Call (1)

William parked his car on the shoulder of the road.

He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself, and then took out his phone. He was staring at the number for some time. It took a while before he was able to press the call button.

The ringing sound could be heard at the end of the line, and yet no one was picking up the phone, it kept ringing. In the end, the other person did not answer his call. His call went through to voicemail.

William took another breath and looked at the number that he was trying to call.

"It seems it's still not the right time to call her." He placed his phone on the passenger seat beside him and signaled his car and went back to the car lane.

William decided to be true to himself and continue pursuing Mia. However, it did not mean that he would forget about his other responsibilities. He needed to go back to the company and work. Before, it was just a job that he had to do because his father gave him responsibilities. But now, things are different, he messed up big time.

He headed straight home to get a good night's rest for tomorrow.

Before heading to his own room, William went to look for his sister. He found her in the living room, reading a book while drinking tea.

"I'm back," said William with his usual smile.

"Welcome back. How was your day?" Stephanie asked while laying the book she was reading on the coffee table.

William sat next to her sister and said, "It was good. I think there's some improvement now that Mia knows that I have romantic feelings for her."

"That's good," Her sister said with a kind smile.

Although Stephanie's reply seemed normal, something still felt different with his sister's mood.

"Are you okay?" William asked with a bit of worry in his tone.

Stephanie, on the other hand, smiled at William gently and said, "I'm fine. I guess I'm a little tired from work. I'm going to bed to rest." Stephanie approached William and gave him a peck on his cheek.

"Don't forget to eat something before resting. Good night," Stephanie added as she walked towards her own room.

William was wondering what was going on, or what that was all about. He could only think of their mother's situation. He once again picked up his phone and looked at the contacts through his list.

*sigh*

He was looking at the name that he contacted earlier. He did not hesitate to press the call button and wait for the person to answer the phone. Like earlier, it rang a couple of times but no one was picking up. He thought nobody will pick up the phone, but suddenly the ringing stopped. He looked at his phone's screen and the timer for calls answered appeared. He was surprised that the person picked up, he put the phone close to his ears once again, but the person was not speaking.

William did not know if the other person was listening but he had to try, he thought.

"Hello," William said. However, the person on the line did not reply.

"We should talk," William added, but still, the person did not reply. William looked at his phone screen once more to see the counter still active. So he stayed on the line, waiting for the other person's response without saying anything. Both stayed silent at both ends, a couple of minutes passed when someone finally broke the silence.

"It's too late for that," the person said, the voice was filled with bitterness.

"Do you really believe that?" William asked. His tone was normal, he was not pleading to the person on the line.

"What's there to talk about?" The voice sounded cold this time, you can feel the sudden change of tone from the way this statement was delivered.

"We were friends for a long time, doesn't that count for anything," William once again said. His tone was gentler this time as if trying to appease the person on the end of the line.

Original novel by Chuchuwachuwa