Not Always There When You Call Novels & Stories

I missed her laughter, her sarcasm, her voice in my head telling me what not to do before I even did it. I picked up the phone and called her. Once. Twice. Three times. Nothing. No answer. I stared at the screen, confused. Even when we were mad at each other, she always picked up. Always. My thumb hesitated before I sent a simple message: “Em, please call me when you see this. I’m sorry.” I waited. Nothing. Maybe she was sleeping. Still, something about it felt off. I tried to shake off the weird pit growing in my stomach, so I went back online and began searching for personal assistant job boards. There were a few decent applications. I bookmarked them.

Aiden asks. "Dont know... but prepare to be the best man," I say and he looks at me surprised, perhaps with some doubt in his mind. I take my phone and hit the call button but the call goes straight to voicemail and something in my stomach sinks. Love always answers when I call. So I try again but the same thing happens. "Aiden, I'm going. She is not answering. I'll talk to you later." I say as I get up and start walking to the door.

CEASER I called Cathy over and over again the moment I got to the fuel station, but she didn't pick up. At first, I didn't think too much of it. Maybe she was still driving or had stepped out for a moment. I checked around, scanning every corner, every parked car, every movement, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. She wasn't there. Not her car, not her, nothing.

“You didn’t tell us he’d be coming. I mean—living with us?” “Oh, sorry, honey. It slipped my mind.” “Mom—” “Can I call you back?” “Mom—” “Take care of yourself, darling. I have to go.” Beep. I slowly pull the phone away from my ear and drop it onto the bed. She always does this. Always busy. Always rushing off. Always promising to call back, and never actually doing it. I groan and drag a hand down my face before heading to the bathroom. ~~~

I was hoping for a miracle to happen but I knew deep down that it had a thirty percent chance of happening. My phone chimed from beside me, indicating that I had an incoming call. I picked it up and saw that the number calling wasn't registered on my phone. I wondered who it was that was calling me. I answered the call waiting for the person on the other end of the line to speak up but there was no response. "Hello, " I said into the receiving end, hoping that the other person would reply but still there was no response.

I hang up the upcoming call on my phone for the umpteenth time this morning before I decide to just switch it off. Today's got to be perfect. I can't afford distractions. I ignore the weird feeling laced with that word. After taking a few breaths, I finally step out of my car and make my way into the giant building I've googled too many times. It looks even better in person. "Hi how are you doing?"

Make sure to give them a call. ...

One side feels there's something odd somewhere why she isn't here. I have to call her, I said to myself, as I took my phone and dialed her number. I couldn't hear it ringing. "The subscriber you are calling is not reachable at the moment. Please try again later." I guess it's the network. I will continue trying until I get through to her. I dialed her number over and over again, still hearing the same thing. I wasn't finding it funny anymore.

When she was calling for the tenth time, the call was still not connected, which made her feel uneasy. Jayden Elias Kyle had always been pestering her like a ghost. However, he hadn't appeared for a few days and didn't even answer his phone. Could something have happened to him?