"Hello"
January 13th, 2010
Abigail Von Houtten, aged 18 was staring at her phone with wide eyes, trying to decipher who would be calling her at this time. The call display only said "Unknown Caller" and had been ringing on and off for several minutes. There was only one person who ever called her from an unknown number, and he passed away last year.
Mr. Roger as he was known to the students had kept in touch with several Wammy's house children after they left the institution. He'd left the old Victorian to a loyal Wammy Alum named "Heartless", though she never found out his real name. He was a lot like Mello in the sense that his persona was the opposite of his alias.
Hesitantly, she pushed the green button, opening the line between the mystery person and herself. She brings the earpiece up and only slightly away from her ear.
"H-Hello? Who is this?"
There was a slow intake of breath, shaky on the other end. There was a moment's pause before it was exhaled slowly. She was tempted to cut the connection when a familiar voice spoke a name she had long since put behind her.
"Avy?"
A flood of emotions soon overtook her, her eyes welled up with tears and she covered her mouth. Anger, sadness, frustration, confusion, happiness and love were taking over her and she was helpless to stop them. She inhaled through her nostrils sharply, the nasal snort alerting the person on the other side that this was the person intended for contact.
She allowed herself a moment to compose herself and then bringing the mouthpiece closer, she at last spoke.
"Red…? Is that really you?" It was so hard for her to not be fidgeting at this point, she wanted to toss the damn phone and cry and scream, she wanted to plead and forgive, she wanted to be able to see him and hold him and never let go.
"Yeah," was the response, "It's me." The chuckle sounded strained, in fact his vocal patterns suggested that this phone call was as emotionally stressful on him as it was on her, but he was a master at hiding it. Not this time around.
There was a very long awkward silence, accentuated by neither of them making a move to start a conversation. Then again, what was there to say to one another? It's been over 4 years since they last talked. She distinctly remembers him walking out on her, talking about moving overseas, to where? Canada, the United States, Mexico or some South American country? She didn't know and she let herself let him go. The next words were a little haunting as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.
"I'm so sorry Avy for leaving you."
A fresh wave of tears were threatening to take over her, but she willed it away as best as she could.
"I understand why you left Wammy's Red, and I forgive you for it."
There was an intake of air on his end, this one a little less controlled, allowing her to hear him shudder his breath.
"You don't know how badly I've been wanting to apologize for that. I've waited and searched for you for months, just so I could hear you again and apologize. I don't know how many times over I will tell you until I feel satisfied that you really do forgive me for my actions."
"I've forgiven you after what Mr. Roger told me."
There was a chuckle on the other end.
"How is the old coot nowadays?"
That's right, he never heard of his passing.
"Mr. Roger passed away last year Red."
There was a short pause on the other end before a sound of understanding was heard.
"Sorry to hear that. What of Wammy's? Who's taking over it now?"
"You wouldn't know him, but his name is 'Heartless', or at least that is the name I've grown to understand him by."
"You're right, I don't know him."
Avon had to giggle at that.
"We were practically in the same Generation of Wammy kids. You were always so attached to Mello or your video games. You've missed out on a lot because of that, you know?"
"You could be right about that, but in all honesty, I don't see myself ever walking that path. Like you said, I'm attached to Mello at the hip, always have been."
Avon's eyebrows furrowed, not wanting to change the topic so suddenly, but she just had to know.
"Red, where did you go that night you left?"
There was another pause.
"Mr. Roger didn't tell you?"
"I'm afraid not. Truth be told, he was not too sure you'd end up where you said you'd be going, so he could not tell me."
"Well I moved to the US. Los Angeles to be specific."
This came as a shock to Abigail. He never talked about going that way, not in a million years, then again, he never talked of overseas travel to begin with.
"Why'd you go all the way to Los Angeles?"
Another pause.
"Well at first it was to vent at Mello. After a while I grew comfortable living there on my own."
"You were only 14 Red! You could have been abducted or killed, you know?"
There was a moment's pause where another man's voice was just heard over a failed attempt to muffle sound. The other voice sounded annoyed, perhaps pissed off. It clicked to Avon just then as to who it was. She heard his muffled reply, then after a moment, his voice came back loud and clear.
"Sorry, about that Avy."
"Was that Mello?"
Another pause.
"Yeah, it is. I am actually not supposed to be using this phone right now, but I negotiated myself to a half hour."
Abigail felt an old protective rage build inside her, but she suppressed it enough.
"How in the world did you get into contact with him?"
"Well…he actually found me. It's a kinda long story, and not one I am willing to get into too much details about. I really cannot believe half the things he told me and I am not allowed to let those things out of this immediate space."
Abigail frowned, but she was determined to get something out of this little inner conspiracy circle of her ex and his friend.
"Can I have the short version then? If it is at all possible?"
"All I can say is that shit hit the fan with him. He's not the same person in Wammy's anymore. He's change a lot. It was surprising even to me, but the ramble I would have normally gone into must stop there."
She supposed it was as good an answer that she could possibly get, and she was happy with that.
"Say, Avy?"
"What is it Red?"
A pause.
"Do you remember that night about a week before I left Wammy's?"
Her eyes grew bigger, the memory flashing before her eyes.
"Yes, that was the last time we slept together."
She had a gut feeling where this was going, but decided to play along, a frown growing on her face.
"Yeah, it was the same night we didn't use a condom, you wanted to be the aggressor that night. Typical me, I didn't want to go that far that fast."
She chuckled dryly at the memory that continued to linger there. A knot grew in the back of her throat and she willed the lump to go away.
"Avy?"
"Yes Red?"
Her throat betrayed her, letting him hear the stress and anxiety in her voice.
"Did…Did you get pregnant from that night?"
There it was, the inevitable question. She fought as hard as she could to suppress her emotions, but in the end, they won over her again and she let out a barely stifled sob and sniffle.
"Yes…I did Red."
There was a similar sound from his end, though he had not tried to hide his emotions from her, he never did.
"Did you carry to full term?"
"Yes I did. I had a little girl."
"A girl?"
A shuddered breath and a sniffle.
"Yes. She was so beautiful Red, you would have loved her. Unfortunately…"
She let this hang in the air as she let a small sob shake her frame.
"I was too young, Red. There was no way that I could raise a girl on my own. I had a plan a long time ago to let a mature couple adopt her when she was born. She was 2 months old when an American couple took her in. They named her Heather. She looked like a Heather too. She was perfect for them."
A muffled sob was heard on the other end.
"You did the right thing Avy. I am so proud of you. She would be what, now…5 years old?"
"3 and a half. Born July 15th, 2006"
The sound of Mello's voice came over the background, the mouthpiece was muffled again, but the loud tones coming from both men told her that this was quickly becoming a heated argument. A few moments passed then his voice came back, stressed.
"I'm sorry Avy, but I have to let you go. I have something that needs to be done and time can't wait anymore. I will call you again tomorrow if that's okay with you?"
"Call me anytime, love"
"Take care, babe."
The line disconnected at last. A flood of emotion rained on her and she finally collapsed into a sobbing mess, clutching at her phone like it was a lifeline. She did not leave from that spot for several minutes then willed herself to get to her feet and go to her bedroom.
~2 weeks later~
Abigail Von Houtten stood above a modest headstone in Wammy's personal cemetery for the fallen victims and heroes. The name written down was "Mail Jeevas" and nothing more. Next to his was a grave with the name "Mihael Keehl". Between the two graves was a plaque that simply stated:
"Brothers in arms, Best friends. They will be missed."
THE END