Part 25 — It's Been a While

"Have you realized that Zap has been gone for two weeks?" Azyra asked.

"It's only been two weeks. I don't see an issue," Momoko said.

"He's probably just out doing stuff," Xin said. She sighed. "Like usual."

"I'm going to contact him," Azyra said. She texted Zap, asking him where he was. Zap replied a minute later, simply saying that he was away. "Helpful," she muttered.

"Call him," Momoko suggested.

Azyra's phone rang for 10 seconds before it beeped. She hit speaker and put down her phone. "Zap?"

"What is it?"

"Where are you?" Xin asked.

"Somewhere."

"We're not going through this again, Zap. Where are you?"

"Not home. Does it even matter?"

"It really does, actually."

"Um...I'll be back in an hour or two. Does that help?"

"Fine. If you're not back by three hours, I'm going to kill you."

"I'll be back..." A beep signaled that Zap hung up.

"Shit," Xin said. "He's always gone."

"Why does it even matter?" Momoko wondered aloud. "Isn't it still okay even if he's only here once in a while?"

"This isn't the actual reason, but Zap rented this apartment," Azyra pointed out. "We're just living here. In a way, this isn't really our apartment."

"I guess, but—"

"No! No jinxing."

"Okay..."

The three girls heard the door open. "Hi," Zap said.

"One to two hours or one to two minutes?" Xin asked.

"Change of plans. I didn't need to be there."

"Be where?"

"This place," Zap said. "Listen, it's not really concerning." He dragged his foot across the tiles. "Anyway, what have you three been doing?"

"Talking," Azyra said, "about why you haven't been here."

"Awesome. Well, call me if you need me." Zap walked up the stairs.

"Hey," Xin said. "I have an idea. It worked once, it should work again."

Azyra's eyes narrowed. "You mean—"

"Come on, let's go meet him."