at the end of the bed. Otherwise the room is empty, except for a small nightstand by the bed.
Rayna pushes past John. She isn’t normally one to snoop, but she’s curious.
She slides open the closet door to find a total of about ten shirts hanging. On the floor of the closet is an empty white laundry basket, the type one would buy at Target for five dollars.
John comes up behind her.
“Doesn’t seem like her roommate has much stuff,” Rayna comments as she turns to face him.
He shrugs again. “I’ve only met her a few times, she works a lot.”
Rayna slides the closet door closed and heads back for the door of the room. She doesn’t want to get caught snooping. It’s just so weird how few personal effects are in the room. Don’t most people have at least some sort of trinkets or decorations? And what woman only has ten shirts hanging in her closet?
The two of them return to the living room, silently sitting on opposite sides of the couch. They both appear deep in thought.
Finally, John breaks the silence. “I think we should call the police.”
Rayna nods, standing to retrieve her phone from her sister’s room. John shakes his head and holds out his hand. “I got it,” he says as he pulls out his cell from his pocket and begins to dial.
Rayna hears the faint sound of someone picking up on the other end.
“Yes,” John says, his voice all business. “I think my girlfriend might be missing.”
REMI
NOW
As the hours draw on, Remi finds herself reverting back to her religious ways.
First, she prays to God, apologizing and telling Him if He just gets her out of here, she’ll start going to church again. Then she realizes that maybe it isn’t even the correct religion. She decides she should also pray to Buddha, just in case.
When that doesn’t work, she begins to up the ante.
“Please, God,” she mumbles, her throat parched once more. “If you get me out of here, I swear I’ll become a nun, I swear it.”
Her voice sounds foreign even to her. She lifts each of the two water bottles to her mouth in turn, hoping to coax out a drop of water. No luck. She sets the bottles back down, defeated. What is she going to do if she never gets out of here? What will her parents think?
Suddenly, the room is awash with light. Remi winces and squeezes her eyes shut. After the pitch black, the brightness hurts. She peers through her fingers.
She’s slightly too delirious to tell for sure, but she thinks maybe the light is coming from the ceiling.
There’s a sound.
And then she’s plunged once again into dark.
If the brightness wasn’t painful enough, the return to the pitch black hurts even more.
Once her brain recovers, Remi blindly crawls over to where the sound came from.
Her hand encounters a cold plastic container. Another bottle of water.
Remi raises it to her mouth and drinks like she’s just spent the past three days wandering the desert. She can’t be sure, but she thinks this water tastes normal—not drugged like the others.
She forces herself to stop drinking as the bottle nears half empty. She doesn’t know when she’ll get water again.
Remi feels exposed out in the middle of the room, and crawls forward to the wall, turning to lean her back against it.
She ponders what she just saw. A light coming from the ceiling, a bottle of non-drugged water materializing.
Maybe God is real, after all.
REMI
BEFORE
“Anything I can do to help?” Remi asks as she peeks around the doorframe into her new roommate’s bedroom. It’s been a month since their first meeting, they hit it off very quickly, and today is finally move-in day.
“Nah,” Daisy responds from where she stands by the closet. “I really don’t have much.” She brushes a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear.
Remi always dreamed of having long golden locks as a child. As she grew up, she learned to be happy as a brunette, but she’s still slightly envious. Daisy is thin, not unlike Remi, and although she wears glasses, she has high cheekbones and a thin face that give her a very delicate look. Remi self-consciously touches the baby fat that’s always existed in her cheeks. No matter what she does, or how she diets, it never goes away.
When they met at the Starbucks, Remi confirmed that they had similar work ethics and cleaning habits. Daisy seems a little less stressed than Remi, but she figures that’s probably a good thing.
Daisy finishes hanging what appear to be only ten shirts, then walks back over to the single box in the center of the room. She bends her tall frame to open the box. Remi has never been short, but Daisy towers over her at a height of almost six feet.
“Is that it?” Remi asks, motioning to the single box she just finished opening.
“Yeah.” The tone in her voice is almost sad as she opens the box to reveal a mix of jeans and shorts. She slides them slowly into the drawers of the dresser that are not even near full.
“Um. Really?” Remi asks incredulously. Maybe it’s just because she has a twin obsessed with clothes, but ten shirts and a handful of bottoms do not seem like any woman’s wardrobe.
“Yep.” Daisy begins to break down the box. She only came with two.
The room fills with silence.
“Well,” Remi finally speaks up, “want to order a pizza to celebrate becoming roommates?”
“Sure,” Daisy replies. “Let me just take these out to recycling.” She picks up the empty, collapsed boxes and heads for the front door.
