chapter 15
362 Words
Day six.
Ryan left at seven. Normal time.
His knuckles were scabbed.
The flip phone stayed on the counter. I didn’t touch it.
I cleaned. Made the bed. Did laundry.
At two, the flip phone rang.
One buzz. Loud.
I stared at it.
Second buzz.
I opened it. Pressed green.
Didn’t speak.
"Andrea." Ryan’s voice. Not Ryan. Flat. Wrong.
I didn’t answer.
"Andrea, are you there?"
Not my name.
"Who is this," I said.
Pause.
"This is your mother."
Victoria.
My grip tightened on the phone.
"How did you get this number."
"I always know where you are. Are you safe?"
"Yes."
"Is Ryan treating you well?"
"Yes."
"Good. Good." She sounded like she was crying. She wasn’t. "I miss you, baby. You know that?"
I said nothing.
"Listen to me. If anything happens. If you need out. There’s a man. He’ll find you. His name is Ivan."
My stomach dropped.
"He’s a good man. He’ll help you. Like he helped before."
Before.
I closed my eyes. "I don’t know an Ivan."
Long pause.
"Andrea. Don’t play games."
"I’m not Andrea."
The line went dead.
I shut the phone. Set it down.
Stood there.
Like he helped before.
Don’t play games.
I washed my hands. Water cold.
Folded towels.
At five, I started dinner.
Ryan came home at seven.
Saw the flip phone on the counter. Not where he left it.
Picked it up. Checked it.
"She call?"
"Yes."
He waited.
"Said her name was my mother. Said Ivan would help me. Like he helped before."
Ryan’s face didn’t move.
"What did you tell her."
"I don’t know an Ivan."
Ryan nodded once. Slow.
He put the phone back in his pocket.
"From now on, you don’t answer it. Not even for me."
"Okay."
We ate.
At nine, the locks clicked.
Ryan went to the office.
This time, he left the door open.
I walked past.
He was on his real phone. Voice low.
"She made contact. Used the burner." Pause. "No. The girl doesn’t know him." Pause. "Find him before she does."
He hung up.
I kept walking.
Got in bed.
The house was quiet.
No flip phone on the nightstand.
- Writer
