Just Breathe

Chapter 3 {Phone Call #1}

Two hours had passed and not one phone call had come through. It was like every phone call had been purposely sent to all the other phone's, leaving his silent and without purpose. The clock on the wall in front of him seemed to be moving slower as the seconds ticked by. The stress relief ball in his hand had been getting its use as he stared at the clock in frustration.

"Thirty....twenty-nine....twenty-eight..." He whispered to himself in anticipation, like a kid waiting for the last bell of the school day. He wanted nothing more than to get out of this stuffy office, but his hope was destroyed when his first call of the day came through, making him jump slightly at the sound. He suddenly started feeling very nervous. He had no clue what he was supposed to say or do and what if they wanted advice? He was the last person to ask for advice. He didn't know the secret to life. There was no simple answer as to why things were the way they were, but he had to pick up the phone. He had to answer the call and get through these twelve months of community service. He had more important things in his life to worry about and this community service was nothing but an unnecessary nuisance in his life. "Crisis hotline, can I help you?"

"You're not Jacob."

"Uh...no, my name's Jonathan. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Where is Jacob? I asked them to put me through to Jacob's desk."

The voice sounded bitter and a little overly angered, causing Jonathan to become confused. "Well, this is Jacob's desk...I guess, but he's not here today."

"Well, why are you at Jacob's desk?"

"You're asking the wrong person. I don't know who Jacob is and I don't know where he went, all I know is I was put at the desk and told to answer phones. Now, is there something I can help you with or would you rather spend the day asking questions that I can't answer?"

"No."

His eyebrows came together in confusion as he leaned back in his chair, becoming highly frustrated with the girl on the other end of the phone. "No, what?"

"No, you can't help me and no, I'd rather not waste my day asking someone questions who obviously isn't smart enough to know he shouldn't be rude to people on the edge of suicide."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?" She asked bitterly, obviously fed up with his attitude.

"On the edge of suicide?"

"I never leave it."

The sadness in her voice caused his heart to drop into his chest. Her voice had gone from defensive to helpless in about two seconds flat and he suddenly felt an overwhelming need to help her. "Why is that?" He sat up in his seat, feeling very heroic and serious all of a sudden.

"Why would I tell you my problems? I don't even know you."

"Well, if you want to talk to someone you know...why do you call an anonymous hotline?"

"I know Jacob. Jacob's the only one I ever talk to."

"Well...why don't you try calling back tomorrow and I'll see if I can find out who Jacob is and where he went, deal?"

"You're going to be back tomorrow?"

"And the 363 days following it."

She sighed on the other end in clear annoyance. "How wonderful." She spoke sarcastically and he could almost sense her eyes rolling. "I suppose I could call back tomorrow."

"Great, then I really feel like I've done my job today."

"Why's that? You didn't even give me any advice or listen to my problems."

"No, but if you promise to call tomorrow then that must mean you're planning on being alive tomorrow." He smirked, rather pleased with himself. "One day at a time, right?"

"You really shouldn't be working at a crisis center." She spoke softly as if bewildered by the whole thing.

He laughed softly. "Tell me about it." He smiled at the phone and something about talking to this girl seemed to make his boring day all worth it because of these last few minutes. This girl may be a pain, but she had spunk and she needed help. He was going to try and help her but then again, trying to help was the reason he got put there in the first place.

He hung up the phone with the girl on the other end and immediately made his way to the front desk. The peppy lady from earlier looked up at him with a smile. "So, how was your first day?"

"Um...okay. I was just wondering if you know anything about the guy named Jacob that worked the phone before me? I found a paper at my desk with his name on it and the girl who just called wanted to speak with him."

The woman's eyebrows came together as she stared back at Jonathan in confusion. "Mr. Grey, your cubicle has been empty for weeks now and the person before you was a woman." She began searching through the papers scattered across her desk. "I believe her name was Carrie."

Jonathan's expression mimicked hers as he shook his head in confusion. "Well, is there anyone here who is named Jacob? Maybe someone who used to work here and quit recently?"

The woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mr. Grey, but no one by the name of Jacob has ever worked here. I'm sure of it."