Falling
“Sounds good,” said Gemma. “See you there.”
Phone to her ear, she tilted her head and smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting you, too.”
As Gemma hung up, an excited giggle escaped her. She glanced at Darren’s photo on her laptop screen.
He’d written to her a few weeks ago, and he was refreshingly different. No creepy comments about how sexy she looked in her profile pictures. He wanted to talk about what books she liked, which restaurants, what she’d studied in school. He was such a gentleman, waiting two weeks to ask if he could call her. When they’d talked, he had the deepest, richest voice, like melted chocolate. Her heart fluttered.
After Tom died, Gemma hadn’t wanted to date again. But she was twenty-eight, and it had been a year, and Mindy had talked her into it.
“I don’t know, Min. Isn’t online dating… weird?”
“Are you kidding? My sister met her husband online. They have kids together!” Mindy had enthused. “Don’t be so 1996!”
Gemma took a deep breath. Maybe Mindy was right. She glanced at the clock: 5:15. She needed to get ready for her date.
As she stood, her cell phone rang.
She froze when she heard the familiar ringtone. Something by the Beatles. Her eyes widened as she saw the name on the screen.
Tom.
She hadn’t been able to delete his number. It felt like erasing four years of her life.
Her hand trembled as it reached toward the phone and pressed the button.
“Hello?”
There was only silence.
Gemma leaned against a tree, grinning.
“I had a great time, too,” she said into her cell. “Thursday? Yes, I’m free… That would be fun… Talk to you soon, Darren.”
Her grin got bigger. Feeling foolish, she put a hand over her mouth. Then she took it away. It’s okay, she told herself. It’s okay to be happy again.
Her phone was still in her hand when it rang.
That twangy guitar hook, those three chromatic notes. Something in the way she moves. Gemma’s smile vanished.
She’d shaken it off, that first night. A massive coincidence, she’d decided. Surely Verizon had given Tom’s old number to some other customer. And that person had dialed her by mistake.
But why hadn’t she heard a click when the caller hung up? Why hadn’t they asked for the person they were trying to reach?
A memory flared, red-hot. The call from Tom’s boss. Her world morphing as his words sunk in. A scaffold had collapsed. Apparently, with his last few breaths, Tom had asked for her.
Gemma shook her head, shoving the phone into her coat pocket. She’d call Verizon first thing tomorrow, she told herself, striding quickly toward her apartment, ignoring the writhing in her gut.
“So…” crooned Mindy, stretching the word out like a piece of taffy, “I’m dying to know! How was your date?”
Gemma gushed as she told her friend everything.
“He sounds dreamy, Gem! I’m so happy for you!”
Gemma laughed at Mindy’s excited squeal. Then she sighed.
“Min, you won’t believe this. The weirdest thing happened. I got two calls from Tom’s old number.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. Someone else must have that number now, after Tom...”
Mindy exhaled. “Wow, girl. That’s… wow. Can you block it?”
Gemma flinched. But she knew Mindy was right.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
She smiled as she spotted Darren in the park, where they’d agreed to meet. He hadn’t seen her yet. Another block and they’d be together.
Then she heard the music. Something in the things she shows me.
Gemma looked into the shops she was walking past, desperately hoping to see a record store or another place that might be playing that tune.
The music swelled as she pulled out her ringing phone.
I don’t want to leave her now.
Hands shaking, Gemma rejected the call.
“Tom,” she whispered. “Please…”
She stuffed the phone away. Looking up, she locked eyes with Darren, half a block away. He was smiling, waving.
The music started up again, insistent. And all I have to do is think of her.
A sob escaped Gemma’s lips as she broke into a run. She didn’t pause when she heard the creaking, the splintering wood, the shrieking metal.
Three stories up, the scaffolding shattered, plummeted. The wreckage buried Gemma beneath a mound of ruin, and then there was silence.
Writing Prompts:
Phone to her ear, she tilted her head and smiled. “I’m looking forward to meeting you, too.”
As Gemma hung up, an excited giggle escaped her. She glanced at Darren’s photo on her laptop screen.
