five messages

62 5 0
                                    

That night, after I made sure that Bonnie was in good shape to drive, I decided to go out for a little drink. I didn't have a car, (my old one was smashed in to pieces, and I probably won't ever drive again), so I began walking to the small corner pub across the street from the complex.
As I entered the pub, a dozen or so heads turned to look my way, the normally rowdy pub quiet for once. I strolled over to the bar, feeling many eyes on me, and asked the bartender for a pint. When she returned, I spoke in a hushed voice;
"Why is everyone looking at me?"
She blinked at me twice, and replied, "Well, you're the miracle boy, right? The one who was in the massive car accident and was the only one who didn't come out with a single wound?"
Well, I hadn't realized that word had gotten around so fast. Sure, I was the only one who hadn't gotten an injury from the accident- even the white van driver had gotten some whiplash and a black eye. I didn't reply to her, I simply sat and sipped my beer. After a couple of mouthfuls, I stopped. What the hell was I doing? The last time I drank was when I was in the car, just before...
I shuddered at the thought, the beer turning sour in my mouth, appalled at myself for even drinking again. I stood up, slipped a fiver to the barista, and stumbled out. I hadn't had too much to drink, but I could already feel the alcohol having an effect on me.
As I went to cross the road, I saw someone just stood in there apartment car park, staring up towards the top floor. Were they looking at my window? I hurried across the road towards them, but they heard my footsteps echoing down the almost empty street, turning to face me.
I stopped. A cold chill ran down my spine, as if Death himself was gently caressing my back, and my pulse sped up. I knew that face, better than I knew anyone's face.
"Ro.." I couldn't finish the word. This wasn't possible, it couldn't be. It was different to my nightmares, in them I subconsciously knew they weren't real due to the constant floaty feeling. But this? This was real.
He smiled, and began to walk away from me, towards the alleyway next to the apartment complex. I followed him, practically running as he disappeared into the shadows. When I got there, I squinted in the darkness, searching, but he was gone.
"What the fu..." I shook my head in dismay. There's no way that that stranger was who I thought it was. I tried to forget what I just saw and made my way back to the apartment.
When I got back into my room, my mobile phone was where I left it after speaking to Mum, next to the now-cold pans of food. The screen glowed excitedly, and I kicked my boots off by the door and sauntered over to it, still kind of in shock from what happened minutes ago.
I pick up my phone and looked through the notifications.

(3) Missed Calls from Barry Mobile
(1) Message from Unknown
(2) Voicemails Available

"Hm," I said to myself, and dialed *121 on my phone to hear the voice mails.

"2 messages," stated the monotone voice, "Message 1 received at: 9:30pm -"

I checked my watch; 10:12pm. Bonnie left at 8ish, which meant I'd been out for just under 2 hours.

"Hey, uh, Sam," Barry's voice sound tinny through the phone speaker. "Craig has just gone for his close up x-rays, he should get his results within the next few days. About before.. I don't think you should come to the hospital for a while, not until Craig has cooled off- He's coming back, talk to you later."

I pressed a button on my phone and began to tidy up the pans.

"Message deleted. Message 2 received at: 9:47pm-"

"Hey, it's me again, Barry. Craig and I had an argument, I'm gonna come back to Ross'- your's tonight, if that's okay with you. I should be back around 10:15, I'm just going to make sure Bonnie gets home okay, she mentioned she stopped by before...? Anyway, I'll see you later. See ya."

"End of message."

I clicked a number on the keypad and pressed the home button as the robot woman said "Message deleted. No new messages."
I filled the pans with soapy water and left them to soak for a bit whilst I checked the text message. I was curious to see who it was from, not many people have my mobile number so I wasn't sure how an unknown number managed to get it.
I clicked on the message and it read:
"Hiya Sam, Bonnie here. Barry gave me your number just in case I ever needed you. Any who, Barry and Craig had a wee argument about something involving you, and Barry left pretty quickly. I'm going to stay here with Craig tonight, so I might stop by in the morning just to check on you lads. Nite xx"
"I wonder how serious this argument was," I muttered to myself as I went into my bedroom and took some extra pillows into the living room for Barry to sleep on the couch. Just as I fixed the blanket, Barry tapped on the door gently and let himself in.
"Oh, Sam." he says, his cheeks pink and his nose slightly runny. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, nowhere, just went out for a stroll." I say casually, but Barry studies my flickering eyes.
"Sam, is everything okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Barry states, hanging his scarf on the cost rack.
"Don't," I said weakly, sitting down on the sofa.
"Oh shit, Sam I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Barry came and sat next to me, putting his arm around me. He sniffed slightly. "Have you been out drinking?"
I looked at the floor sheepishly. "Maybe," I said guiltily,
"Sam, how could you go out drinking when Craig is going through so much-" He cut himself off.
"You don't think that I'm going through stuff too, Barry? I lost my best friend, Christ. Give me a break, man." I muttered, casting my eyes low.
"Sam..about before, in the hospital.. Craig didn't mean it."
"Barry, you didn't see the way he looked at me," I said disgustedly. "You were too busy staring off into the distance to care."
"Sam come on, stop it," Barry removed his arm from my shoulders and held his elbows like a nervous child. "Today's been a rough day for all of us,"
"Rough day?" I scoffed. "My mum and my two best friends tell me that I'm a bloody murderer, my dead boyfriend's sister turns up at the door crying her eyes out, and-" I stopped myself. I wasn't going to tell him about seeing Ross in the car park.
"..I get it, Sam. You're going through a lot; we all are." Barry got up and walked towards the bathroom, obviously putting an end to the conversation.
"Cheeky bastard!" I muttered under my breath. "I give him a bloody place to sleep and he brushes me off like a piece of dirt."
I pushed myself up from the creaky couch and try to walk towards the door.
"Argh," I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head, but it left as quickly as it came. I shook it off, and shut my bedroom door.

The Past Keeps Following MeWhere stories live. Discover now