For Crying Out Loud by J. Preston

36One Voicemail

I’m not arguing. I’m simply explaining why I’m right.

- Jason

Jenny

“Wow,” Hayley says after I fill her in on the events from last night and this morning.

“That’s one way to put it,” I grumble.

“You know, maybe you should talk to Aiden. Let him explain.”

“I know, I’m going to. I just needed some space.” I sigh. “To be honest, I thought he’d call by now.”

“He hasn’t?”

I shake my head, frowning as I pull my phone out of my hippo mouth pocket. The screen is black.

I swipe at it a couple of times before Hayley tsks at me, pulls it out of my hand, and plugs it in to charge. We both look at it silently, as it takes its sweet ass time to switch back on.

“No battery. Classic,” I sigh with relief. For a moment, I thought Aiden really didn’t care about where I was or what happened.

When the screen finally flashes back to life, I grab my phone and stare at it intently. Fifty missed calls, fourteen text messages, one voicemail. I scroll through my texts, first reading, scanning through the names, and going straight for the ones from Aiden. I sigh with relief when I see that the whole thing was a lie.

There’s a story he can explain. He’s not a dad. Phew. That was a close call. I’m seriously too young and too pretty to be an evil stepmother. Although… No. Too young and too pretty. Fact.

Next, I read messages from Cart and Jason. Where are you? and, Call Aiden! seem to be repeating themselves. Then, the last message from Jason chills my bones. There’s something wrong. Breathless, I re-read the message over and over again. Jennifer, call me NOW, it says. It’s urgent.

Jason never calls me Jennifer. Ever. Unless it’s a life and death situation. Last time he did was when Grandma passed away.

I’m about to hit the call button when I hear Hayley’s voice. “Shit, my phone was on silent all this time.” Her phone starts buzzing in her hand, and she picks it up instantly.

“Yes?” she answers. “She’s here. What’s going on? I only just saw the texts.” Terror flashes in her eyes, and I know something is horribly, horribly wrong. I look at my phone, then at her. Her eyes are wide. She picks up a pair of jeans lying on the floor and starts pulling them on. “We’ll be there as soon as we can, which hospital?” My heart stops beating. “Okay, see you shortly.” She finishes her call.

She quickly pulls a t-shirt on and a pair of shoes, then looks at me. “Give me your car keys,” she says steadily. I point to her bed where I threw the keys. She grabs them, then reaches for my hand. “Breathe.” I nod and let my lungs fill with air. Before I know it, Hayley is pulling me out of the room, down the stairs, and into the parking lot.

I must have had an out of body experience because, before I notice what’s going on, I’m sitting in the passenger seat. I don’t remember going across the lot or getting into Kitt though. Hayley turns the ignition on, straps my seatbelt on, and pulls out of the lot quickly. I feel like a child that doesn’t know what’s going on but knows that something bad has happened.

“That was Jason on the phone,” she says. I nod. This much I figured out. I also know that whatever is going to follow is not going to be good. No ‘We just won the lottery’. I can put two and two together.

‘Hospital’. ‘We’ll be there as soon as we can’, she said. She needed me with her, in the car, before she said that Jason was the one who called. That means whatever has happened involves me, or that I would break down as soon as she filled me in. Jesus, what could have happened? I need to be strong. Breathe Jenny.

“Jenny,” Hayley speaks again after a pause. I turn my head to look at her, hoping, wishing, that whatever comes next has nothing to do with A— “Aiden was in an accident; he’s in the hospital.”

Just like that, the ground slips from under me. The universe sure has a funny way of throwing things at you. I thought that text was bad; I guess it wasn’t bad enough. Here, have some more tragedy, Jenny. My vision blurs, my cheeks are wet.

“Jenny?” Hayley asks.

I don’t reply. Instead, I look down at my blurry phone, at the voicemail he left me, and press the button to play it, putting the phone to my ear.

It’s quiet for a few seconds then “Jenny…” Aiden’s beautiful voice says my name. If I close my eyes, I can pretend he’s next to me, his mouth by my ear. “I think you saw the text message from Chloe. I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to explain earlier.” He pauses, inhaling loudly. My free hand flies to the middle of my chest, pressing my palm against my aching heart. “Aah,” he continues. “I want you to know that whole thing with Chloe…it was all a lie. She lied about everything. Being pregnant, sleeping with me…” I know, Aiden, I know. I want to tell him, but he continues without waiting for my reply. “It was all a ploy to get Jason back. I should have told you everything straight away.” It’s okay. I know it must have been hard. I didn’t give you a chance to explain. Tears are running down my face as I clutch the phone harder to my ear. “I was going to.” I believe you. “I’m so sorry.” Don’t be. I’m the one who should be sorry. “I love you.” His voice cracks. I love you too. “I love you so mu—”

He doesn’t finish. Instead, I hear the engine gather speed, then a loud bang.

And an ear shattering scream.

The scream is mine.