It was ten o'clock at night and I was in the middle of crying hysterically while throwing popcorn at my tiny iPad as I watched Netflix.
"No! This is not okay! Don't do it Jack! You're better than this!" I continued to sob at my favorite character, Jack, for his outrageous antics. If he did this he would go to jail. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't! Jail was too harsh for his luscious waves of brown hair and seemingly soft skin.
My breath hitched in my throat as another character finally caught up to him and stopped him. Not before breathing three words that changed everything. That was it. Season 2 was over. With an intense cliffhanger that I was going to have to think over for months.
After suffering from a series of overdramatic outbursts over the next ten minutes, I finally managed to calm down and put my iPad away. I was overwhelmed. I remembered Jack's wild eyes as he processed the new information. My blissful, oblivious husband. It had been too soon for him.
This was a typical summer night for me. Watching Netflix was pretty much my life from June to August because my best friend Alina Aguilar was always at cheer camp. I wasn't complaining though. There was nothing better than cuddling up in my covers and binge watching a good TV series. I've watched Revenge about 3 times already, but suspense shows like that could never get old. Men that look like Jack never hurt either.
As I fawned over my gorgeous TV husband, my phone began to ring. My mood immediately turned sour. Lately I had been getting litters of calls interrupting my Netflix time. At first I thought someone might've accidentally switched a digit before dialing the number they originally wanted, but I quickly began to realize someone must've given out my number because everyone on the other end always asked for the same person: Sarah.
I groaned as my phone rang for the seventh time that night. Looking at the screen, I saw it was an unknown number. No surprise there. I contemplated on whether I should answer or not. At first I really wasn't going to.
Ring. Ring.
My eyebrows scrunched together. My finger was seconds away from pushing decline.
Ring. Ring.
But what if they kept on calling? Every time I declined the call, they always kept calling back. Some numbers it took about five declines before they finally got it in their heads not to call me. I really wasn't about that tonight. I wanted some peace. Immediately, my finger changed direction and I found myself clicking accept.
"Hello?" I asked, worried of who it would be this time.
"Sarah?"
I let out an annoyed groan. Of course. Another fan of Sarah. These people just couldn't get enough of her I guess. Not just any kind of people either. Males. It was obvious that whoever this Sarah was had given them a fake number and they were too stupid to realize it. I just wish she wouldn't have given my number to these buffoons.
"This is not Sarah!" I yelled into the phone, and then hung up.
I stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before breathing a relieved sigh. They weren't going to call back.
At least I thought.
Moments after I had ended the call, the sound of my phone ringing filled my ears yet again and the screen displayed the same unknown number that had called me seconds before. With an eye roll, though no one could see it, I picked up the phone.
"What?" I said snappily.
"Look, ma'am I apologize. " My eyes almost popped out of my head. Ma'am? Was this a joke? Did I really sound old on the phone? As the thoughts ran through my head, he continued to speak. "I had the wrong number. That's my mistake. I was just trying to get a hold of-"
"A hold of Sarah. I know. You're not the first. And don't call me ma'am. I'm not old enough for that."
There was a pause. I knew this guy himself was on the younger side. All of the callers were in the late teens and early 20's range. I hadn't figured out the exact age yet, but it was very clear from the way they acted. They usually tried some crusty pick up line because they hadn't learned yet that girls hated that stuff, and when it didn't work, they threw a little tantrum. Never though, had someone apologized to me before. That was new.
"I'm sorry I just assumed, because normally older women kind of sound a little impatient... Wait, what do you mean?" the guy asked slowly.
The fact that he was trying to be respectful in such a stereotypical way really irked me. Minus five points for assuming.
"Don't call me ma'am because-"
"No, about not being the first or whatever."
I sighed yet again. Never mind. Minus ten points for interrupting me. "You're not the first guy to call this number asking for Sarah. She obviously played you dude because I'm not Sarah, but so many guys think this is her number."
"So she gave me a fake number... Man, talk about a harsh rejection. She couldn't just say it to my face, could she?"
I let out a little laugh. "Guess not. But hey, if you see Sarah again, then you can let her know that the actual owner of this number is not happy, since I'm obviously never going to talk to her. We probably don't even live in the same state."
"Well, the number she gave me had the same area code, so I thought it was legit."
I held the phone away from my ear and looked at the area code of this guy's number. It was the same as mine. How had I not noticed that?
"Wait, you live in Kirk, Texas?"
"Yeah. Wait, so who are you then?"
I paused. I had said the words without another thought. I basically revealed my location, so of course he was curious, but was he someone I could trust? Did I really want to expose that information? I honestly didn't. "I'm not at liberty to say," I responded slowly.
The guy let out a chuckle. "Okay then, but if I'm judging correctly, you're around my age, which is seventeen. Maybe a little older or younger."
