I was running
out of options when my phone chimed. Expecting it to be Maggie, I dove for it.
I hissed when I realized it was a video. I recognized the parking lot of the
coffee shop and knew it must be one of the phones I spotted in the crowd of douche
bags.
Within seconds
my phone chimed again with another video, then another. It went on and on, one
video after another. I turned the ringer off, setting the phone on my desk. I felt
like I was going to be sick. All the numbers were blocked, so I couldn't be
certain if it was the same person or a different one. The notification light
kept flashing for a long time, but I refused to pick up my phone. I just stared
at it helplessly as nausea wormed through my belly.
The house phone
ringing jarred me from my thoughts. Figuring someone had tried my cell and got
no answer, I jogged to the unit in the hall and picked it up. There was a long
silence, then some heavy breathing. As I was just about to hang up, someone
mooed, then more heavy breathing. Disgusted, I put the phone in the cradle and
yanked the cord out of the wall. I went around the house doing the same with
all the phones.
When the
doorbell started to ring, I ignored it, returning to my room and huddling on
the bed. I wrapped a pillow around my head, a wailing sound coming from my
throat no matter how hard I tried to stop it. I heard a phone ringing,
realizing too late I hadn’t unplugged the one in my dad’s room.
I have no idea
how long I sat rocking on my bed, pillow wrapped around my ears as the phone
rang, the doorbell chimed, and knocks sounded at the door. Glass broke in the
living room, but I didn’t move to examine it. I just sat there, rocking and
crying and praying to die.
Silence didn’t
register when it fell at long last for a good long minute. At first I didn’t
trust it, though I was finally able to still myself. I dropped the pillow from
my ears, though I kept it in my hands. There was no sound except for the normal
ones - the refrigerator running, the crickets chirping outside. I slid to the
edge of my bed, afraid to move for fear of the torment starting again.
My door swung
open and I screamed, turning to bury my face in the pillow as sobs wracked my body.
Hands pulled at me, trying to turn me but I fought them, refusing to give them
the satisfaction of my tears. An urgent voice suddenly registered and I turned
and threw myself into my dad’s arms, sobbing.
