The chair creaked loudly as I stood up, hitting the wall behind me. People turned around. Someone started to say something, but I didn’t hear it.
“Etha, listen to me,” I said quickly, as I headed towards the door. “I’m coming, okay? But I need you to tell me what happened. Where’s Mom?”
“He’s not here…” she whispered.
“Who is there?”
“Mom’s boyfriend… Kyle…”
My heart began to beat faster.
“And what about him, friend?”
Hυbo υпa paυsa. Uпa respiracióп eпtrecortada.
And then-
“He hit me… with a baseball bat.”
Everything inside me stopped.
Simply… if you stop.
“My arm hurts so much…” Etha copp, her voice breaking. “She said… she said that if I cry… it will hurt more…”
For Ѕп secυпdo, пo pυde respirar.
The corridor outside the conference room blurred as I walked through it, clutching the phone tighter.
“What?” My voice came out harsher than I intended. “Etha, where are you right now? Are you hiding?”
“I’m in the corner… next to the sofa…”
“Okay. That’s fine. Stay there. Don’t move, okay? I’m coming right now. Do you hear me?”
“I’m scared, Dad…”
“I know, man. I know. Just stay quiet and stay right there.”
Then, repeatedly…
A voice.
Strong. Angry. Too close.
Who are you going to call, huh?
My blood ran cold.
There was movement on the other side. A creak. A strong inspiration from Etha.
“Give me that phone!”
“NO-!”
The line was cut.
For a moment, I was paralyzed in the hallway.
The world around me continued to move: people walked, talked, doors opened and closed, but none of it seemed real.
The only thing I could hear was the beating of my own heart.
Noisy. Fast. Violent.
Then everything suddenly returned to normal.
I ran.
The elevator took forever.
Or maybe I just felt that way.
I kept pressing the button as if that would speed up the process. My hands were shaking so much I almost dropped the phone.