Dang it. He was seventeen too, which meant he was most likely about to start his senior year of high school like I was. Did he go to my high school? There were only two around, Kirk High School and Warrendale High. Wait, no. I didn't want to know. If he did end up going to my school that could spell disaster. Maybe he was a sociopath who wanted to follow me around the halls.
My pause was a good enough answer for him and he chuckled again. "So I was right! Cool."
I took a quick glance at my wall clock. It was a few minutes before midnight. Why was I still talking to this dude? "So was that all you wanted to say?" I asked quickly.
"Umm I didn't know you were in a rush..."
"Well, you don't know my life, or me for that matter," I said defensively.
"Okay! Okay! Sorry. I was just calling back to apologize. If I would've known it was a fake number, I wouldn't have called in the first place. I was just trying-"
"To hook up with Sarah. I know," I finished his sentence.
The guy seemed baffled. I could tell because he hesitated a little before beginning to speak again. His nervous chuckle also added to the equation. "Well when you put it that way it sounds pretty horrible. I actually thought she was really cute and was genuinely nervous for this phone call, but it's almost a good thing she didn't pick up or I would've probably said something stupid and embarrassed myself."
I changed my tone so he could hear the sarcasm clearly rolling off my tongue accompanied with a signature eye roll. "Right. A guy who genuinely wants to get to know a girl and calls her at nearly midnight. What was your next move? Invite her to your place so you could watch the stars together?"
Barf.
"Well no, but actually that sounds like a cool idea. You clearly have a certain impression of men though. Let's talk about this."
"Are you my therapist? Every girl knows what a guy's intention is when they call them at night. Not to mention the amount of nasty texts I've gotten from dirty-minded boys that think girls want that shit. I swear if my phone was waterproof I would've dunked it in some holy water and left it there for 3 days."
The now confirmed high school boy gave a laugh. "You're pretty funny. There are definitely guys out there like that, and I know exactly which ones you're talking about, but there are some good ones too. It's sad you haven't been exposed to any of them."
"Been exposed?" I drawled. "Maybe not the best choice in words my guy."
He quickly realized what he said and the panic was evident in his voice. "No, no! Not like that!"
I laughed. "I'm just messing around, but seriously if no girl does it, then no guy will ever learn."
"I guess so. You're honest. I like it. I'm glad I decided to call back. I guess this is it though. If you need anything, I'll be staying up for a while. Bye, stranger," he said kindly. Then the line went dead.
His comment had caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting him to intrigue me like this. It was weird to think that a guy that I didn't even know and had only spent a few minutes on the phone with could peak my interest.
Wait.
Did he just hang up?
I was supposed to be the one hanging up here. I was supposed to be the one that wanted to end the conversation. Then how could he have beaten me to it? ...I didn't even say good bye.
Deciding it was pointless to ponder over, I snuggled deeper into my covers, fully prepared for sleep to take over my body. For some reason though, I couldn't get my mind off of that phone call. That was the longest I had ever had a conversation with one of the strangers trying to call Sarah. I was honestly beginning to get curious as to how all of these guys were getting my number. It was easy to figure out the basics, that the guys asked for it and she gave them a fake number, but I wanted to know the details.
Wow, even I knew that was an excuse. I couldn't even get myself to believe that one. It was a reason nonetheless, and it meant I could continue talking to this guy who had a strangely soothing voice. My mind drifted back to his chosen parting words. He said he'd be up for a while. That sounded almost like an invitation to call back.
I found my hands reaching for my phone. I pushed the home button and suddenly my room was illuminated with my phone's bright light. After adjusting to the brightness, my eyes made out the time displayed on my phone. It was half an hour past midnight. Nearly thirty minutes had passed. Well, he had said I could call...
Wait.
What was I thinking? My fingers shrugged away from the phone and found their way back under the covers. This was bizarre. Why would I call back? I didn't actually know this guy, and why he'd obtained Sarah's number (or my number really) was none of my concern. He probably would see right through me and know it was just an excuse to talk to him more. Still, my mind was restless with curiosity. I couldn't sleep until my mind was at ease and the guy had practically told me it was okay! Before I could second guess my decision, I grabbed my phone and called back the number that was on the top of my Recents list.
After a few rings, there was a click and then a voice. "Hello?"
"Hey it's me again." I mentally face palmed myself. It's me again? Really? He didn't know who me was! "You know, the girl that's not Sarah."
Oh god, kill me now. That was the lamest thing I've ever said in my life, but why did I even care? Still, I could have come up with something better than 'the girl that's not Sarah.'
A bold laugh emitted from the guy's throat. "Wow, I didn't know you'd actually call. I was kind of just saying it to say it."
I let out a huff of frustration. "Yeah, well the only reason I called back is because I was super curious as to how Sarah has been conning all these guys. It was keeping me up so I figured if I knew, I could finally get some rest."
