MirrorMirror

16 / The Call

"Fuck, you don't waste your time, do you?"

Not Amy. Elise. Why did he imagine it might be the mysterious woman occupying his bedroom mirror? Did she even have fingers to dial his number? And how would she charge the device?

"Oh, it's you."

"Yes," she answered angrily. "It's me. So, not your new lover."

"My what?"

"You can't deny it now. You've landed yourself right in it."

"In what? What are you on about?"

"Ameeeee!"

"Amy? What about her? What do you want?"

"Is she your new piece? You've moved on already?"

"What? Fuck's sake, Elise. No, she's not."

Cass couldn't risk telling his ex-girlfriend the truth about Amy. She'd think he was insane, which was potentially the truth, anyway. Besides, she'd still mistrust him anyway, not that it had anything to do with her anymore.

"So, who then?"

"Nobody. She's just one of the agents about the house. It needs a bit of work doing, that's all. Nothing for you to worry about."

Elise laughed derisively. He could imagine her eyes narrowing the way they did when sarcasm and faux offence clouded her features and voice.

"Oh, I'm not worried. She can have you. Sloppy seconds."

Cass sighed and cursed himself for not thinking when answering her call. Just get on with it!

"What do you want?" he said calmly. Let her rant. He didn't need to rise to it.

"Forget it, now. Go play with your new toy."

"My new...? OK, fine. Bye."

He hung up. Elise hadn't made her point, but he wasn't interested in it either way. She'd only prompt a rise in his temper and descent of his mood. Nothing he did needed to concern her anymore. Whatever she wanted also didn't concern him.

His phone rang again. This time, he checked the screen before answering it. Elise, of course. He ignored the call. She rang again and, when he still didn't answer, he heard the notification sound of a text message.

"Do wht wnt. Dnt cer. Only rng 2 c if you kk."

Abbreviations in text plucked at his nerves. Use proper English! Remember vowels? Use them! Elise knew this and, though she usually wrote messages in such a way, she emphasised the method when speaking to him. It'd been the same since the beginning of their relationship, when he happened to mention his dislike. He wasn't criticising. It was a conversation. She thought it was aimed at her and, after the unnecessary argument, she put in extra effort to abbreviate.

Not for the first time, it took Cassidy a couple of tries to decipher her message.

"Do what you want. Don't Care. Only rang to see if you OK."

'KK' for 'OK' was a prime example, much like 'yer' for 'yes'. IT WAS THE SAME NUMBER OF LETTERS!

So, she called to see how he was? Wow. Had she ever done that before? Another message came through.

"Answer next time or I swear I will put your windows through. Do not ignore me."

The vowels and commonly dropped letters were all present and correct. She was clearly sending that message to emphasise her intent. Would she go through with her threat? He doubted it, but wasn't entirely sure. Elise had been known to pour paint stripper on a previous boyfriend's car after she discovered his infidelity. Elise was fully aware that Cassidy wasn't guilty of anything similar. Would that matter?