OYINADE

~49~

If only I could muster up enough courage to walk in. I mean, if my suspicion turns out to be true, then I shouldn't just do nothing.

Should I run outside and call for help?
Should I wait in silence and hope that my suspicions are wrong?

No!
It's better to die fighting to save my friend's life than hide like a coward and regret it forever.
If I stood still, waiting silently here, till I figured out the actual situation.

If I keep quiet or leave to call for help and something happens to Ade before I get back, I'd never be able to forgive myself.

Therefore, the most reasonable step I ought to take is to walk in, find out what's really going on, even if it'll definitely be a huge risk, even if we might both be in trouble if I do.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
I gradually raised my shaky hands to the door knob and taking a deep breath once again, I bent the knob and pushed the door. It wasn't locked.

The audacity of this intruder was really sending me.

The person didn't just walk into Ade's house, he decided to scatter Ade's room, leave all the doors ajar and even keep Ade hostage.
I didn't need anyone to tell me that this person has to either be very dangerous or very notorious.

I felt a surge of anger rush through my veins.
At that instant, the identity of the person no longer mattered to me, I couldn't care less.
I was going to push and fight with as much strength as I could muster.
I would fight till there was no more strength left in me.

As I pushed the door open, I realized that the dripping of water had stopped. The deep voice was gone too and in its place, all I could hear was the muffled sound.
I scanned the room. To my surprise, it was sparklingly clean.
How strange.

It certainly didn't look like someone was being tortured in here. I took a few more steps till I could see the whole room. The bed, a standing mirror, a drawer, a small sofa and a wardrobe were the clearly evident parts of the room.

After scanning the room carefully, I came to a conclusion that the person wasn't here.
So, how on earth did this person leave so quickly?

Did the person jump out through the window?
I mean, I was standing in front of the door all the while, so where else could the person have passed.

Oh! Sh*t! This is another proof that the person is probably a kidnapper.
Has my best friend been kidnapped?
Then, a thought popped up in my head.
I had not checked the bathroom.

Oh! How stupid of me! I clearly heard water droplets, so why didn't I think of checking the bathroom.
I started walking quietly towards the bathroom but stopped halfway.

What if—
I was becoming extremely pessimistic. Thus, I had to cut off my train of thoughts. If anything, there was no time for me to keep going in circles in my thoughts, I needed to act fast and smart too.

So, I tiptoed to the bathroom door.
I stood for a second in front of it and took in a deep breath.
"Here goes nothing", I muttered, below my breath.
As I placed my hand on the doorknob, the door flung open.

The fact that my hand was already on the door knob, tightly wrapped around it, when the door opened, made me lose balance momentarily.
The person who was behind the door had opened it, only to go back into the bathroom to pick something up.
I quickly took my hand away from the doorknob and tried to stabilize myself.
But then, when I looked up, I screamed.

My scream was suppressed by an even louder scream.
"What are you doing here?", we both spoke at the same time.
"No, what are YOU doing here?", we said at the same time, again.
"This is my house", he said.
"Yes, but this isn't your room", I countered.