Her gaze fell to Whitney’s empty hands and then her eyebrows shot up. “Oh, you’re not DoorDash.”

Whitney shook her head. “No, we’re here to see Jay. Is he home?”

“Jay?” She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. “No, he doesn’t live here.”

“Um...yeah, I mean, I know it’s not his place, but he’s been staying here.” A toilet flushed from inside. “He brought me here like a month ago or so.”

The woman’s lip scrunched up in a sour way. “Sorry, but no. This is my boyfriend’s place and he’s the only one who lives here.”

A clicking sound like a door popping open came from the hallway, and a man around the same age as the woman came around the corner. His eyes widened upon seeing Whitney and Natalie.

“What’s going on?” He ran a hand over his hair.

The woman turned, her spiderlike eyelashes pointing toward the man. “I think this lady’s, like, dating Jay and she thinks he lives here.” She lowered her voice. “Sounds like he’s brought her here before.”

“What? Nah, man, that’s not cool.” The man approached, throwing Whitney an apologetic look. “Sorry, but Jay doesn’t live here.”

Whitney felt like she’d been slapped in the face, but she fought to keep her cool. “If you could just tell me how to find him. I think...” Whitney scrambled to find the right words “...my daughter might be with him...or at least may have been here before?” It ended up coming out like a question, Whitney’s voice high and unsure. This whole thing had thrown her off-kilter. She didn’t know what to think anymore.

“Your daughter?” The guy’s eyes bugged out. “Nah. I’m not gettin’ involved in this.” He started to close the door.

Whitney threw her arm up to block it. “Wait. Please. If you could just—”

The door slammed in her face. Slumping over, Whitney pressed her forehead to the door, thinking of what to do next. That’s when she realized she could faintly hear the man and woman arguing through the door.

“What the hell’s...you.” The man’s voice was slightly muffled, and Whitney couldn’t pick up on every word, but she got the gist. “Why did you...open...door for them?”

“I thought it was our DoorDash. And why ya mad at me? Your brother’s the one bringing girls back here.” The woman’s response was a shrill yell, and Whitney was grateful to be able to pick up on her words.

“I’ll deal with Jay. You just keep your mouth shut, okay?” The man’s voice was loud now too.

Whitney heard shuffling inside. Their feet moving away from the door.

The woman said something, but Whitney only picked up the tail end. “...what an asshole he was, anyway.”