A Sparkly Encounter (A JongKey Fanfic)

A Sparkly Encounter (A JongKey Fanfic) THIRTY-ONE

That whole night JongHyun wasn't able to sleep. He swept the floors of the store, even passing the mop afterwards. He spent another long while making sure everything was in order before sinking down behind the counter.

            The lashes of words that Key had whipped at him had really stung. He swore there were bright red marks all over his heart from how horrible he felt. Especially after that horrible evening he’d spent with TaeMin. After his mother had told him that awful bit of new that had nearly made him sink down onto his knees and blubber away like a newborn child.

            His best friend… His brother…

            Now was the time when JongHyun wished he had his mother to hold on to. Or his father to clap him on the back and say, “It’ll be all right son.” He just wished he had his family back.

            In a spurt of loneliness, JongHyun pushed himself to a standing position (a tough feat for his exhausted body) and grabbed the store’s phone. It took a while to motivate himself to press the numbers. Eventually, the ringing of the phone resounded in his ear canal – a sharp trill that helped him wake up. A part of JongHyun hoped that his sister would answer the phone instead of one of his parents. It might be easier for him to deal if it was her.

            The ringing suddenly stop, giving way to the syrupy voice of JongHyun's mother. His breath caught in his throat, jammed right beside the lump of tears swelling there.

            “Hello?”

            JongHyun struggled to find the words to answer.

            “Hello?” the voice repeated, sounding more awake now than before.”Hello? Is anyone there?”

            His breathing kicked up a notch. He had to cover the receiver to muffle the sound of his incoming sobs.

            “Look, if this is some kind of prank call, I’m going to hang up,” his mother warned.

            Hearing his mom’s voice had sparked a desperate need in JongHyun that he wasn’t about to let go so easily. He took in a deep breath to calm himself and said in as steady a voice he could manage, “M-mom?”

            A chilling silence followed suit. For a heartbreaking moment JongHyun thought that she had hung up. The mere thought made him whimper slightly.

            “JongHyun?” she finally whispered. Her voice sounded just as choked up and broken as his. “Is that really you?” she asked hopefully.

            After a shaky breath JongHyun squeaked out a small hum of confirmation.

            “Is it really you?” she asked again. From the way she was gasping for breath was an obvious sign to JongHyun that she was crying now. “Baby, where are you?” she asked.