Day 36/366

She deposited her belongings on the end table by the sofa and wandered down the hall to the bedroom.  Decorated in the soothing tones of the ocean, a soft blue and seafoam green, her room was her sanctuary.  She sat on the end of the bed and slipped out of her shoes, then fluffed one of the pillows and leaned back against the headboard.

Drawing in a deep breath, she held it for a few seconds, then let it out, feeling a bit of the tension in her neck and shoulders release.  If she could catch just fifteen minutes of rest maybe dinner would sound good.  Right now, though, the thought of food was not at all appealing.

Gen closed her eyes and tried to quiet her mind.  She was on the edge of sleep when her cell went off.  Fighting the urge to get the phone, she tried to relax back into napping.  Just a few minutes...

Her phone chimed, notifying her of a missed call.  A moment after, a tone signaled a text had come through.  She groaned, "Well, this isn't going to work," and sat up.

Rubbing her eyes, she padded back down the hall and into the living room.  She dug through her purse, hunting for her phone.  "That's odd.  I know I heard you ring."  No missed calls or texts appeared on the display."

A tone sounded again and Gen froze.  This phone hadn't gone off.  It was the other phone, the one she had thrown into the junk drawer in the kitchen.  The phone she had found that night, the night this nightmare began.

The phone with only one caller.

It was him.

All words are the property of Deena Peterson and not to be used without permission.