Consider Yourself Lucky

Twenty

I don't remember falling back asleep, but I wake up to my alarm blaring. I shut it off and Flake meows in my face which tells me she's hungry. Shocker. I get up and throw my uniform on and head downstairs. Grandma is making some eggs, even though she's supposed to be resting.

"Before you yell at me to go sit down, I can't just not do anything. It's boring. So, eat the breakfast I made and enjoy every bite." She laughs and hands me a plate filled with cheesy scrambled eggs and a piece of toast with apple jelly. Don't knock it before you try it. I put my plate on the table and go to the pantry to get Flake her food. We're almost out of cat food so I'll have to pick some up at work today.

"Collin said he can come over for dinner later. Are you feeling good enough for company today? I can tell him never mind if you aren't. It's up to you."

"I think if I'm okay enough to cook breakfast I feel good enough to have company over." She giggles to herself and sits down to eat her own plate of eggs.

"Since you made breakfast, I'm in charge of dinner. Don't argue with me about it. It's set in stone."

"Okay, I can live with that."

"Good, you have no choice."

"Oh! The doctor called me this morning and I can start treatments as soon as tomorrow if I'd like. What's your work schedule look like for this week?"

"My work schedule is whatever you need it to be. Don't worry about scheduling appointments around me. I already spoke with my manager and he's very understanding about the situation and is willing to accommodate to whatever we need. I'll let him know when I get in today." She smiles and thanks me. I kiss her cheek and head out the door.

There's so many broken branches and leaves in the road while I drive to work. The wind must have gotten really strong last night and blew everything everywhere. We needed the rain though. I sound like such a grown up now. I get to work and first thing I do is find my manager to tell him about tomorrow. He tells me not to worry about it and that he hopes everything goes smoothly. I bring my stuff up to my locker and head to the front to hop on a register. It's a bit busy today but nothing I haven't dealt with before. At least the day will go by quick.

Before I knew it, my shift was over. Busy days make time go by faster. I shop for what I need for dinner and grab a bag of food for Flake before going to check out. When I was on my break, I looked up some dinner ideas. I chose to make ranch smothered chicken with mashed potatoes and some side salads. It looked easy enough to put together. It didn't seem like it would take too long either. I thank my coworker for ringing up my order and head out to my car. The ride home was going well until I noticed the same blue SUV behind me. I've seen that vehicle more times in the past week than I have the entire time I lived in this town. I'm probably still a little on edge from that text message. I'm sure it's nothing. Every turn I take, they take. I slow down, so do they. I drive around for an extra fifteen minutes before they finally go the other direction. What the hell?

I finally got home and put all the groceries away. I texted Collin asking if he wanted to come over a bit early and play some board games with Grandma.

"I'll close shop at after I'm done with this order. See you soon." That gives me about a half hour to shower and get out of these clothes. Works for me.

I can hear Grandma opening the door for Collin when he got here. I told her to stay on the couch, but she must have seen his car from the window. She squeals with excitement as he walks in, and he gives her a big hug and a peck on the cheek. I finish drying my hair and make my way to greet my boyfriend. They were chit chatting as I came down the stairs but when I got closer, they suddenly got quiet.

"Now, now don't all talk at once." They noticed the sarcasm in my voice. Collin grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

"I was just telling Collin how you specifically told me to stay on the couch and that you would get the door when he got here, but I couldn't help myself. I got too excited to have some company. Not that I don't love spending all this time with you, it's just nice not being scolded for doing the things I normally do."

"Are we hungry? I can start dinner early."

"Oh, Addy is cooking again? I can't wait to eat." He smiles at me and winks.

"Collin, while you're here, do you mind fixing the gate in the backyard? It seemed to have been broken. It must have been the wind slamming it shut last night. That storm was atrocious."

"Of course, not a problem." He follows Grandma out through the back door. I take everything out that I need for dinner and find the screenshots I have in my phone of the recipe I saved earlier. As I'm peeling potatoes, I hear a phone going off. It's not my phone. I look over at the kitchen table and notice that Collin left his phone in here. I shouldn't do it, but I want to see who's calling. I glance out the back window. Grandma and Collin are on the other side of the backyard trying to fix the gate and his phone is still ringing. I go over to it and honestly, I'm not shocked at the name I see on the screen. Cece, again. Now either he has a special relationship with his landlord or it's not really who he says it is. I wait for the call to dismiss itself and pick up the phone. He has three messages from her and two missed calls. At this point I'm a hundred percent convinced this is his ex. I try to open the phone but there's a passcode. I really shouldn't go in it. That's a big invasion of privacy in which I have absolutely no right to. In this moment, I don't give a shit. Who is this person and why does she constantly blow his phone up? I try different number sequences but not too many that way I don't disable his phone. The third time I try, I get in. Of course, his passcode would be 1234. Typical man. I go to his messages and what I see absolutely blows my mind. My heart drops and I try so hard not to cry.

"When are you coming back?"

"Are you still with her?"

"I can't wait all night, can you come now?"

I should have trusted my gut. I knew there was something off, but I still brushed it off because I thought it was me just trying to self-sabotage my own relationship. I can feel the tears flowing down my face. The back door opens, and I turn around with the phone still in my hand. Collin sees it and stops in his tracks. I should have just minded my business. I regret looking into his phone. I don't want to feel this way. He takes a step towards me, and I take a step back.

"Addy, I don't know what you saw but I can explain. Whatever it is, I can explain." I am so angry right now; I don't want to hear any of his shit excuses. There is no excuse for this.

"Get out." He takes another step towards me. I put his phone back on the table.

"Addy, ple-"

"I said, GET OUT!!" He grabs his phone and goes to walk out the door, but he turns back around. He has tears in his eyes. Bullshit. How do you have tears in eyes when you did it to yourself. I point at the door.

"I don't want to see you ever again. Leave and don't come back." He nods and walks out to his car. I watch from the window as he drives off. Grandma is standing in the doorway from outside.

"What just happened?"

"I knew he was lying. I knew it. I can't believe I fell for his evil charm and stupid handsome face." I break down crying and Grandma comes and puts her arms around me.

"I'm so stupid."

"You aren't stupid honey. Did he give you an explanation?"

"I made him leave before he could try. There is no explanation for something like that. I don't know where I went wrong."

"It's okay. Shhh." She held me as I finished crying. I can't believe not even a week into a relationship I'm already going through a breakup. I never want to do this again.