My Boyfriend's in the Mafia

Chapter Seven: The Call

Chapter Seven

        I saw the number flash on the screen and heard the vibrations on the table. I had seen, and cried, over this telephone number way too many times. It knew was Otis. I mean sure, he had tried calling me before, but I had never answered. I mean sure, he left messages, but I never listened, and sure, he had came to my house a few times, but I never answered the door.

        He stopped doing these things after Junior year in high school, but I felt like I was putting this out long enough. You're a woman now.You can handle it.

        I slowly picked up the phone. I clicked 'answer'.

        “Hello?” I heard Otis’s voice say. I didn’t answer. I didn’t know what to say. “Annabell?” I heard Otis's urgent voice say. He still sounded the same.

        It was disgusting.

        Instead of the love I used to feel when I heard his voice, I felt repulsion. “Hi, Otis,” I replied bluntly. I heard him sigh in relief. “Annabell. How have you been?” He asked me, trying to be comforting. His voice was definitely not comforting; if anything, his voice was the cause of my mass hysteria.

        “Fine,” I said, simply. I wasn’t going to tell him anything about me that a random person wouldn’t already know, and he knew it. “I have a job and a house here in New York.” These facts were a simple and uncomplex and boiled water.

        He sighed again, this time sounding hopeful. “That's great!”

        “Yep.”

        There was an awkward silence. He started to stutter and try to think of something else to ask. “I, uh, I…” “Look,” I cut him off with venom, “we both know you didn't just call me for some small talk, so why don’t we just make this simple and get to the point. Why did you call?”

        I could hear him take a nervous gulp. “Annabell, I miss you.” Oh, not this again. Go cry me a river. “Otis, you cheated. You got another girl pregnant for goodness sake! Do you have any idea what that means?”

        “I know, but if you just let me explain-”

        “What's there to explain?”

        “Annabell, just hear me out.”

        I thought about this. What if he lies?

        “Annabell, that day that I left you-”

        I cut him off again. “Yeah, I remember, Otis, it was Christmas.”

        “Yeah,” he said sadly. I could hear him physically wince behind the other line. “After I left your house, It went straight to Lola's house-”

        “You mean the girl whom you cheated on me with?”

        He sighed. “Yes. Even though we were only fifteen, sixteen, I went straight to her house, and right away I knew something was up. But I ignored it. I stayed with her for five months, but I never saw a baby bump. I insisted something must be wrong, we should go to the doctor, but she always claimed that when she went, the doctor said she was fine.

        “Well, she left to go and see her mother one day, and while she was gone,  I called that doctor's office. I said, 'Could I please speak to Dr. Carmichael?' She told me that was the name of her doctor. But the nurse just said, 'There isn't a Dr. Carmichael here. We don't even have an employee with the name.'

        “But I kept on prying. I thought maybe I had just gotten the name wrong. I said, 'Well could you please let me know who my girlfriend's doctor is?' She said that would be fine and then I told the nurse Lola's name.

        "She said, 'We don't have any files on her. I'm sorry.' Then I thanked her and hung up. I sat on that couch, all day, until Lola came home. She came home at seven thirty, exactly. Lola was always very punctual. I confronted her and she admitted to everything. She wasn't even pregnant! She had been playing me like a deck of cards! That's when I started calling you again. I wanted you to know how sorry I was- for everything. I still am sorry. I miss you Annabell. I really do!” He said, frantically.

        I was surprised by how uncomfortable and angry this made me feel.

        “Otis, no matter how sorry I am for you, I will never get back together with you. You went all the way with another girl while we were dating. You have no idea how that feels.”

        “Just give me another chance,” He pleaded. I put my hand up to my head and sighed, aggravated. “There isn't another chance!” I screamed into the phone. There was silence. I calmed down immediately and quietly said, “I'm sorry Otis,  but I just don't love you anymore. I'm in love with someone else.”

        I hung up the phone before he got the chance to say anything.