Stranded

Cellphone

The phone buzzed in his ear as his hands tapped against the arm rest. Maybe this time would be the time he hears his daughter's voice for the first time in two years. She would be eighteen, legally an adult, and he has missed her. Daniel is stuck alone in his big house where his wife and son should be living. But, things don't always turn out the way he wants them to. 

"Hi, you've reached Able. I'm obviously not at the phone right now, but if you leave me a message with your name and number, I'll get back to you. Peace."

Beep.

"Able, it's Dad again. I don't know what you do with these messages, if you delete them or you've lost your phone, but I just need to see you again. I don't know what the hell was going on with me when I told you that you couldn't come back. You're always welcome here, and you will always be apart of this family. Please, if you get this, call me back. I miss you and I love you." 

Daniel's finger pressed down on the 'end call' button and sat still in his chair, blinking at the television screen, but not really seeing what was on it. 

Saturdays were always the days that he felt the most alone. He didn't work on those days and he sat around the house, just dwelling on the mistakes he's made and how his life could be better. He stood, walking into the kitchen to refresh the coffee pot. 

Daniel was just getting the beans down from the cupboard when the phone rang. He paused, staring at the phone as if he had never seen it before. Then he moved swiftly towards it, nearly tripping over himself as he ripped the receiver off of the hook. 

"Hello?" he answered, out of breath. 

"Mr. Reeder?" came a formal sounding voice, and Daniel's heart dropped down to the bottom of his stomach. 

"Yes?" he asked, leaning against the wall, a little pissed off about the fact that it wasn't his daughter. What if she called while he was on the phone with this woman?

"I'm Agent Tanner, we've found something that might be of interest to you."

Daniel blinked, pushing himself off the wall. "What would this 'something' have to do with me?"

"Well, Mr. Reeder. We found a cellphone that you've been calling for sometime, and would like you to come down to the station for a little chat."

Daniel froze, his eyes wide. "O-Okay. Yes, Ma'am, I'll be right there." 

"Great. I hope to see you soon, Mr. Reeder."

                                                                                         ***

The police station was busy, officers in uniform walking around, answering calls and talking with people some of them had brought in. Daniel walked behind one of uniformed men, wondering if they had found his daughter. Was she in trouble? Did she hurt somebody? Was she hurt?

The officer stopped outside a room and opened the door for him, Daniel walking inside with an anxious stride. A woman was standing beside a table, hands folded behind her back. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun, and was clad in black dress pants with a white shirt with a black jacket over top of the shirt. 

"Hello, Mr. Reeder," she greeted, holding her hand out towards him. "I'm Samantha Tanner, and would like to ask you a few questions," she gestured towards the empty seat, "please, take a seat. Would you like some water? Coffee?"

"Can we just get to the point?" Daniel asked, taking a seat as Tanner sat down across from him. She pulled out a folder, and the cellphone in question.