“Sorry, Paul! Grandpa ... didn’t I tell you I’d swing by the house tomorrow?”
“Now listen here, Kiddo! We came here...” he started annoyed, but I was in no mood for his tone. I was finally free, and I was NOT going to take that baggage with me into my new life.
“Alright, stop right there! Let me make this perfectly clear from the start, Grandpa. I didn’t move out on a whim! It cost me a fucking fortune to set this place up, after I spent months finding it. I moved out because I’m done taking their shit!” I paused to make sure he got what I had said, without wanting to reveal too much in front of Paul. “Now, this is
Grandpa was taken aback for a moment, surprised about my demand and tone. It seemed like he wasn’t too happy with me speaking to him like that, when Grandma stopped him by speaking up.
“You’re right, Tim. We’re sorry.” she said, throwing her husband a side glance. “Please ... can we go inside and talk?”
I looked at her for a moment, trying to gauge her sincerity. Then I led them into the building with a nod, and offered them a seat on my sofa while I went into the kitchen for something to drink. When I came back into the living room, however, Grandma was gone. I found her in my bedroom, sitting on my bed with a thoughtful expression on her face, as she took in the dull and empty surroundings. I watched her for a minute, until she finally noticed me standing in the doorway.
“Oh! I’m sorry, pumpkin!” she said with a sad smile. “How are you feeling?” she asked, in a concerned tone.
“I’m fine.” I answered, not sure whether she was apologizing on her daughter’s behalf, for enabling her, or for sneaking around my apartment. Then I moved towards my desk. “How was the drive?”
“Fine, fine. Tim ... where is all your stuff?” she asked, causing me to look at her in confusion while consciously keeping my smile up.
“What do you mean?” I noticed Grandpa standing in the doorway as I asked her that.
“I mean, why is it so empty here? Your room in the house only had three pieces of furniture left, so we thought you just took it all with you, but what little you have here looks and smells brand new. And where are all your personal things?” she clarified impatiently.
“And where is the furniture?” Grandpa added. “The second bedroom is completely unused, and the living room is only furnished with the bare minimum.”
“I only took my clothes and computer with me when I left. The furniture here looks new because it is. So, what you saw in my old room is basically how it looked before as well. My personal belongings are here.” I said and opened the middle drawer, pointing at its contents.
They came over, looked inside, and took a few of the pictures out. Those were the pictures showing me with my former friends. I wasn’t sure why I even took them with me instead of just dumping them before the move. I hadn’t so much as talked to any of these people in two years.
“Tim, that can’t be all. I remember Johnny’s room when he was your age. It was stuffed to the ceiling with all the tidbits he collected from all the things he was interested in over the years.” she explained, spreading her arms and gesturing to the walls. “Posters from his favorite sports teams, posters from his favorite bands ... where is all that?”
“And why are these pictures in your drawer instead of on your walls or desk?” Grandpa added.
“Well...” I thought about it for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase it best. “I kinda lost interest in most of that stuff, so I got rid of it. And the pictures ... These people barely even talk to me anymore, so maybe I’ll just throw them away too.”
“They don’t talk to you anymore?” Granny asked.
“How about you ask Ava about that. She has more insight into that than I do.” I waved her off, feeling my annoyance with these people grow as they displayed their cluelessness about my situation.
“Kiddo, I could believe you getting rid of the small stuff, like unfinished crafts projects. But where are all the books you used to read?” Grandpa noted. I had hoped they wouldn’t remember my fondness for fantasy novels.
“Oh. I gave those to someone else. She also enjoyed the genre and didn’t know most of mine yet. She ... took them with her when she moved.” I explained, trying to keep my voice firm and my emotions under control. I don’t think I fully succeeded, but they never commented on it if they noticed something.
I sat in my chair and started my PC, but they just stood there, giving me weirdly appraising looks when they didn’t exchange looks between themselves. Then Grandma sat back down on my bed and started talking again.
“Pumpkin ... I’m sorry about what happened at your home. Is there any chance...”
“There isn’t!” I shot her down.
“Come on, Pumpkin! It can’t be that bad!” she said with a doubtful tone. That did it. I lost it.
