Whispering in Alex’s ear, I said, “Nothing else matters if I don’t have her, Alex. Nothing.”
Clearing his throat, my father walked up to me and placed his hand on my back. “Colt, let’s go get something to eat.”
Alex stepped away and looked into my eyes. There was something calming about the way she was looking at me. “You need to eat, Colt. If you want to be strong for Lauren, you need to eat. Let me take you to the cafeteria.
Nodding my head, I glanced over to Grace. Her eyes were red from all the crying. She looked how I felt. “Grace, are you hungry?”
Nodding her head, she smiled slightly. “Yeah.”
Looking around the room I asked who was hungry. Amanda walked up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “Um . . . we all just got back from eating something.” Turning to Grace, Amanda smiled. “Grace, you go with Alex and Colt, sweetheart. I know you haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”
Walking up to me, Grace laced her arm through mine as Alex stood on the other side of me. “Come on, let’s get us some food,” Grace said, barely above a whisper.
Turning to my father, I went to talk but he just nodded his head. I knew he wouldn’t leave, but I just needed to know he would be here for Lauren if I couldn’t.
The moment we stepped into the elevator and the door closed, I felt as if I couldn’t breathe. “Maybe I should stay here and y’all go get food?”
Alex shook her head. “No, Colt, we’re going to get food. Mom, Dad, Scott, and Jessie are up there. It’s okay.”
Nodding my head, I blindly let Alex and Grace lead me to the cafeteria.
Grace and I both ate chicken salad sandwiches and a bag of chips. I had to admit I felt better getting something into my body. Alex made me drink two bottles of water, then handed me a bag. “It’s a change of clothes. Will brought them after Daddy asked him to grab you some clothes.”
Reaching out for the bag, I nodded my head. I’d been in the same clothes I changed into after football practice a few days ago. “I’ll um, go change in the bathroom.”
Grace and Alex both nodded their heads and said they would wait for me by the elevator. After changing, I placed my clothes into the bag and zipped it up. Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn’t believe how terrible I looked. I hadn’t slept in two days except for a few times when I nodded off for about ten minutes or so. Closing my eyes, I dropped my head back. “I swear to you, I’ll do anything you want if you please just bring her back to me. Please.”