Fen and Mara - Open Novella Contest 2019 Short List

Chapter 12

Mara has been waiting for a text, curled up beneath the blankets of her bed. She thumbs through her social media apps, waiting for a good night text from Fen. He never lets her wait this long.
When the text finally comes, it's not what she expected.

Did yooU kNow?

-Know what? Is something wrong?

FfuCk yeS! !

-Then tell me. It sounds serious.

Mara stares at the three dots, taunting her by disappearing and appearing every few seconds. It takes Fen minutes to type a message, only to delete it again. Over and over.

-Fen, what's wrong?

EvRyTiNg

-You drunk? Where R U?

She's sitting straight up by now, wondering what the hell is going on with Fen. The house has gone quiet, everybody is in bed. Or maybe her father isn't home yet, he's out on a date or something. That's not what's on her mind now though, it's Fen. He's usually not this all over the place when texting.

She pushes the call button and a moment later Fen's face appears on her screen. He's in a strange room, a bare brick wall behind him. His face is lit from the side, the lamp casting one half of his face in shadows. Black hair hangs in front of one eye, almost hiding the hurt crease in his eyebrows.
Mara grabs her phone in both hands, holding it in front of her face as she wraps her arms around her knees. "Fen? What's wrong? What happened?"

Fen laughs softly, the pain evident in the sound. "Your dad kidnapped me."

A cold hand squeezes Mara's heart to pulp, stuffing it up her throat.

She should have told him.

Sooner.

Immediately.

She should have told him at the hospital.

Mara stares at the screen, not able to tear her eyes away from the boy's face. He leans his head back against the couch he's sitting on, a tear in the worn leather visible just above his left shoulder. His phone sags, the camera angling away. His jacket, covered in patches and buttons. His hand, clutching a can of beer. He clenches down, crushing the can and suddenly throwing it away from him.
Another angle from the camera shows her the ceiling and a view from below at Fen's elbow. She guesses he put the phone down on the seat, right next to him. There's music in the background, a heavy bass and a voice. Rap music.

She takes a deep breath and tries to push the remnants of her crushed heart down her throat. This is her fault, at least the part where Fen found out by himself who kidnapped him; Mara should've been the one to tell him that. Now she has to own up to that mess and try to get out of it. With Fen.
"Babe? Where are you?" Mara swallows again to get rid of the tears in her voice. "I'll come see you, I want to explain what happened. But I don't want to do it over the phone."

There's no reaction, she can only see Fen move in a corner of the screen. It looks like he is sitting with his elbows on his knees, a hand in his hair.
"Fen? Please, I want to talk to you. I am so sorry. I swear to you I did not know what he was gonna do," Mara pleads to the camera of her phone. "I am so, so sorry! I didn't know it until it was too late. You have to believe me! Please tell me where you are, I want to be with you."

A hand hovers over the phone, making the camera go dark. For a second Mara thinks he'll pick up the phone, but the hand moves away again. She can't hold back the tears anymore.
"Please, you have to believe me, I did not know! I should've told you, yes. But I didn't know how!"
She wipes the tears from her cheeks. "Please, Fen. I don't want to lose you."