"Oh, so you're that kind of girl."
I was immediately offended, even though I didn't know what he meant by that. Guys always say that type of stuff. Someone needs to educate them on how to speak to females. "What kind of girl?" I asked with a snappy tone.
He let out another laugh, and I hated to admit it, but it sounded kind of hot. God damn it, I hated boys. I didn't even know what he looked like, but his voice was enough to make me swoon. "The nosy kind." Gosh, the way his voice kind of had a little rumble to it made it that much more-
"Wait, what? I'm not nosy!" Lies. Clearly I was.
"Oh yeah? Then why did you really call back? Do you secretly know me or something and you're trying to get me to fall in love with you? Or what if you're planning a plot to murder me and somehow get away with it." That was about the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. Suddenly this guy was seeming far less attractive.
"Alright fine I'm nosy, but that is only one of my many qualities. I don't wanna brag, but the rest of them are pretty outstanding. Besides, who are you to judge me? You don't know me, and I don't know you either. I'd have to at least have your name to do either of the two things you mentioned." I paused and realized what I said. "I mean not that I'm trying to murder you, I just couldn't do it anyways because your name is, uh, unbeknownst to me."
Two words. Face. Palm. Unbeknownst? Hi, the name is Jess and I'm from the 17th century. The only reason I'm not murdering you is because I don't know your name!
"Ah, so you're trying to get me to fall in love with you. I'm down."
Oh my gosh, he just breezed through my embarrassing moment, bless. The world is kind!
"You're so shallow," I noted lightheartedly with a laugh.
"That is only one of my many qualities, but the rest are outstanding," he paraphrased in a teasing tone. I could hear his grin through the line. "My name is Alexander by the way. Just in case you were wondering."
"I honestly wasn't." Liar. "Anyways, tell me what I want to know so I can finally go to bed."
"Not so fast. You never told me your name."
At this, I stayed silent. I honestly didn't want to tell him. Alexander, he'd said that was his name, right? Well I didn't know any Alexander. Then he wouldn't know me. Still, I felt super uneasy giving my name away.
"Oh come on. I gave you my name. It's not like I'm some fifty year old pedophile or something."
"You could be using a voice changing app," I reasoned.
"I'm not even asking for your age or where you live or go to school, even though I think I figured the first two out. I don't even want your last name. Just your first so I at least know what to call you over the phone. You don't even have to tell me a real name if you're that uncomfortable."
With a deep breath, I decided to give in. I mean he was right. He gave me his name, and by the way we interacted I knew he wasn't lying about his age. Besides, we probably weren't ever going to talk to each other again after this.
"Fine. It's Jess."
"Okay." Alexander paused again. "Is that your real name or a fake one? Just wondering."
I rolled my eyes. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Okay, you got me. I won't ask anymore. I told you it was okay not to tell me."
"Just get on with the story already!"
"Well I guess I'll start with the story then." Finally! "It all started at a party," he responded through the phone with a sigh.
My fingers curled around my iPhone as I pressed it closer to my ear. "Okay?"
I bit my lip in anticipation. I loved party stories, mostly because I'd never been to one myself. I got invited to some, and I wasn't avoiding them, but I did prefer sleep and Netflix. Still, I couldn't be a shut-in forever, so I planned on going to some my senior year, which would be starting soon anyway. Not saying I wanted to become a complete party animal, but I wanted some fun memories with my childhood friends before going off to college.
"So my friends and I went to this party last night so we could finish our summer with a bang, since school starts in a few days and all. It was pretty good. There was lots of beer and a ton of super hot chicks and-"
I gagged in disgust. "Right. Of course."
"Hey, cut me some slack. I'm a teenage guy." I was about to respond when Alexander kept going. "There was beer and there were girls. Better?"
As annoyed as he tried to sound, I could tell he had brushed it off completely and almost had a lighthearted tone with the correction.
"Much. Please continue."
"Well one girl in particular stood out to me and my friends. None of us had seen her around before so we figured she was new to town. After trying multiple times to get her number, my guys realized that they weren't getting anywhere, so they sent me in."
That was where I stopped him. "Wait. They sent you in? What's that supposed to mean?"
Was this some type of undercover spy mission or something, where he had to be 'sent in?' I imagined a masked man entering a building from a roof at night, sliding stealthily down a rope. Man, I needed to get out more. Everything was a movie plot to me.
"It means they sent me in to go talk to her. What else?"
So not an undercover spy mission. Damn.
"So you weren't talking to her before?"
"No. I'm only used as the last resort. My friends use me as a trump card if they can't get a girl on their own because they know my charm always works."
Barf. To think I thought this guy was a gentleman. He clearly thought he was the shit, telling me that his friends sent him in as a surefire way to get a girl's number. I should've known though. The most charming guys always had the biggest egos. "Well you're quite the catch," I said sarcastically.