***
One pizza and two bottles of red wine later, the women lie in a giggling heap on the floor as they watch the movie ‘How to Be Single.’
“Ooo, here comes my favorite part!” Remi laughs as the screen fills with a scene of the two main characters at the spa.
“Oh my God, how have I not seen this move before?” Daisy asks as she pops open their third bottle of wine. She reaches over to drunkenly fill Remi’s glass to the brim.
The sound of Remi’s phone ringing makes them both jump and causes wine to slosh over the side of Remi’s glass.
“Oh shit!” Daisy begins using one of the brown pizza napkins to scru
b furiously as the floor. “I’m so sorry!”
Remi stands to get her phone, a smile on her face. “No worries, I’ve got baking soda in the kitchen. We can get the stain out later.” She walks over to where her phone sits on the end table. She picks it up to see that it says ‘Private Caller.’ That’s weird.
She answers. “Hello?”
There’s no reply.
“Hello?” she tries again.
She thinks maybe she can hear breathing on the other end of the line.
“Is someone there?” She makes eye contact with Daisy, who has her eyes furrowed in confusion.
Remi shrugs and hangs up. It was probably a butt dial.
“Oh, well, if it’s important they’ll call back.” She takes her spot back, on the floor next to Daisy, leaning her back up against the couch.
Daisy finishes filling her glass and takes a long, silent sip.
“Everything okay?” Remi asks, startled by the sudden one-eighty in her roommate’s behavior.
“Prank calls make me nervous,” Daisy replies, shifting her eyes from one side of the room to another.
Remi raises her eyebrows. “We don’t know it was a prank call. It could’ve just been a butt dial from someone who likes to keep their number private.”
“If you say so,” she responds, turning back to the TV just in time for the lead character to deliver a great one-liner. Daisy bursts out laughing, her happy mood returning in full swing.
Remi also turns back to the TV, a little confused at her roommate’s sudden passage through the emotions. Ah, well, everyone has their quirks, she supposes.
As the credits run, the girls finish off the third bottle of wine. Remi is actually quite surprised, she isn’t much of a wine drinker.
They sit in silence on opposite ends of the couch, wine glasses cradled in their hands as their feet meet in the middle.
This time, it’s Daisy who breaks the silence. “Remi?” she asks timidly.
“Hm?”
“Can you do me a favor?”
Remi giggles, the wine obviously going to her brain. “You just moved in today and you already need favors?”
She means it as a joke, but Daisy doesn’t laugh. In fact, her expression becomes more firm. “I’m serious.”
“Uh…” Remi tries to recover from her social faux pass. “What is it?”
“Can you not tell anyone I’m living here?”
“Um…” Remi does a mental count. “My boyfriend John knows because he met you, obviously, and I told my twin sister in a text…” She isn’t sure what else to say.
“That’s okay. But can you not tell anyone else? Please?” A pleading look occupies her face.
“Uh, sure, why?” Remi’s curious now.
Daisy doesn’t seem to have an answer prepared. “Uh…I’m just a private person, and well, you know, I don’t want any…visitors.” She says the last word in a hushed tone, as if visitors are something extremely unsavory.
“No…visitors?” She’s a little shocked, to say the least. Not that she’s a party person by any means, but who doesn’t want their friends knowing where they live? “Uh…sure, I won’t mention it,” she adds hesitantly.
Daisy’s face breaks into a smile. “Thanks so much, I really appreciate it.” She moves in to give Remi a hug.
Granted, it’s an awkward hug, with Remi still holding her glass of wine in one hand. But it’s also somewhat reassuring. Despite the weird ‘no visitors’ thing, she thinks she and her new roommate will get along just fine.
RAYNA
BEFORE
Daryl: Can u come thurs?
Rayna finishes reading the text on her phone, quickly setting it back down and turning her attention back to the TV. Her phone buzzes again.
Daryl: 4k. easy scene.
She groans and sets her phone down again. She hasn’t responded to Daryl in three weeks, not since having the first job for him, why is he still texting her?
Daryl: ok fine. U force my hand. 6k. they love you and want to see more.
Rayna closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. Six thousand dollars? After her last experience in the pornography industry she swore that would be the end. But can she really say no to six grand?
Zeki walks through the living room on his way up the stairs, pausing when he sees her sprawled out on the couch under a blanket.
“Hey, babe.”
“Hi,” she says back sweetly, putting the TV on mute.
He smiles at her. “I’m leaving town again tomorrow, but I’ll be back in a couple days.”
She’s used to these business trips by now. “Neat, where to this time?” she asks, glancing at the TV out of the corner of her eye hoping she isn’t missing any of the action.
