Wrong Number

Chapter 9

Archie awoke yet again to find two women sprawled along side him in his bed. It was beginning to become a bit of a habit coming home with more than one woman, a habit that usually he would have been more than happy to indulge, however after speaking to her, he suddenly didn't want his life to be like that. Groaning he rubbed his temples, not only to try and ease some of the pain forming there, but to try and help him remember what had happened last night. However having the two women and their clothes strewn across the floor of his bedroom meant that no explanation as to the conclusion of last night was needed.

Crawling out of bed as quietly as he could as to not wake the women. Archie practically clawed his was to the kitchen, hoping that his age-old cure for hangovers; orange juice would work. Using the fridge door as a prop, Archie poured himself a glass, alternately groaning at the pain in his head, and taking a sip of the juice, hoping to God that it would work.

Archie shut the door to the fridge, resting his forehead against it for a few seconds, trying to gather the strength to ring Mickey, for what would be a very awkward conversation. Upon raising his head from its position on the fridge door, he saw her number being held up by a magnet. As soon as the recognition registered, last nights events came back more vividly than Archie would have wished. And along with them, the very rude way in which he had spoken to her.

"Fuck," Archie spat out, tearing the number off the fridge heading for his phone. All the while trying to come up with a decent apology as to why he was such a dick last night.

Punching the number in it rang twice before a click sounded. Archie thinking it was just her picking up the phone tried to dive in with an apology before she could speak, however he realised it was her answering machine.

"Hi you've reached Isobell Fraber, sorry I'm out at the moment, but leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Archie stood there startled.

He had just unintentionally found out her name. Just hearing it broke the spell of anonymity he was enjoying. Dropping the phone back down on the hook he stared at it a few more seconds.

It was odd how just by knowing someone's name could alter your perception so much.

He had just been thinking of her… Isobell as someone he had known for years, someone with whom he was entirely comfortable. Hearing here name for the first time now shocked Archie into reminding him that he actually didn't really know her at all.

Archie panicked for a moment realising if she rang him and got his answer phone she could find out his name just as easily. Maybe she already had… Maybe she had known all along.

No, that was ridiculous, no one was that good an actress, and surely sordid details about his life that he indulged to her would have been splashed out on the tabloids by now. He had to stop being so paranoid. Indeed he felt a little guilty at thinking she could have been so cold and calculating. Another reason why he had felt so safe with this mutual anonymity.

He sat there a few moments taking deep breaths, then realised he didn't actually have a personalised answer phone message, for these very security reasons. If someone he didn't know had somehow managed to get their hand on his number he could screen them.

Archie rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, but even so he couldn't help but feel unnerved at the fact that he knew her name. Archie couldn't help but feel it would change everything.

Hearing the toilet flush in the background of his apartment Archie realised he had been sitting there too long. Picking up the phone once more he dialled a familiar number.

"Hello?"

"Mickey, it's happened again."

Isobell sat absent-mindedly doodling whilst staring blinding at her computer screen to at least give some semblance that she was working. But Isobell could not stop thinking about the guy had spoken to her on the phone last night.