August 23rd
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can…”
“Hi Dad, it’s me, Nate… I know it’s only been a day, but it feels like forever since you left… Everything is okay here at home, the house is still standing and I managed not to burn down anything so far, which is good. I’ve been attending all of my lessons, no skipping class or causing trouble, I promise… This whole thing is really hard on Mom, though, today when I came home, she was standing in the doorway of your bedroom, just staring at the empty shelves in the wardrobe with tears in her eyes. She didn’t move an inch from that place for the longest time. I’m kind of worried about her, she misses you a lot, just like me. I wish you could come home already and tell her that everything will be alright, just like you always do. But I know they need their best Lieutenant’s expertise on the field over there, so I guess we can wait a little longer until everything is set straight… Anyway, I gotta go now, we’re going over to Ben’s house tonight with a few guys to try his new game… Take care and come home soon, okay? We’ll be here waiting for you…”
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September 13th
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can…”
“Uhm, hey… It’s me, again… I tried calling you a few times, but it always goes straight to voicemail… You haven’t replied to my first message either and that was 3 weeks ago… I know, you’re probably busy with planning strategies or something, so I don’t blame you… I just wanted to let you know that the roof in the living room needs to be fixed again, water is leaking in whenever it rains… Also, the landlord called last week, telling us that he had raised the rent… Mom looks more and more tired every day, I’m worried she will get sick if she continues like this… Whenever I ask her if I can help, she forces out a smile — although it never reaches her eyes — and hugs me as tight as she can, telling me how much she loves me. She always says she’s fine, but many nights, when she thinks I’m asleep, I hear her quiet sobs through the wall, and I don’t know what to do… I’ve been home a lot more lately, I feel better when I can keep an eye on her and make sure she’s alright… Please, give us a call if you have a minute, it would mean a lot to Mom… And to me, as well… I guess that’s it for now, be safe… We love you…”
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October 16th
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message…”
“Dad, I don’t know why you’re not replying, but if you get this message, call back ASAP… I had to call the ambulance for Mom today… I took a shower while she was cooking dinner and when I was done and went to check on her, she was lying on the floor next to the stove, unconscious… I was so scared… I still am… Doctors said she has to stay the night so they can make sure she’s okay… They also run some tests and they say it might take a few days till they get the results… I started working part-time at the car mechanic, so we have some extra money, but now that I can’t leave Mom alone, I don’t know how I will manage to balance everything… I just want her to be fine…You have to come home, I have no idea what to do… We need you here more than ever… It’s all too much, I can’t do this alone…
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November 21st
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can…”
“Five more weeks and still no sign from you. I’m not sure you even get these messages… I know it’s not something I should tell you this way, but… Mom’s ill. It’s pretty bad, to be honest… There are days when she can’t even get out of bed without help… She lost a lot of weight too… We go to regular check-ups every week and doctors say she will be alright if she keeps on taking her medication, but I’m not sure if they are working… It only seems to get worse day by day… But Dad, something else came out as well… According to her blood result, she’s… She’s pregnant. 14 weeks already… I was afraid that the news might break her even more, but despite her physical state, she seems calmer, more balanced… She loves that baby with everything in her and they’re not even here yet… I didn’t know the first thing about pregnancy, but since she will need all the help I could give, I started reading all kinds of books about it to be prepared… I don’t like leaving her alone in case anything happens, so I talked to the school’s principal and we agreed that I would continue learning online, from home. This way I can be there for Mom during the daytime and go to work after she falls asleep. Even then it’s hard to leave her side, but we need the money, so Ms. Paisley from next door agreed to watch over her while I’m gone… I struggle a lot with sleeping even though I’m exhausted after working all night. If I’m lucky, I get around 4–5 hours of rest every few days. Energy drinks are the only things keeping me alive… I know you’re not trying to ignore us, you’re probably not allowed to contact us, but if you get this message, please do something… I feel like things are getting out of control, and with Mom’s pregnancy, things are only getting more and more hectic… I could use a helping hand… Or even just your advice… Anything, really…
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February 3rd
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can…”
“I don’t even know why I keep on sending these voicemails. It’s clear that you either have no access to these or you simply can’t reply in any form… But maybe it’s the latter, and if that’s the case, I want to keep you updated… Anyway, you’d probably be happy to hear that you’ll have a baby daughter in just around 15 weeks. Mom was over the moon when we got the news… Also, I met this guy a few weeks back, who offered me a job with much higher pay than the one I had at the mechanic, so I accepted his offer. It’s nothing crazy, I basically have to transport some packages from one location to the other. I admit, it may be a bit shady, but with this extra money, I could pay for proper treatment for Mom, and it seems to work. She’s happier and healthier than she was in a long time, and that’s all that matters… Yesterday she felt so strong that she insisted we take a walk in the afternoon. She got tired pretty quickly, but we had a great time nonetheless. We’re taking things one step at a time… I hope you’re safe wherever you are and that you can be here when my baby sister arrives…
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February 19th
“You’ve reached David Campbell’s voicemail. I’m not available at the moment, but if you leave a message, I will get back to you as soon as I can…”
“I’m in trouble, Dad… I did something bad… Really bad… I didn’t want to, I swear… I… I didn’t know this would happen… It was supposed to be just a simple exchange… They gave me the address and told me to drop off this package… I never would have done it if I knew… There’s just so much blood… It’s everywhere… All over my clothes and my hands… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry Dad!…I tried to stop the bleeding… I did everything… I can’t call the ambulance… They will find me and then Mom would be alone… Damn it… She needs me… She needs the money… What do I do now, Dad? …I can’t help her if they get me… I have to get out of here… I have to…”
……………
“No… No no no… No, this can’t happen… They are here… Dad… The police are here… Someone must have heard the gunshot… No, I… I can’t go with them… I can’t…”
“Drop the gun! Hands in the air! Don’t try anything stupid, you’ll just make it worse for yourself…”
“No, you don’t understand… I can’t go… I can’t…”
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Message
YOU ARE READING
Voicemail - A Short Story
Short StoryIf you, too, needed to grow up too fast, too early, way before you felt ready. If you, too, had to take on responsibilities of an adult when you were just a kid. If you, too, were told to figure things out on your own without any help - then this sh...
