𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

twenty two

『 twenty-two 』

TO SAY THAT NATALIE EXPECTED what she received the next evening would be a lie. 

Her day was actually going pretty well. Calculus test; nailed it! Successful dating advice! Her hand was giving her the least pains of the month. Perfect traffic conditions both to and from school. Overall, a very stress-free day. It was pretty good. 

Then she came home. 

Homework was done within twenty minutes. That left the rest of her evening for free time and enjoyable things. 

And one unknown caller. 

Natalie happened to be cleaning off her makeup and calling Aisha when they called. She was tempted to let it ring. Then she had a brilliant idea to mess with them. 

It was probably a scammer. She liked to play along with scammers and mess around. Once, she kept someone on for twenty minutes out of pure spite. They didn't realize what was going on until she busted out the "oh, you want my name? Let me spell it out for you: f... u... c... k... y... o... u..." 

Why not do it again?

"I'll call you back, babe, okay?" Natalie said to Aisha. They said their goodbyes and Natalie threw down her makeup wipe. 

"Hello?" She answered. 

"Nat. I don't know how long I can stay out here for," Robby's voice came out of the speaker. 

Natalie had to clamp her hand over her mouth to prevent herself from screaming. Her stiff brace smacked into her jaw and front teeth. "Robby?!" She whispered. 

"I can't talk for very long, Natalie. I don't have much money for additional minutes. How are you doing?" He got straight to the point. 

She muttered a "good" before checking the hall. All clear. She still spoke in a hushed voice, for fear of anyone who may pass.  "Where are you? Are you eating well? How are you getting anywhere?"

"I'm okay, I'm okay," he assured her gently. "I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner. You never realize how expensive gas is until you're working with a day's minimum wage."

"You're driving?" Natalie exclaimed, covering her mouth again. "How did you get a car?"

Robby didn't respond immediately. Or at all. Natalie chose not to interrogate. 

"I'm sorry I couldn't help more. I feel useless," she spoke in distress.

"No, don't feel bad!" He urged. "Please don't feel bad! This is my fault. I shouldn't have let you come into this. I'm so so sorry, Natalie, for putting you through this. I'm so sorry."

Natalie leaned heavily against the counter. "Don't worry about me, Robby. Okay? Just stay safe for a few more days. Please stay safe."

"I don't deserve you," he muttered. 

"No you don't," she giggled, airily. He allowed himself to laugh for a few seconds. 

Someone knocked on the door. "Are you okay in there?" Leila asked. 

"I'm fine!" Natalie told her, putting one hand on the door. She didn't hear her mom walk away. 

"Can you visit my mom sometime?" Robby asked. 

Natalie turned on the faucet, quickly nodding. "Of course."

"Thanks. I'll see you soon. I love you."

And with that, the connection was dropped. 

Natalie wiped the several tears that were falling down her cheek. She threw her phone onto the counter and turned the faucet off.