Lost in madness

Chapter 11

Dabe

My head was buried in my soft pillow, drifting into a peaceful sleep when suddenly the shrill sound of my phone ringing shattered the silence of the night.

I groaned, blinking blearily at the clock. It's 2:00 a.m. Who calls at 2:00 a.m? I knew exactly who was calling at this ungodly hour, this starting to feel like punishment, I sat up properly and debated whether to pick up or just let it go to voicemail.

The ringing continued, persistent and annoying. I huffed in frustration, finally giving in and reaching for the phone on the bedside table.

"Hello?" I mumbled, my voice thick with sleep. I cleared my throat and tried again, "Hello."

"Did I wake you?

I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Of course, he would ask that. Only he would think it's perfectly acceptable to call someone past midnight and expect them to be awake, "What do you want?" I asked, trying to sound irritated but failing miserably, "Just because I agreed to pick up your calls doesn't mean you can call me every five minutes."

"I could come over and spend the night?"

"Don't you dare show your face here?"

"'I'm trying to be nice, don't push me away or I will come over..."

I let out a sigh, I didn't know what else to say to him, "I couldn't sleep because I miss you," he said sheepishly,

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I was sleeping just fine until you decided to wake me up with your petty calls."

He chuckled softly.

"Again, I missed you. Can you make time for me tomorrow?"

"Well, it depends.."

"On what?"

"Where's Sally right now? Are you calling me next to her on the bed, no, you can't be that shameless."

"I'm at the office, I slept in... There was an incident at the office?"

"What, You okay?" That slipped out. He's never going to let me forget it, I could feel his wit rising.

"Wow, if I didn't know any better I would think Dabe Peters cares about me.."

"I do care," I whispered.

"I know." He whispers back.

The line goes silent and we both understand what that means, "There was a fire at the office, don't worry I wasn't in the building when it happened but one of our employees got hurt, just a leg burn but he will be fine. .. I haven't even told Sally, still trying to process it and follow up on the insurance."

"Are you okay?" I ask again, there's another drop-off silence before he answers, and I can feel him smiling.

"I am now, your voice has a way of calming me, that's why keep calling. .. So please don't hang up on me and keep talking."

I exhale and think of something to talk about, the man makes me mad yet I can't stop loving him, and I'm never going to admit that to him.

"I had brunch with Sally earlier?" I started.

"That's what you want to talk about, Sally? Are you trying to punish me?"

"You wanted to talk, this is us talking unless you have something better to say...I'm listening."

"Brunch, huh? Let me guess, you guys talked about me?" He joined in.

"Not everything is about you." I shot back and he laughs,

"What else is there to talk about?"

"Do you remember when you had that party at your house, the one with your friends and then me, Sally, Fola, and Sade, we played a bunch of stupid games like truth or dare?"

"Dabe Peters, Are you trying to turn me on right now?"

"Okay, I'm hanging up—"

"Alright, I'm sorry." He cuts in quickly, "Yeah, that came out dirty. I apologize. Carry on...Yes, I remember, it was the last party I threw at the house and the only one you showed up to."

"Well, Sally remembers it too, she asked about that night, she thinks something happened when we went upstairs. I told her we just talked but I don't think she believes me, just in case she asks, just tell her I cried or something."

"What did happen that night, Dabe? Can you jog my memory?"

"Are you trying to be funny right now?"

"We fell in love with each other that night, well, I don't know about you but I did and it was an amazing feeling knowing I could be myself around someone."

I couldn't help but soften at his words, despite my annoyance. We ended up talking for hours after that, about everything and nothing. We laughed, we argued, we reminisced about old times. Before I knew it, the sky outside my window was turning a soft pink hue, signaling the arrival of dawn.

"We should probably get some sleep," I yawned, feeling the fatigue finally catching up to me.

"Yeah, probably. Thanks for keeping me company."

"Anytime," he replied, his voice filled with warmth. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

I smiled, feeling a warmth spread through me. "Wait, before you hang up, I need you to go home, I hate to think Sally is having breakfast all by herself when she as a husband, you promised to take care of her, and this is not you taking care of her....Step up and act like a husband."

Silence falls between us,

"Alright, talk to you later."

And as I hung up the phone, I couldn't help but feel grateful for the late-night conversations. Despite my initial annoyance, I knew that I wouldn't have traded those hours of talking for anything in the world.