Goodbye

This writing is actually a project I tackled with one of my best friends. We each wrote about a page of solely dialogue and then the other person had to fill in the rest of the story. This could be anything; the only thing given was the spoken words. From there we both wrote our own characters, settings and story lines. The first chapter is my writing filling in my friend's dialogue. 

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    The phone rang. Mark hauls himself off the couch, his joints cracking after so many hours of sitting. As he stands up piles of papers slip off the cushion and onto the floor. With a sigh Mark picks up his phone up from where he had set it on the table earlier. Looking at the caller ID, his heart sinks.

     "Hello" Comes the voice on the other end.

     "Hi" Eyes roll upward at the crack in his voice. After another moment of silence comes the voice Mark simultaneously loves and hates. His heart clenches at the sounds of Jeremy's voice.

     "How are you?" Jeremy's voice is soft, holding the quality of sound he only gets when he is scared or worried. Mark feels a rush of anger at the man.

     "Fine" Chest constricted with emotion. Heart pounding. Fists clenched.

     "Are you upset?" He can picture Jeremy as he says this; his long blond hair falling in his eyes, no doubt, and the crease between his eyebrows appearing. He's probably sitting on his bed, the light blue sheets matching his eyes and his long legs stretched out in front of him. His hands would be picking at the threads on his too tight skinny jeans and his knee would bounce. Mark hates himself for knowing this.

     "No" Mark couldn't breathe.

     "Then why did you -" Mark cuts him off before he can finish.

     "I don't know" A fist lands on the counter. Mark straightens.

     "Oh. Okay" Pause.

     "Yeah" Sigh.

     "It doesn't have to be like this" Jeremy's voice is pleading, holding sadness and pity and frustration. Mark hates him for it.

     "I know" He does.

     "Then why won't you -" Mark stops him before he can finish. The words are too painful to hear, too new to relive, too fresh in his mind.

     "Because" Pain wracks Mark's chest as the word spills out of him.

     "Because why?" Jeremy's voice is pleading, desperate for the answer. The answer he knows but won't accept.

     "I just can't"

     "That's not fair." Jeremy's voice gets louder, no doubt due to the lack of information. Mark chuckles grimly. Jeremy could never not know.

     "I'm sorry" It's the only reply Mark has in him. It's the only reply Jeremy deserves.

     "No you're not!" There is a muffled thump in the background. Pacing. Must of jumped off the bed to pace thinks Mark.

     "You don't know that." He doesn't. What did Jeremy ever know about him? Too much actually.

     "But I know you. Or, I did." Another sigh. Mark sinks down onto the couch, too tired to stand. Maybe Jeremy did know him, but he certainly doesn't know him now.

     "Okay" Is all Mark replies.

     "Will you explain this to me?" The pacing has stopped. Loneliness sweeps through Mark at the sound of Jeremy's distress. He want to wrap his arms around him, curl up behind the lanky boy and run his hand through his too long blond hair.

     "Why?" He can't answer. Jeremy knows. He has to know.

     "Because I don't understand it" The distress in Jeremy's voice is turning into sadness and confusion.

     "I'm sorry" Jeremy doesn't even deserve that. Mark still loves him though, and it hurts. Hurts like hell that he still loves the boy who took his heart and smashed it.

     "Stop apologizing. You at least owe me answers."

     "I don't owe you anything." Mark feels a tear run down his face.

     "If that's how you feel"

     "I'm sorry" He's a track stuck on repeat, the same hateful words spilling out of his mouth over and over again.

     "Stop! Just, stop, I'm done." Jeremy's voice rises. With eyes closed Mark muffles his sobs in the pillow. Deep breath.

     "Goodbye then"

     "Goodbye" It is final. Jeremy hangs up, the line going dead. The phone slips out of Mark's hand as he slides off his perch on the couch, clinging to the pillow as sobs wrack his chest and Jeremy's voice rings in his head.