"I've heard that," he said, and I realized that he hadn't sensed my sarcasm because he was having an 'I feel like a badass' moment.
"Not to burst your bubble, but I was being sarcastic." I told him with a playful tone in my voice. In a way he kind of reminded me of my younger brother. He acted the same way when it came to talking about girls even though I knew it was a cover, and he was happy if one girl just acknowledged him.
"Hey now. That wasn't nice. I thought you were actually being serious. Sorry that your sarcasm skills suck."
"My sarcasm skills are fine. You just wouldn't know sarcasm if it fell on you in the form of a boulder," I countered. A smirk found its way to my lips, even though I knew Alexander couldn't see it.
"Okay back to the story," Alexander grumbled. I laughed before letting him continue. "So I began talking to her and she seemed pretty interested. I asked her what her name was and she revealed it was Sarah. Then after a few more minutes, I got her to give me her number and, well, it ended up not being her number, but your number instead. Now here we are."
"What's with the old school phone number? Couldn't you just ask for her socials?"
"Well, I asked, but she told me she didn't have any."
I stifled a laugh. He really fell for the 'I don't have any social media' trick.
After taking a few moments to let the story sink in, I came up with a reply. "Wow, no wonder she didn't give you her actual number."
"What do you mean by that?!"
"You were all pestering her! She knew you were helping your friends out, so even if she was interested, she knew better than to give her number to you."
"She was definitely interested."
"Stop being so arrogant. You don't know for sure. Did you ever stop to consider that she was faking it?"
Another moment of silence from his end of the line. "I mean maybe. I had never thought about it like that. I always go by the eyes and hers were pretty centered on me. I just assumed she gave me a fake number because she thought I was going to share it."
"So you didn't share the number with your friends even though they pretty much had dibs on her?"
"I was the one who managed to get the number though, not them. Why would I share it?"
"Because they wanted her number first."
"It doesn't matter now anyways since the number isn't hers."
I shrugged as if Alexander could see me and sat up against my bed post. Talking while laying down was getting uncomfortable. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
"So tell me Jess, does that answer your question?"
A smile found its way to my lips. "Why yes it does Alexander." I paused. "Do you have like a nickname or something, or does your family also call you Alexander? I just feel like it's a mouthful kind of."
A short pause came before he replied. "Uh, yeah. My family calls me Axl."
"Hmm, Axel? Not Alex."
Alexander gagged through the phone. "Absolutely not. I hate Alex. It's Axl. A-x-l."
"Oh okay, well thank you Axl. Now I can sleep soundly knowing that Sarah is the coolest girl in the world, and she steps up for women everywhere. I don't even care that she's using my number to do it," I said, just to get under his skin. "I'm just happy I can be a part of the cause."
That was definitely not true, and if I ever ran into Sarah I was going to immediately tell her that I wanted my number taken out of her schemes to get back against men.
Instead of being offended though, Axl laughed. "You're pretty cool yourself Jess."
My smile got wider. "Thank you once again."
"You're welcome."
This was it. There really was nothing else to talk about, and I couldn't continue to make excuses or Axl was going to think that I liked him or something. Which was really stupid to even think of since we didn't even know each other. So I decided it was best to end the call.
"Well I guess I better go to bed. I've got an eventful day tomorrow, you know, breathing in oxygen and producing carbon dioxide and all. So-"
"Soooo apples! Aren't apples the most amazing fruit in the world? And they come in so many different colors. They just try so hard to please everyone. It's miraculous!"
"Um..." What was going on?
"And Oranges! Isn't it funny how they're named after their own color? Or was their color named after them?"
I laughed. "If you still wanted to talk you could have just told me you weirdo."
Wait, why had I just said that? I should've been wanting to go to bed. For some unknown reason, I wanted to stay up and talk to this stranger instead. Although I knew his name now, I didn't know anything else about him. I just needed to be sure he really wasn't a murderer or something, but from our conversation, he wasn't giving off any weird vibes.
All dubious thoughts left me though when he replied. "If you hang up, I'm in for a long run of video games. I need someone to keep me company, so I'm really just using you so I won't get bored playing the same games over and over. Sorry, that's all you're useful for." After I let out a small laugh, Axl continued to talk. "You know I was just joking right? You don't have to stay up and talk to me if you don't want to. I would enjoy it if you did though. Video games can get boring really quick."
"Make up your mind already. Do you want me to stay up or not?" I asked with a smile.
"Definitely stay up."
"Okay then. I'll stay up."
"You're the coolest, not Sarah."
That sentence alone tugged at my heartstrings and I found myself burning up in embarrassment. Thank god Axl couldn't see me in person. Thank god.
***
The story continues...
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