Welcome to the Scrapheap

16.

Alex never used his phone much.

The internet was not an appealing place for him, not with his history. He stopped gaming directly after his first assignment, for obvious reasons. He would still text, call Tom and his mates, but those old friendships dissolved quickly as his reputation tumbled away and soon even Tom stopped calling. They still talked at school a little, but recently they had barely interacted.

He just didn't have anything to do on his phone.

So he didn't know why he decided to turn on the device that had been sitting idly on his desk, collecting dust with all the other things he left behind, but surprisingly the little screen still burst into life. Months of notifications had piled up, hundreds of unread texts and reminders from apps he didn't use blinking away.

Oddly, he noticed there was a string of voicemails starting around the date he vanished.

They were from Tom.

Frowning, he unlocked the phone and sat down on the bed, opening the voicemail section with clumsy fingers. He scrolled to the earliest one and clicked play, not really knowing what to expect.

The familiar tones of his old mate crackled into life.

"Hey, mate. I guess you're off doing your thing again. It's only been a few weeks since the last time, the bastards. Don't really know why I'm calling. I know we haven't talked much… heh. I don't know. Try to come back alive again. If you're listening, I guess it worked out for you."

The message finished and a robotic voice asked if he wanted to hear the next, delete, or stop. He clicked next.

"So, you're still gone. I know you're probably just busy doing some badass spy business or ended up back in hospital but something doesn't feel right. The teachers have gone really quiet about you. Someone asked where you were in lessons today and the maths teacher looked like she was about to cry or something… I know she liked you when you were still around, so something must be up…Whatever it is, come back soon."

Next.

"Hey. Jack's not picked up this whole time. You better not be dead."

Next.

"Your cover's public. They had to make an announcement at school because of the rumours, as if that would stop them. Everyone's asking me for news about you. At least, I really hope it's just a cover. Are car accidents the only thing they ever use? I know there's going to be no way to visit you, not that you'd want me there."

Next.

"Mate, if you're okay, let me know. I feel guilty that I didn't try harder. Why have you been gone for so long?"

Next.

"So they say you're returning to school soon. I assumed you weren't coming back. Call me. We've got a lot to catch up on, mate."

Alex was floored.

He stared at the screen until the pixels blurred, uncertain. He was going to have to speak to Tom at some point but this was the most interested he'd been in Alex's affairs for ages. He had been gone for months with no word but he didn't know if he was ready to try and talk to another person. Especially about what exactly had happened.

Then again, Tom deserved answers. Tom was about the only person he could trust, but Alex had still told him next to nothing about his disappearances. He had been a shitty friend in a shitty situation. Tom had always been there for him even as he pushed him away with his silence and his strangeness.

He took a deep breath, his chest squeezing in anticipation. It was hardly an epic feat to call your friend but adrenaline still flooded out too easily. Usually he had needed it… not anymore, though.

His finger was shaking and he nearly missed the call button. He expected to have a few seconds to compose himself but Tom was permanently online and he found himself on the call screen after barely a second of ringing. His heart was thumping and he didn't know why.

"Alex?" Tom's said in disbelief. Alex's voice stuck in his throat and there was a few seconds of silence before he finally managed to say "Yeah."

"Where have you- what happened? It's been months, I can't believe it."

He laughed shakily without humour, fumbling for what to do, what to say. "I- it's… I'm sorry. I was…" He almost felt like crying. How were you supposed to tell someone that you were kidnapped?

"Mate, are you alright? You sound awful." Tom said bluntly but gently.

"I got kidnapped?" His voice cracked and it came out as barely a whisper but he could tell Tom heard because the phone went deadly quiet.

"I'm so sorry, Alex." Tom was hushed now. "Was it… was it for all that time?"

"No, no… it- I got hurt. Pretty- pretty badly," he stuttered out. He shivered. "I was in a coma for some of it, a few weeks, and- and I… I lost my leg…?" he finished weakly. Shit. Shit. Way to cheer Tom up.

There was a long, long pause. He started shaking again.

"Your leg?" Tom sounded sick.

Alex stayed silent, not trusting himself to speak.

"I don't know what to say," he said.

"It's okay," he responded helplessly, his fight or flight instincts screaming. He grasped for a change of subject. "I'm supposed to- to come back in a week? And they sent me work, but, I'm missing some, and um-" he said in a muddled rush, tapering out before he could finish.

"I can send you it," Tom replied immediately, sounding dazed.

There was silence again.

"It was… nice to hear from you, Alex."

"Bye," he whispered tensely, and hung up.

He exhaled, feeling drained and unsure of himself. What a mess.

He glanced at some of the other messages. Mostly classmates asking about him, more curious than concerned. Some of the bolder ones were accusing him of the same old rumours, seemingly having decided 'overdose' was the logical conclusion. He turned off his phone and pushed it back to the side of the desk.

Alex rubbed his forehead, staring blankly at the work on his laptop and feeling stupid. It had always been hard catching up after his absences but he had been gone so long he barely even recognised it as maths homework.

He was supposed to come back a week.

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Ah yes. What a consistent upload schedule: vanish for a month then two chapters in two days. What can I say I got bored

Pretty rushed, pretty terrible. Alex is kind of just numb in this one as you can imagine

My hamster wishes you a good day

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