It's been a couple of days since Liam left for Wenatchee, so Nessa can't help but conceal the surprise in her voice when she answers the phone and hears Liam screaming on the other line, the volume of his voice making her wince.
"There's cell service at the lake!" Liam shouts.
Curiosity hides in her voice as she asks, "And the first person you decided to call was me?"
"Well . . . I called my mom first," he reveals, "but she didn't pick up."
"I guess she must have better things to do then," Nessa replies casually, adding in a short, little hum at the end of her sentence.
"Hey!" Liam responds. "I'm gonna hang up the phone now, Nessa. I don't associate myself with bullies, bully."
"Wait, I'm just kidding! I'm not a bully! I'm sure your mom loves you. She was probably just busy."
A pause of silence hangs over them eerily.
"So, did you miss me so much you just had to call me?" Nessa teases after a while.
"Maybe," Liam replies timidly. "At least I missed you until this phone call. Did you miss me?"
"No, not really," Nessa lies, letting her voice falter after it raises as if she were asking a question.
"If you keep doing this to me, I'm actually going to hang up," he threatens.
"You know I'm just teasing you again." She laughs. "I missed our 10 PM phone calls too, Liam."
"But did you miss me?" Liam makes sure to emphasize the last word of his question very clearly to Nessa.
"You're really pushing it, aren't you?"
"I won't believe it until I hear you say it."
"Say what?"
"No, this isn't how it works, Nessa." Liam shakes his head as he sits on a boat with his friends who are messing around with fishing rods in the background. "You're supposed to be the one who says it."
"And what if I don't say it?"
"Nessa, come on . . ." Liam laments.
There's another pause between the two of them, this one longer than the last.
"Okay, okay, fine." She finally gives in, not being able to bear the tension between them any longer. "I missed you too, Liam."
When she hears boys shrieking on the other line followed by a loud splash and water gurgling, she knows that Liam didn't hear a single word she said.
That silly boy dropped his phone into the lake.
YOU ARE READING
Say Hello For Me
Short Story"Hello, we are here to advise you on all your questions, concerns, and problems related to relationships. How may I assist you today?" "I think my girlfriend is cheating on me." Everything started with this simple line.
