It was a stormy Autumn night, and Lee was sitting on the sofa watching a film, balancing a bowl of popcorn on his lap. Every so often the room would be lit up by lightning followed by a loud crack of thunder, and Lee was quite enjoying the added atmosphere this was giving to the film.
Lucy had decided not to join Lee as she had never really been into those psychological thrillers that he liked. The choice of film had caused something of a disagreement between them, with Lucy reminding Lee that this was her flat and that he had no right to hog the TV. Lee couldn't see her point, after all he had endured endless hours of chick flicks over the years. Lucy had given in anyway eventually, too tired after a stressful day at work to argue any more. She decided to occupy herself in the kitchen, turning her hand to some baking to pass the miserable evening.
When the phone rang at a particularly tense moment in the film, Lee jumped in his seat, scattering popcorn all over himself. He hoped Lucy hadn't heard his squeal, as this would have somewhat spoiled the macho image he liked to maintain when it came to scary films. Lee was annoyed when there was no one on the end of the phone when he answered. They had been getting loads of silent calls recently, sales companies he presumed, in a frequency that was becoming a full on nuisance. Lee dialled 1471 but the number was withheld as usual. He tutted and shook his head walked back over to the sofa, bending down to pick up the popcorn that strewn all over it.
"Who was that?", asked Lucy, now standing in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.
She noticed the popcorn everywhere and smiled, "something make you jump Lee? I thought you could handle scary films".
He looked at her sheepishly, "just the phone, I wasn't expecting it to ring that's all", he answered indignantly. "It was one of those silent calls again".
"Oh", said Lucy, the smile disappearing off her face.
Lee noticed she looked a little freaked out. "I've told you Lucy, they're just sales calls, nothing sinister, just annoying".
"I know…anyway, I've got to go and check on my cakes", Lucy replied before disappearing back into the kitchen.
Lucy sat down on the kitchen chair, then got back up, pacing up and down. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her nerves. Her hands were shaking and her heart had started to race. What Lee didn't know was that there had been a few times over the last week when she had answered the phone, and sometimes it was just silence, but at others it had been breathing…heavy breathing and other noises, leaving her frightened and on edge. She tried to tell herself that it was just some teenagers messing about, but it was getting beyond the joke now, to the point where she jumped every time the phone rang. She poured herself a glass of wine and sat back down, her mind continuing to run away with her, thinking about who the nuisance caller could be.
Lucy cursed to herself when she smelt burning…the cakes! She opened the oven, and smoke billowed out into the kitchen, causing the smoke alarm to go off. She placed the tray onto the counter and inspected the charred remains of her baking. She threw them into the bin, and wiped her eyes as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Lee walked into the kitchen, having heard the smoke alarm.
"What happened?", he asked.
"I forgot to set the timer, I burnt the cakes", she replied, trying not to look at him.
He had noticed her tears though. When he asked her why she was crying over burnt cakes, she make an excuse about it being her time of the month and announced she was going to bed. Sensing that she didn't want to talk, Lee watched her run to her bedroom and sat back down, picking up the remote control and resuming the film.