House of Paper and Wax

3

Max's note had my stomach in knots. I honestly had no clue what he was talking about knowing. I was faithful to him, I didn't do things behind his back financially... I couldn't wrap my head about what he thought he knew about me.
I grabbed my phone and tried to call him. Straight to voicemail. Great. He's avoiding me now? This isn't normal. He must really have the wrong idea. I wondered to myself who might have told him something. Or maybe he misunderstood something. Or, maybe he is mad about last night and jumped to some crazy hair brained conclusion.
I knew he must either be avoiding me, or his phone was off, but I sent a text message because I was in a sheer panic to reach him.

Max, where are you? What's going on?

A flood of worries and "what ifs" ran through my head at once. I had to reach him somehow to ease my panic, so I used my judgement and decided to call his mother. If he ever got upset with me, it was typical for him to make the 35 mile drive to go mess around on cars with his father in the shop they had built together.
I dialed his mother, certain she knew something. The phone range twice and was put to voicemail after the second ring. Christ. Even when he's upset about something, his mother Rose, always answered to let me know he was safe. She knew Max had a temper, so she tried not to choose side most of the time. I decided to leave her a message.
"Hey Rose. It's Kat. If you see or hear from Max, will you please have him call me?"
I hung up the phone and decided to text her as well.

Have you seen or heard from Max today? He left this morning without letting me know where he went. I'm starting to worry.

Starting to worry was an understatement. I was a nervous wreck. I sent the same text message to Max's father, Kent. He was never on his phone, nor did he ever really return texts or calls, but I figured maybe he would call me if he knew I was worried.
An hour passed, and no word from anyone. I tried to call Max several more times, each time, getting sent straight to his voicemail. No word from his parents either. This was so strange. I got up and paced the living room, confused and a ball of nerves as I began to get ready to leave the house. I decided to go by the gym up at the high school Max worked for. He coached the 11th grade boy's basketball team, and every so often, he would go there on a Saturday during off season to do whatever it is coaches do. I wasn't much of a sports person, but I supported his passion. As I drove up the highway and turned onto the street the high school was on, I saw the gym parking lot was completely empty.
He was obviously not anywhere around, so I pulled over to park inside the lot. By this point my hands had gone numb and my arms were shaking. This was really scaring me. It was nearing afternoon, and this had wrecked my whole day of planning to get some housework and other errands done before the next work week.
My frustration quickly turned into more anxiety, and I felt my lower lip begin to tremble. Before I could stop the tears, I was in full sobbing mode, crying out to myself over and over, "Why!?! Why!?! Max, where are you!"
I'm not certain how much time had gone by as I bawled like a child worried Max had done something stupid, but I was startled by a tap in my driver's side window. As I looked up, snot and black tears all over my face, I familiar face was standing outside my car, looking very concerned.
"Kat?"
It was Coach Roberts, the girl's basketball coach that Max worked with. Coach Charlie Roberts was a sweet elderly man who Max always credits for teaching him all he needed to know as a young coach. I was certain he was old enough to retire, but he seemed to enjoy his job, and I often joked with Max that Coach Roberts would be working until his final days on earth if he had anything to say about anything.
I rolled down my window, blushing in embarrassment.
"Hey Charlie," I said, wiping the mess off my cave with my jacket sleeve. "Have you seen Max today, by chance?"
A more serious tone took over his expression now, aware something wasn't right.
"No Darlin'. Haven't seen him since Thursday. I was out on Friday for personal reasons, so I haven't seen him since then. Is everything alright?"
"Well," I said with a whimper behind my voice, "I'm not sure. He left without a word this morning and I haven't been able to reach him since."
Charlie put his hand on my shoulder, looking as though he was pondering Max's whereabouts. "Well sweetie,  have ya tried to call his ma'?"
"Yes sir," I replied, slightly frustrated. "No one is reachable. I've tried both Rose and Kent. Neither one has answered. I'm thinking about driving out there to check and see if he is ok."
"Well, I don't blame you. But maybe he just needs a little 'Max time.'I know he has been pretty stressed about not sleeping lately."
He smiled a sly grin "You know us men. I go fishing when I need some time to think and relax. Maybe he just went to go do something to clear his mind. He's been telling me he isn't sleeping that well at night lately."It was a nice thought. But Max never once had left without me knowing where he was going, even when he's mad.
"I don't know, Char," I said. "This isn't really his way. I think I may try and keep trying to find him. If that means I have to drive out of town to his parent's, so be it, I guess."
"Awe Kat. Don't waste your gas. I bet he will call you soon. Just wait a while and see." Coach Roberts suggested.
I agreed. He was right. I didn't really want to go anywhere far, so instead I decided I would drive around town looking for his truck. After all, we lived in a pretty small town near a bigger city  in the northern part of Texas, and it usually wasn't very difficult to drive by the main stores and find someone of you looked hard enough.
But after about half an hour of looking with no luck, I gave up and went back home. It was nearing dinner time, and I had hoped Max would be home ready for me to make dinner or feed him something. But he wasn't.
Dammit Max, where the hell are you!?!
Before I got out of my car to head into the house, I made one last attempt to call Max.
This time,  he answered.
Max's emotionless voice came through the speaker.
"Hello Kat."

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