Hey man, if you have time, can you swing by?
I got some shit I need to talk to you about.
Gavin
Yeah. I can be there in half an hour.
The minutes seem to tick by slowly as I try to figure out how to tell Gavin I lied about Maizyn. I also have to figure out how to tell him I need to leave.
I’ve never lied to him before, I never had a reason to. We don’t tell each other about the women that we see unless we think it’s serious.
Gavin, on one hand, has never been a serious relationship guy. He jumps from one girl to the next without remembering their names. I, on the other hand, wasn’t much better. I avoided most women. It wasn’t worth the hassle when my hand could get the job done perfectly fine.
Well, until her.
The only problem is, the fact that I didn’t know how serious it was with her until she was gone. I ultimately had to lose her, to know the difference.
My thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. Knowing it’s Gavin I go to let him in.
I don’t say anything when I open the door, just gesture for him to follow me. While he knows this is an odd behavior for me, he doesn’t say anything. He follows me into the living room and plops down on the couch. Instead of joining him I remain standing, locked in thought.
“Atlas man, what’s up? Why did you ask me to come here?”
“Look I…fuck.” I start off, pacing the length of the room before handing him my phone.
“Just listen to the last voicemail on my phone. We can start from there.”
He takes the phone from me and listens to the voicemail. I know he heard the wreck when his eyes flick to me and he grips my phone tighter.
“Atlas what the fuck did I just hear? Who the fuck was that, and why is it on your phone?”
“That was Maizyn Lewis. She…she meant a lot to me and I fucked it all up. That night we had a fight. In short, I told her I didn’t need her in my life, so she left and went to that bar. It’s not the first argument we’ve had. I didn’t think anything of it until I heard that voicemail. It’s some random number, so I didn’t answer it that night.”
I pause for a second. Trying to formulate the right words as my composure cracks a little further with each passing second. I take a deep breath before continuing, “I figured whatever it was, I could deal with it in the morning. If I would’ve answered, maybe she wouldn’t be missing right now. I… I told her I didn’t need her and it’s like she fucking disappeared. She could be dead and I wouldn’t fucking know!”
“Man, just sit down and we can figure it out.”
I sigh but plop down next to him.
“It sounds like this is important to you. Why didn’t you ever tell meabout her? How long were you two seeing each other?”
“I met her like six or seven months ago, at Elixirs actually. You left the bar with some chick right before she came over to me. I planned to tell you, if it became something real. I didn’t understand how important she was until it was too late. At that point, I didn’t realize she was the one for me. I completely ruined it, and I was embarrassed to tell you, or anyone for that matter.”
“What else are you not telling me Atlas? I know that look.”
“I can’t stay here Gavin. This house, this city, it all reminds me of her. Until I figure out what happened, I can’t be here.”
“If you’re leaving, I’m coming with you man. We can find a little office space and relocate Torres Security for the time being or let Ramos run shit here while we’re gone. We can start looking for places now.”
“I didn’t ask you to drop everything and move your life around for me.”
“You didn’t have to. So, where’re we going?”
“I haven’t figured that part out yet.”
We spend the next hour scouting out possible office locations, when I come across one that captures my interest.
“I found one in the next state over, about three hours from here. Close enough to the main office that we can get here if anything goes wrong. I sent you the listing. Can you get it taken care of while I search for housing options close to it?”