He shrugs. “Somewhere in Colombia, maybe Bogota?” His eyes shift as he says this, and something doesn’t seem right to Rayna, but she really doesn’t feel like fighting so she brushes it off. Well, for the most part, anyway.
“Bankers meeting in Colombia?”
“Er, yes, we bankers meet all over the place,” Zeki quickly catches himself. Without allowing her to ask any more questions, he announces, “I’m headed upstairs to pack,” and turns and leaves the room.
Rayna pushes the mute button once more to turn the volume back up, but she finds her heart is no longer in the show she’s watching. She glances back down at the unanswered text on her phone. Can she really do this again?
She quickly pulls up her bank app and checks her account balance. She grimaces. Since quitting her restaurant gig two weeks ago, she’s been doing nothing but spending money.
She could ask Zeki for money.
Lifting her phone to eye level, she types her response.
Rayna: Ok fine. But this is the last time.
She takes a deep breath as she presses the send button. She knows she shouldn’t be doing this, but she also can’t face the humiliation of asking her boyfriend for spending money.
Daryl: Great c u then.
Rayna doesn’t bother to type out a response. She’ll text him the night before to verify the location.
With a sigh, she falls back on the couch just as Zeki comes back in the room. Her phone buzzes from where she tossed it on the couch. Rayna doesn’t bother reaching for it.
It doesn’t escape Zeki’s notice, though. “Who are you texting these days?” he asks, a note of suspicion in his voice.
Rayna shrugs. “You know Remi, she’s a bit clingy.” She doesn’t like lying to him, but she also can’t bear the thought of explaining Daryl to him.
“I haven’t seen her in awhile, how is she?” he asks politely. But Rayna can see he really doesn’t care one bit.
“Fine.”
“Well, want to watch a movie or something?” He changes the subject, motioning to the TV.
Rayna instantly perks up, it’s been a while since they did something as simple as watch TV together.
“Sure! I’ve been really wanting to see that new movie Adrift.” She smiles.
Zeki doesn’t smile back. “I’ve already seen it.”
“Oh.” Rayna isn’t quite sure how to respond to that. Is he saying he doesn’t want to see it again? Or is that just him being informative? Either way, there’s another movie she’s wanted to see. “I know it’s sorta childish, but I’ve also been wanting to see Wreck-It Ralph Two.” She looks at him, her eyes hopeful.
He shrugs. “Seen it.”
She almost growls in frustration. “Fine, what do you want to see?”
Zeki picks up the remote from its spot on the couch. “I’ll find something.”
So that’s what this is. Zeki doesn’t actually want to watch a movie with her. He just wants to turn something on, then fool around.
Rayna huffs and picks up her phone, scooting over so there’s room for him to sit on the couch. He doesn’t even seem to notice his girlfriend’s obvious annoyance at his behavior.
And to think, she almost felt bad about agreeing to do another porn video.
At least Daryl is paying her.
***
On Thursday, Rayna arrives at the same hotel as last time, but heads up to a twelfth floor suite as she’s been instructed. She knocks on the door and has a sense of déjà vu as Daryl opens it, just the same as before.
“Leila!” He hugs her in a friendly manner, greeting her by her stage name as she walks in. “Glad you could make it,” he adds cordially, as if this is some sort of dinner party.
The room is set up just as before, which makes sense, as it’s the same hotel. A man she recognizes from the last shoot sits on the couch.
“Franco, if you don’t remember,” he says.
Rayna nods. “I remember.”
Just then, there’s a knock at the door. Daryl goes to answer it as Rayna heads to the bathroom.
She closes the door behind her, but is unsure why since they’re about to see everything anyway. There’s a white lace bra and underwear set laid out on the counter. She slips it on, surprised that they fit her decently well.
When she exits the bathroom she runs into someone’s chest. She looks up to find an unfamiliar face looking back down at her. “Mondo,” the man says. He holds out a hand and Rayna hesitantly takes it. He’s muscular, but not in a way that says he overdoes it with steroids. But he definitely stands out next to Franco, who, although somewhat attractive, is very thin in comparison.
She takes a moment to glance around, noting that Daryl is setting up his tripod just as before.
She looks between Mondo and Franco. Are they waiting on anyone else?
Daryl takes a look through the camera as Mondo changes in the bathroom from which Rayna just emerged.
Before she knows it, Daryl turns to Rayna. “You ready?” He adjusts the camera a tiny bit and motions to where the guys are sitting on the couch.
Rayna realizes nervously that no one besides Franco, Mondo, and herself seem to be here. “I…err…”
Daryl seems to realize exactly what she’s thinking. “That’s why it pays six thousand.”
Before Now Page 5