Stolen Voices ✓

October 9th

Ignoring the fact that it was two in the morning, she calls.

Calling Weirdo...

Elias: Hello? His voice is groggy, answering on the third ring. He hadn't even looked at the caller ID, just reaching out in the dark for the buzzing creature. Party in the USA playing theatrically, the tone Mara had set a while ago.

Mara: Um, hi. She mutters, suddenly awake, realizing how bad this is. She would just hang up, but a part of her can't.

Elias: What's wrong? His voice sounds more clear, stirring noises from his end as he sits upright in his bed, the structure groaning. He can tell she doesn't sound normal, her voice softer than usual.

Mara: I know I promised space-

Elias: You were always an idiot. 

Mara: What? She breathes a smile into the receiver, which Elias reciprocated with his own chuckle. She can't see him shake his head, brushing his fingers through his hair.

Elias: Of course you can call, always. I just meant space because I can't be around you and not want you. I was doing us a favor.

Mara: Oh- Her voice drops an octave, a beat of silence hanging between them. She didn't realize he still has feelings for her.

Elias: So, what's the reason for this two am call? If it's a booty call, I'm sorry, but my services are closed.

Mara: When did you become the bold one? She chuckles, realizing that she had made the appropriate decision pushing him away when she did. He would never have gotten this far if she hadn't, experienced all that he had. Met Isha, she adds bitterly.

Elias: I guess I spent too much time with you. Seriously though, what's with the two am call? I do have school in the morning. He smiles, his lips turning up as he settles back into the hard bed. Will was just feet away, dead asleep, his snores muffled by the pillow he stuffs his face into.

Mara: Let's not talk about me.

Elias: Then who should we talk about? The president? I think not. The fact the Jack could have easy lived if Rose just moved over-

Mara: How about Isha? Does she make you happy? She seems nice.

Elias: I sense some jealousy. His voice is laced with amusement as he turns in his bed. Staring out the window at the stars they'd wished on so many times. It is funny how the one time he pushes her away and she calls, he relinquishes.

Mara: I did always know she would make trouble for me one day. They both smile, recalling the time on the beach. Mara can feel the ghost of his fingertips on her scars, tracing them while they so freely talked about death as if it were an immediate object.

Elias: Yes, she makes me happy. His tone is playful, edging her further. They both know it is nothing more than platonic, but falling into their easy banter is soothing.

Mara: That is all I ever wanted for you, happiness yanoe.

Elias: Really, though. I mean you did break my heart.

Mara: I wish for the old Elias, the nice one. She laughs, her face pulled as a grimace takes over her expression. She hadn't realized at the time how she was hurting him. She just thought they were having fun, living off of life. She didn't know she was manic, not really, but at some point, he must have.

Elias: He's in here, somewhere.

Mara: He was cute. Bring him back, please.

Elias: You mean ruggedly handsome? Godlike even?

Mara: No, you weirdo, cute. She tantalizes.

Elias: You wound me and my manly pride.

Mara: Wouldn't be the first time, Eli. We established my heartbreaking tendencies.

Elias: Isha wouldn't-

Mara: Don't even compare us, or I will hunt you down, Elias. I know your family, I know your people, and I know where you live. Mara bites out, her tone light and joking, which Elias picks upon. It is all teasing, all fun, falling back into whatever they are.

Elias: Harsh

Mara: Deserved

Elias: Touché

Mara: I missed this, us.

Elias: Then why did you end it, Mara. I get it, but you never called me once after you just walked out.

Mara: I'm calling you now. She smirks, elongating her words as her voice rises higher, bashfully. In truth, she couldn't call him because she knew she would just go running back to him if she did. She would fall into his words because she was addicted, and like now, would use him to ignore her distress.

Elias: Half a point for you then, only half, though. Now you've exceeded your booty call hour limits, so I will be hanging up on you.

Mara: Wha-

Call with Weirdo ended

Mara smiles, holding the phone to her chest. The wind is softer against the windowpane, the cartoons still playing in the background as static. Instead of thinking the walls are closing in on her, she sighs happily, feeling the room settle back into its dimensions.

Mara thought she had nobody, but that is incorrect. Because she always has somebody there, just a phone call away. Someone who cares enough to disregard all their bad history together, just to save her breath. Someone to pick up the pace of your slow-beating heart and encourage you on, even if the going is rough. 

How many people does it take to save a broken soul?

For Mara, it is one. A single person who she admires in the true definition of love. Not what her mother had told her or what she witnessed transpire around her for years. But her own messy version of it. In the end, they would always be out there, waiting for her call.

3:32 am-

Text from Weirdo

Elias: Goodnight Emmy.

---

Authors Note:

Ah, of course they wouldn't stay away. All those worries for nothing.

Thoughts? 

Also thank you guys so much, just you reading my stories is the best birthday present I could ever ask for. Love all of you <3

Like, comment, follow.

- Nia

Edited 4/8/22