That did it. Whether he actually understood the concept of surprises or he had just given up doing his best octopus impression as he fought going into the carrier, he went limp. I stuffed him into the opening of the mesh container with a promise of opening the expandable section when we got in the car. Grabbing up my overnight bag, the carrier, and a bag of supplies for Frankie, I headed out.
I called Lindsey on the way to her apartment to find out if she wanted me to stop by a store or restaurant and grab something. We hadn’t made any plans for dinner, and if I had my way, we would just stay in for the evening. Knowing we were going to be up at the bar the next day, I would rather spend Friday night enjoying some quiet time together. But she didn’t answer.
I called a couple more times on the way, but both eventually went to voicemail. When I pulled up in front of her apartment, I noticed her car wasn’t in its usual parking space. I started to get worried. We’d just talked earlier in the day, and she’d insisted I come over as soon after work as possible. It wasn’t like I was surprising her.
Sitting in front of her apartment, I called again. There was still no answer. In a last-ditch effort, I went to the door and knocked. After a pause, I knocked again. A door a few apartments down opened, and a woman’s head poked out. Her expression was angry but softened when she saw me.
“Oh. I thought it was that woman again,” she said.
“No. I’m sorry. It’s just me.” I pointed to the door. “Do you know where Lindsey is?”
The neighbor’s face twisted up into an almost disgusted expression. “Why would I know where she is? Do you think I don’t have anything better to do than monitor my neighbors’ every movement?”
She backed into her apartment and slammed the door. So much for neighborly concern.
As I headed for the car, I tried calling again. This time, it went straight to voicemail. I got back in my truck and waited for another hour. Maybe she got caught up at the bar. She had never hosted a private event before. It was possible things weren’t going as smoothly as she hoped, and they were having to work out some issues before she could get away. Going up there would just complicate things, so I would wait.
Another half an hour went by, and I was getting too antsy to sit still. Frankie wailed in his carrier, and I knew he wasn’t going to make it out in the heat much longer. I gave calling her one last try, then got back behind the wheel and drove home.
Frankie glared at me as he climbed out of his carrier. Plopping down in front of me, he started licking his fur slowly, like he wanted me to know how aggravated he was. I paced through the house for a few minutes, trying to tell myself everything was fine. There had to be a reasonable explanation.
Finally, I couldn’t take the wait or the anxiety anymore. I called Nick and was relieved when he picked up on the first ring.
“Did you hear from her?” he asked.
“From Lindsey?” I asked. “That’s why I was calling you. We were supposed to meet up at her house after work, and she isn’t there. I’ve been calling her, but she hasn’t answered, and now her phone is going straight to voicemail.”
“She’s at the hospital,” Nick said.
My heart jumped into my throat and felt like it was going to split out of my chest. I was already running for the front door.
“What happened? Is she alright? Why didn’t anybody call me?” I asked. “What floor is she on?”
“No, Grant. Lindsey is fine. She’s there with Remy,” Nick said
“You fucking idiot,” I said angrily as I slammed the truck door behind me and cranked the engine. “You don’t lead with ‘she’s at the hospital.’”
“You didn’t know where she was, and that’s where she is,” Nick said. “She called me a couple hours ago to tell me Remy is there.”
“What happened to him?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard from her since that first call. But if it was really serious, I’m sure she would have let me know,” he said.
That hit me hard. He was right. She didn’t call me when she found out her son was in the hospital, but she did call Nick.
“Everything is covered at the bar tonight because of that special event. But you need to call the staff and let them know she probably won’t be available tomorrow. I doubt she’s thinking about that right now.”
Nick agreed and we got off the phone. For the rest of the drive to the hospital, I tried not to let myself feel angry. Everything was new between Lindsey and me. Yes, things were great, and we were getting closer every day. But we hadn’t even talked about what we were. We weren’t officially in a relationship, and even if we were, it had only been going on for a couple of weeks.