He’d written to her a few weeks ago, and he was refreshingly different. No creepy comments about how sexy she looked in her profile pictures. He wanted to talk about what books she liked, which restaurants, what she’d studied in school. He was such a gentleman, waiting two weeks to ask if he could call her. When they’d talked, he had the deepest, richest voice, like melted chocolate. Her heart fluttered.
After Tom died, Gemma hadn’t wanted to date again. But she was twenty-eight, and it had been a year, and Mindy had talked her into it.
“I don’t know, Min. Isn’t online dating… weird?”
“Are you kidding? My sister met her husband online. They have kids together!” Mindy had enthused. “Don’t be so 1996!”
Gemma took a deep breath. Maybe Mindy was right. She glanced at the clock: 5:15. She needed to get ready for her date.
As she stood, her cell phone rang.
She froze when she heard the familiar ringtone. Something by the Beatles. Her eyes widened as she saw the name on the screen.
Tom.
She hadn’t been able to delete his number. It felt like erasing four years of her life.
Her hand trembled as it reached toward the phone and pressed the button.
“Hello?”
There was only silence.
Gemma leaned against a tree, grinning.
“I had a great time, too,” she said into her cell. “Thursday? Yes, I’m free… That would be fun… Talk to you soon, Darren.”
Her grin got bigger. Feeling foolish, she put a hand over her mouth. Then she took it away. It’s okay, she told herself. It’s okay to be happy again.
Her phone was still in her hand when it rang.
That twangy guitar hook, those three chromatic notes. Something in the way she moves. Gemma’s smile vanished.
She’d shaken it off, that first night. A massive coincidence, she’d decided. Surely Verizon had given Tom’s old number to some other customer. And that person had dialed her by mistake.
But why hadn’t she heard a click when the caller hung up? Why hadn’t they asked for the person they were trying to reach?
A memory flared, red-hot. The call from Tom’s boss. Her world morphing as his words sunk in. A scaffold had collapsed. Apparently, with his last few breaths, Tom had asked for her.
Gemma shook her head, shoving the phone into her coat pocket. She’d call Verizon first thing tomorrow, she told herself, striding quickly toward her apartment, ignoring the writhing in her gut.
“So…” crooned Mindy, stretching the word out like a piece of taffy, “I’m dying to know! How was your date?”
Gemma gushed as she told her friend everything.
“He sounds dreamy, Gem! I’m so happy for you!”
Gemma laughed at Mindy’s excited squeal. Then she sighed.
“Min, you won’t believe this. The weirdest thing happened. I got two calls from Tom’s old number.”
“What? How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. Someone else must have that number now, after Tom...”
Mindy exhaled. “Wow, girl. That’s… wow. Can you block it?”
Gemma flinched. But she knew Mindy was right.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
She smiled as she spotted Darren in the park, where they’d agreed to meet. He hadn’t seen her yet. Another block and they’d be together.
Then she heard the music. Something in the things she shows me.
Gemma looked into the shops she was walking past, desperately hoping to see a record store or another place that might be playing that tune.
The music swelled as she pulled out her ringing phone.
I don’t want to leave her now.
Hands shaking, Gemma rejected the call.
“Tom,” she whispered. “Please…”
She stuffed the phone away. Looking up, she locked eyes with Darren, half a block away. He was smiling, waving.
The music started up again, insistent. And all I have to do is think of her.
A sob escaped Gemma’s lips as she broke into a run. She didn’t pause when she heard the creaking, the splintering wood, the shrieking metal.
Three stories up, the scaffolding shattered, plummeted. The wreckage buried Gemma beneath a mound of ruin, and then there was silence.
Writing Prompts:
- Genre: Horror
- Main character's trait: Romantic
I honestly thought this would go a different direction away the start but I'm so glad it didn't. Your setup was just perfect and I felt the sense of dread from that first call to the last. Great work!
ReplyDeleteGreat foreshadowing with the ringtone lyrics. I definitely didn't expect it to end the way it did but it made for great horror!
ReplyDelete