The unknown call
1447 Words
Wayne's pov
Wayne stared at the unknown number for several seconds.
He almost let it ring.
Almost.
Then he answered.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
“Who is this?”
A slow breath came through the phone.
Then a voice.
“Wayne.”
His entire body went still.
He knew that voice.
A voice he hadn't heard in years.
His father's.
Wayne's fingers tightened around the phone.
“Why are you calling me?”
There was a brief silence.
“I've been hearing things.”
Wayne said nothing.
His father continued.
“You've changed.”
Wayne's jaw tightened. “You don't know anything about me.”
A quiet pause followed.
“I know more than you think.”
Wayne looked away.
“What do you want?”
“Be careful.”
Wayne frowned.
“About what?”
His father didn't answer.
Instead, he said quietly,
“Not everything around you is what it seems.”
The line went dead.
Wayne stared at the screen.
No explanation.
No warning about a specific person.
Nothing.
Just four words that refused to leave his mind.
Not everything is what it seems.
He slowly lowered the phone.
For the first time in years, Wayne wondered if his father had been watchin
Wayne lowered the phone.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
His father's voice still echoed in his head.
Not everything around you is what it seems.
Wayne clenched his jaw.
He hated that voice.
He hated how easily a few words from that man could drag him back into memories he had spent years trying to bury.
His father hadn't called him in years.
Not once.
Not on his birthday.
Not when Wayne needed him.
Nothing.
So why now?
Wayne looked at his phone again before reaching for another name in his contacts.
Darren.
The call connected after a few rings.
“Wayne?”
“I need a favor.”
Darren immediately noticed the seriousness in his voice.
“What happened?”
“I need you to find someone.”
“Who?”
Wayne paused.
“My father.”
There was silence on the other end.
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Now.”
Darren sat up.
“You haven't spoken about him in years.”
“I know.”
“Did he contact you?”
Wayne didn't answer.
“That doesn't matter. I need information.”
Darren was quiet for a moment.
“Okay. What exactly do you want me to find?”
“Where he's been. Where he's living. What he's been doing. Anyone he's been around. Anything you can find.”
“And if I find something?”
“Tell me.”
Darren sighed.
“You know this could take some time.”
“Take the time.”
Wayne ended the call.
He placed the phone on the table and leaned back.
His father's sudden call had unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
He had spent years learning how to live without that man.
Now, one phone call had opened a door Wayne had never wanted to touch again.
A few hours passed.
Wayne heard nothing from Darren.
He tried to distract himself.
He couldn't.
He walked around his room, checked his phone, sat down, stood again.
Nothing.
Then his phone finally vibrated.
Darren.
Wayne answered immediately.
“Talk.”
Darren didn't speak for a moment.
“Wayne…”
“What did you find?”
“I found him.”
Wayne sat upright.
“Where?”
“New York.”
Wayne's expression changed.
“What?”
“Your father is in New York.”
For a moment, Wayne couldn't respond.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“I checked more than once.”
“How long?”
Darren hesitated.
“He's been there for a while.”
Wayne's eyes narrowed.
“How long is a while?”
“Years.”
Silence.
Years.
His father had been in New York all this time.
Wayne had never known.
“How did you find him?”
“I had to dig through a few things. But I found an address.”
“Send it.”
Darren did.
Wayne's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen.
An address.
A name.
His father's name.
Wayne stared at it for several seconds.
His father hadn't just appeared out of nowhere.
He had been living his own life somewhere in the same city.
And Wayne had known nothing about it.
“Anything else?” Wayne asked.
Darren hesitated.
“I found a few things, but I'm not sure what they mean.”
“Send them.”
“Wayne—”
“Everything.”
Another pause.
“Okay.”
Wayne ended the call.
A moment later, more information appeared on his phone.
He read through it silently.
Then he locked the screen.
“Keep an eye on him,” Wayne said when Darren called again.
“What?”
“Don't approach him. Don't let him know you're watching. Just keep an eye on his movements.”
Darren was silent.
“You think he's going to do something?”
Wayne looked toward the window.
“I don't know.”
And that was exactly what bothered him.
Early that evening, Kane and Sasha sat outside a small café not far from school.
Sasha was laughing at something Kane had said.
“You're actually ridiculous.”
Kane grinned.
“You still like me.”
“Unfortunately.”
They both laughed.
For a while, everything was easy.
Normal.
Then Sasha's smile slowly faded.
Kane noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“The thing where you say nothing but your face says everything.”
Sasha folded her arms.
“Why do you always choose them?”
Kane frowned.
“Choose who?”
“Your friends.”
He blinked.
“What are you talking about?”
“Whenever they call, you leave.”
Kane chuckled.
“Sasha—”
“No. I'm serious.”
She looked directly at him.
“Sometimes I feel like I'm only your girlfriend when they're not around.”
Kane's smile disappeared.
“That's not true.”
“Then why does it feel that way?”
Kane leaned back.
“Sasha, you know they're important to me.”
“And I'm not?”
“You know that's not what I mean.”
“Then explain it.”
Kane sighed.
Sasha looked away.
“I just don't understand why you can spend hours with them, but the moment I'm with you and your phone rings, everything changes.”
Kane reached for her hand.
“You're overthinking it.”
She pulled her hand back.
“Maybe.”
Silence settled between them.
Then Sasha looked at him again.
“Do you ever get tired of keeping things from me?”
Kane's expression changed slightly.
“What things?”
“I don't know.”
She shook her head.
“That's the problem. I don't know anything.”
Kane looked away.
Sasha studied him.
“You guys are always together. You disappear without explaining. Sometimes I feel like there's an entire part of your life that I'm not allowed to see.”
Kane was quiet.
“Sasha…”
“What?”
“I don't want you thinking you don't matter to me.”
She stared at him.
“Then make me feel like I do.”
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Kane finally nodded.
“I'll try.”
Sasha's expression softened.
“Good.”
They sat quietly for a while.
Then Kane's phone vibrated on the table.
He glanced at the screen.
His expression immediately changed.
Sasha noticed.
“Who is it?”
Kane turned the phone facedown.
“Nobody.”
Sasha stared at him.
She didn't believe him.
But she didn't ask again.
Not yet.
Later that night, Wayne lay awake in his room.
The lights were off.
The city outside his window had become quiet.
He closed his eyes.
But sleep wouldn't come.
His father's voice returned again.
Not everything around you is what it seems.
Wayne opened his eyes.
He reached for his phone and looked at the address Darren had sent him.
His father's name was still there.
Wayne stared at it.
Then he locked the screen.
He turned onto his side.
A few minutes passed.
He still couldn't sleep.
Wayne finally sat up and looked toward the window.
For years, he had convinced himself that his father's chapter in his life was over.
Tonight, he wasn't so sure.
And for the first time in a long time, Wayne wondered what his father had been doing all those years.
He had no answer.
Only questions.
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