Deception

The rain started to make its way across her windshield. She knew from the weather forecast that a storm would be coming that day, but she cannot sit idle on her house. It had been two days since she last heard from her client—and friend, Eliza. Eliza never missed a session even if they had an argument. Eli would have called her to cancel the appointment, she thought. She was afraid that their previous fight was the reason why Eli had been ignoring her messages. Knowing that she had to fix whatever gap is being wedged between them, she dashed through the yard with her plastic folder shielding her from the rain. “Eli, it’s me!” she yelled as she knocked on Eliza’s door. Even after yelling three times, no one answered. Either Eli wasn’t at home or she was ignoring her. As the rain become heavier, she knew her chances of driving back were slim. She contemplated whether to spend the night in her car or in the house. “I don’t know if you’re in or not Eli! If you’re mad, I get it. At least just let me in and let’s talk. Please?” She tried again. “Guess no one’s home,” she sighed. She was stranded, so she better find a way in the house. She tried her luck and searched for a spare key under the flowerpots but never found one. She was getting soaked now, so she desperately turned the knob hoping that it was somehow unlocked. Surprisingly, it was. “Oh my god. Why haven’t I tried it first,” she said to herself, realizing her foolishness. As she removed and hang her wet coat, she glanced around the living room. Nothing seemed to be amiss. “Eli, in case you’re here, I let myself in!” she announced. Still nothing. “Guess I’ll make myself at home, then.” She continued to remove her shoes and her wet clothes. Clad in only in underwear, she proceeded to the laundry area. The living room was neat, just as how Eli would keep it. Even the kitchen was spotless. There were no fresh flowers in the vase, or dirty dishes on the sink. These details had her questioning where her friend was for the last couple of days. While waiting for her laundry, she helped herself with some coffee. She sighed. Glancing around, she could see Eli’s personality poured into the colors, arrangement, and design of the house. Eliza Sarmiento. Her friend liked everything to be organized hence the neatness of the place. She mostly kept to herself and rarely had impulse decisions. Some would say that Eliza was boring but she knew that her friend is just quiet and reserved to strangers. But once Eli opens up, she was honestly a good company and wasn’t really the composed or uptight person that others perceive her to be. Eli had her fair share of insecurities and dilemmas. Her thoughts about Eli had been interrupted by the washing machine timer. And so, she was dressed again in clean clothes. She then decided to take a nap, hoping that the storm will clear up when she wakes up. She thought that she could just lounge on the couch in the living room, but she felt that it would be too uncomfortable. She had stayed overnight in Eli’s guest room before and she didn’t think that their argument was enough for Eli to ban her from the guest room on the second floor. She felt dread as she climbed the stairs. There was this sudden negative feeling consuming her. She passed by Eli’s bedroom and noticed that the door was ajar. “Eli? You in there?” she asked while knocking on the door. “Hello?” she said as she peaked inside the room. There she saw that Eli’s bed was unmade. This spiked her curiosity, so she entered the room. She scanned the room and observed that the closet door was opened and the clothes were somehow ransacked. She thought that Eli must have been in a hurry to leave everything in a mess. “This is so unlike you Eli,” she said to particularly no one. She was about to leave the room and let everything be, when she detected something on the floor. She rounded the bed and saw Eli’s hand bag. It was opened and tilted, so some of the stuff were scattered on the floor. This made her uneasy. Why would Eli leave her hand bag and her phone? She contemplated as she picked the phone up and checked. Yup, the battery was dead. That was why her calls didn’t go through. “Ok, so you weren’t ignoring me. So where the hell are you?” She wanted to investigate more so she went to the bathroom but the door was locked. Her heart jumped thinking that there was seriously something wrong. She placed her ears on the door and heard the faint sound of running water. “Eli! Eli! Are you in there?” she knocked so loud that she was sure the neighbors would hear, hadn’t there been any storm. She immediately ran and checked the bedside shelf, the vanity table, and even the drawers in the closet for the keys. She was sweating by the time she found a set of keys on the on the hand bag lying on the floor. Hands shaking, she tried each key until one unlocked the bathroom door. She could not move when she saw what her mind was expecting just seconds ago—the worst. She did not scream or uttered a word. She did not cry or panic. She simply stared.