THREE'S COMPANY PART THREE: MISSING

Tonya stared at the phone

Call Ended.

That was it.

No explanation.

No name.

Just..

“You really don’t know, do you?”

Then silence.

Tonya immediately called back.

Straight to voicemail.

“Oh, hell no,” she mumbled.

She called again.

Voicemail.

Again.

Voicemail.

By the fourth call, Tonya was pacing across the bedroom.

“Who the hell is this woman?” she asked herself.

She opened Samuel’s contact.

Her thumb hovered over his name before she pressed call.

One ring.

Two.

Three.

Voicemail.

Tonya laughed.

Not because anything was funny.

It was the kind of laugh a woman gives when God is clearly testing whether she has really changed.

“Okay, Samuel,” she said, shaking her head.

She sent a text.

CALL ME. NOW!!

Delivered.

No response.

Five minutes passed.

Then ten.

Twenty.

Nothing.

Tonya sat on the edge of the bed staring at her phone.

A month ago, Samuel couldn’t go an hour without checking on her.

You eat?

You make it home?

Why you ain’t answer me?

Now?

Silence.

She looked at the number again.

7814.

She had found it more than once.

No name.

No explanation.

Just four numbers Samuel apparently thought meant nothing.

But numbers always meant something.

A birthday.

A password.

An address.

A code.

A secret.

Tonya opened their text thread and started scrolling.

Past the good mornings.

Past the heart emojis.

Past the weekend plans.

Past the “I miss you” texts that suddenly felt like they belonged to somebody else’s relationship.

Then she saw it.

A message from Samuel from two weeks earlier.

I gotta stop by my cousin’s house. I’ll call you when I leave.

Tonya remembered that night.

He never called.

The next morning, Samuel said he fell asleep.

She believed him.

Tonya slowly sat up.

“Your cousin…” she whispered.

She went back through their messages.

Another one.

Helping my cousin move some stuff.

Another.

At my cousin’s.

Another.

My cousin needed me.

Tonya’s stomach tightened.

“Damn, Samuel. Your cousin need you more than I do,” she said sarcastically.

Her phone buzzed.

It was Samuel, Finally…

What’s wrong? Samuel texted..

Tonya stared at the message.

“What’s wrong?” she repeated aloud.

She called him immediately.

This time, he answered.

“Why you blowing my phone up?” Samuel asked.

Tonya paused.

“Oh, so your phone does work,” she replied.

“Tonya, I’m not doing this today,” Samuel said.

“Who is 7814?” she asked.

Silence.

“Samuel?” Tonya pressed.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied.

“Don’t do that,” she warned.

“Do what?” Samuel asked.

“That stupid shit men do when they need five extra seconds to come up with a lie,” Tonya snapped.

Samuel sighed.

“Tonya…”

“Who is she?” Tonya demanded.

“Who is who?” he replied.

“The woman who answered the number.”

Another pause.

Then Samuel laughed.

“You called that number?” he asked.

Tonya’s face changed.

“You think this is funny?”

“No,” Samuel replied. “I think you’re doing too much.”

“Oh, I’m doing too much?” Tonya asked.

“Yes,” he answered. “Going through stuff. Calling numbers. Making up scenarios—”

“I didn’t make up the woman who answered the phone,” Tonya interrupted.

Samuel went quiet.

“Exactly,” she said.

“Look, I can’t talk about this right now,” Samuel replied.

“Then when?” she demanded.

“I’ll call you later.”

“Samuel…”

Click.

Tonya pulled the phone away from her ear.

He hung up.

Again.

She stared at the screen.

Something wasn’t right.

And this time, she wasn’t going to sit around waiting for Samuel to decide which version of the truth she deserved.

Tonya grabbed her keys.

She knew where his cousin lived.

Samuel had taken her there once.

Or at least…

That’s what he told her.

Twenty-five minutes later, Tonya pulled onto the street.

Her heart was beating so hard she could hear it.

“Don’t be stupid, Tonya,” she whispered to herself.

She drove past the house once.

Nothing.

She circled the block.

This time, she slowed down.

Samuel’s car was parked outside.

Tonya gripped the steering wheel.

“You lying son of a…” she muttered.

She parked.

For a few seconds, she didn’t move.

This was the moment.

The moment where a woman either protects her peace…Or gets out of the car.

Tonya got out.

“Peace can wait,” she said.

She walked toward the house.

Halfway up the driveway, the front door opened.

Tonya froze.

A woman stepped outside.

Barefoot.

Oversized T-shirt.

Hair wrapped.

Comfortable.

Too damn comfortable.

Tonya’s stomach dropped.

The woman looked at her.

Tonya looked at the woman.

Neither spoke.

Then the woman smiled.

Not a friendly smile.

A familiar one.

Like she’d been waiting for her.

Tonya took another step.

“Who are you?” she asked.

The woman tilted her head.

Then, laughed softly.

“You still asking the wrong question,” the woman replied.

Tonya’s face tightened.

“What question should I be asking?” she asked.

The woman stepped closer.

Her smile disappeared.

“Who are you?” she replied.

Tonya froze.

Before she could respond…

“TONYA!”

Samuel’s voice came from inside the house.

Her eyes shot toward the doorway.

Samuel appeared behind the woman.

No shirt.

Panic all over his face.

Tonya looked at him.

Then at her.

Then back at Samuel.

“Damn,” Samuel whispered.

Tonya nodded slowly.

“Yeah,” she replied.

She reached into her purse.

Samuel stepped forward.

“Tonya, wait..” he pleaded.

“Don’t worry,” Tonya interrupted as she pulled out her phone.

She looked directly at the woman.

“I just need to make sure I remember exactly what both of y’all look like when I tell this story,” Tonya said.

The woman smiled again.

Samuel didn’t.

And somewhere beneath Tonya’s anger…

Something felt strange.

Not just familiar.,

Too familiar.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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