The Gray Dancer

40. DESPAIR

HANNA'S ENTIRE WORLD FROZE WITH ROY'S WORDS. She needed to find Derrick as soon as possible. Hanna knew how much his mother meant to him. For Derrick, his mother was his everything. He loved his mother more than anything in the world.

Hanna didn't know where Derrick would be, however. Roy had checked both the studio and Derrick's apartment, but he was nowhere to be found. Roy had spent the last hour looking for the blonde-haired man to get nowhere.

Hanna, at first, didn't know where Derrick would be aside from the dance studio and his apartment. The only other place he would go to was Hanna's apartment, but he wasn't there either. Derrick had left her apartment a few hours ago. Besides those three places, there was no other place he usually spent time at. Hanna ran a hand through her hair, trying to think of where he could possibly be.

And then it clicked.

The bar.

Derrick hadn't gone to the bar since they had started dancing together, but before that, Derrick had spent all his time there. Every day Hanna chose to go to the bar, Derrick happened to already be there. Derrick had always seen the bar as a place of comfort.

Hanna had no doubt, now, that he was there. If he wasn't anywhere else, he had to have been there.

Hanna sprinted out of her apartment within no time, taking only her phone with her to call her a taxi. She didn't care how she looked, finding Derrick was more of a priority to her. She had to get to the bar fast, but the bar was too far for her to run there, unlike the dance studio. She needed a car for transportation.

Hanna pulled out her phone to call a taxi for transportation. The taxi itself didn't take long to arrive. One it did arrive, it was smooth sailing from there, Hanna had reached the bar in almost no time at all.

She couldn't stop biting her lips, worry and fear slamming at her. Hanna couldn't stop her mind from jumping to the worst possibilities.

As the taxi stopped, Hanna jumped out, paying her fare to the driver before heading to the gates of the bar. She pulled out her ID, trying to get inside the bar as quickly as possible.

And once she showed her ID to the guards, they opened the door for Hanna, seeing that she was of age to drink.

The big gates opened, the pungent smell of sweat swarming towards Hanna.

During this time of the day, the bar was mostly empty. The stench of alcohol still prevailed, but the bar didn't have many people occupying it. The bass music didn't play too loudly, and the dance floor remained primarily empty.

It was as if the bar was a completely new place. It didn't have the feeling of comfort now. It didn't seem relatable either.

Hanna's eyes darted around the floor, looking for a particular blonde-haired man. She spent minutes wandering around the floor aimlessly, hoping to find him. But he wasn't anywhere to be found. There was not a person in sight.

Not even Derrick.

Hanna's eyes fell around the huge bar, glancing at the bottles of alcohol before she found the stairs.

Derrick had to be on the balcony. Hanna had always gone up the stairs for peace and quiet. Maybe he was there, going up for peace and quiet just like her?

If he wasn't downstairs, the only place he could be in is the balcony.

Hanna dashed up the stairs, rushing to find Derrick. Despite her footsteps pounding against the rocky gravel, all she could hear was the sound of her disordered breathing. She heaved in and out, sprinting up the stories as her life depended on it. Her senses had never spun this wildly before.