Consider Yourself Lucky

Twenty-Seven

I'm still crying as Collin rushes inside the house. I have checked everywhere. She couldn't have gone far because her car is still in the driveway. The shoes she uses to go for walks are still at the front door. She never wears any other shoes if she knows she is going for a walk. We double and even triple check every room, but this is Grandma we're looking for. Not Flake. She wouldn't be hiding under a bed or hanging out in the food pantry. Collin walks up and down the road to see if she maybe did take a walk and just forgot to switch her shoes. Nothing. She is nowhere to be found. When he comes back towards the house, he's talking on the phone, but I don't know to who. I swear if he called his girlfriend in a time like this, I will smack him. After about five minutes, he hangs up the phone and walks back into the house.

"Addy, you need to listen to me very carefully. Go upstairs and pack a bag." I just stare at him trying to process what he's saying. "Addy. Go, now!"

"What? Why? Where is Grandma?"

"I will explain everything in the car. Please, just hurry up." I am so fucking confused right now.

"What about Flake? I can't just leave her here by herself."

"I'll grab her. Do you have a cat carrier?"

"Yeah, in the spare room. Collin, please tell me what's going on."

"I will. I promise. Just please trust me. I know I fucked that up before, but everything will make sense if you please just go get your stuff." I run upstairs and do as he says. I have no idea what is going on right now or if I can even trust him. In all honesty, he seems just as concerned as I am. I grab a duffle bag from the top of my closet and stuff as many clothes in there as I can. When the bag is full, I go back downstairs, and Collin already has all of Flake's things in his car.

"Get in my car, please." I don't even argue with him. I throw my bag in the back and wait for him to get in the car too. He backs out of the driveway and speeds down the road.

"Where are we going?" I'm getting really nervous and scared. I feel like I'm going to puke.

"First, we are stopping at my place." His place? For what?

"I really don't want to see your girlfriend right now Collin. I want to find my grandmother."

"Addy for Christ's Sake. I don't have a girlfriend. I never did have a girlfriend besides you. There was never another girl."

"But I saw the messages."

"You saw messages, yes. But you never let me explain. You just assumed the worst and told me to leave. I respected you enough to do as you asked. I'm sorry."

"Then explain. I am giving you the chance to explain now."

"I will. When we get to where we are going, I promise I will tell you every last detail."

I stay silent for the rest of the drive to his house. What else could it possibly be? We pull up to his apartment building and he parks in the back.

"Come in with me. You aren't staying in the car. But when we get inside, don't be freaked out." Why would I be freaked out? I step out of the car and feel bad for leaving Flake in there by herself. Collin locks the doors, and we head upstairs to his apartment. As soon as I step foot inside, I am in utter shock. There are pictures everywhere. Not just any pictures, pictures of me. Plastered all over the walls. Folders across the one table he has. Collin disappears into another room and comes back five minutes later with his own duffle bag of stuff.

"Why do you have so many pictures of me?" He ignores me.

"Collin!" Again, he ignores me.

"Collin, if you don't tell me what the fuck is going on right now, I swear I will walk out of this apartment, and you really will never see me again." He stops pacing around the apartment and keeps his head down.