The Call

A Short Story

(This is my first attempt at a short story.)

She kept turning in her bed, right to left and left to right; sleep had abandoned her tonight. All she could think of was the kiss—the affection she felt, followed by a rush of dejection. She had never kissed a boy before. The butterflies she felt afterwards were incomparable to anything she’d felt ever before. The satisfaction was extraordinarily calming and soothing—something a monk meditating for ages would feel at nirvana. She was the epitome of love and love had become her. Or at least she thought.

It had been two hours since the “incident.” Her heart was still beating fast, but she wasn’t hyperventilating anymore. Just as things seemed to be coming back to normalcy, the phone rang and then rang some more. She saw the caller ID and gasped. There came a glimmer in her eyes. It was him! Her friend of seven years. Her partner in crime.

“Hey...” she answered.

“Hey Ruth! I called to see if you’re ok... You just ran away from the party. I was worried!” He sounded little weird. Different than his usual self. Probably, he drank too much after she left. Well, he was a heavy drinker anyway.

“Hmm, I’m fine, I guess...”

“See, whatever happened between us tonight may seem inappropriate, but I don’t think it was. I have come to realize something very important. So, before it’s too late, I need you to know this. Here, you go!” He paused.  “I love you! I don’t know if you ever will feel the same for me, but I think you need to know! I’m happy that could be a part of your life!”

She was dumbfounded! Really? Me?

“Wow! I never thought you felt so... I am really glad that our feelings are—”

“I gotta go now! I’ll call in the morning to talk about ‘us’! Bye!” Before she could say goodbye, he cut the call.

She tried calling him back many times but to no avail. Saddened, she slept off, thinking at least I know he loves me too... She had loved him since the day they had met in a cafe and discussed Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons. Before she knew it, she was snoring!

At 10:00 a.m., she awoke to the buzz of her phone, but it wasn’t her alarm ringing; she’d snoozed it at least ten times thus far. Right now though, it was her best friend of nine years calling her.

“Hey Nance... What’s up...?” she managed to slur.

“Ruth! Where have you been! Something major happened last night!” Nancy sounded upset.

“I was sleeping, dude!  What’s wrong?!”

“Johan passed away yesterday ... in a car crash.”

“What! How!?” Ruth’s heart dropped in her stomach. Her throat became dry, and her eyes wet.

“After you left the party, he drank ten tequila shots and left my house without telling me. Sat in his car and drove it on the highway. I knew something was wrong—he had started crying and been calling out your name between the sobs and shots after you left. On the highway, he broke a signal, and a truck hit his car from behind...” She started sobbing hard.

Getting herself together, Ruth asked “What time... What time did it happen?”

Nancy was inconsolable by now. Her cries had reached a pitch only a dog could hear. But she managed to blurt out: “1 a.m.! I wish I could’ve—”

Ruth cut the call; then, she checked her phone. After seeing what she saw, she couldn’t breathe. The world started spinning around. She ran to the bathroom sink and puked! She saw her phone again: Johan had called her at 02:02 a.m. She crashed to the floor, pale and sad! 

And the phone rang again... this time it was Johan, calling to talk about “them”!