❝Somehow, I have the feeling I was meant to get that last digit wrong...❞
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Little does Maura know that picking up a call from a stranger could change the course of her future indefintiley. And what happens when, years down th...
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The wind battered violently against thin panes, begging to be heard over the heavy torrent of rain outside. It shuttered under the stress, the hinges creaking and groaning. Wave after wave of precipitation pelted the glass with translucent pebbles as peels of thunder shattered over the distant horizon, a thin sheen of white flashing against the canvas of gray and black.
Despite how violently the storm racked the walls of her house, Maura didn't stir. Not one bit. She only did when her phone buzzed on the nightstand, flooding the dim room with a pale light.
It couldn't have been more than thirty seconds before she heard the telltale jingle of her ringtone again. She stirred, rousing from a death-like sleep. Remnants of fatigue clung to her eyelids.
Maura blinked once, twice, then three times before it finally registered that someone was trying to call her at this ungodly hour. She wiped away the bits of drool that had managed to slip from her lips and groggily reached for her phone, unsuccessfully patting down the weathered nightstand until she felt the edges of the device. When she brought it to her face and unlocked it, she was blinded by the brightness. She let her eyes adjust to the light before squinting to see who the caller was.
It was an unknown number.
Weird.
Maura checked the time. It was two in the morning.
Who the hell was calling her at two in the morning? Scammers? Not likely. Their operating hours didn't extend past midnight. A family member with a new phone? No. Why would they call at two unless they were in a different timezone?
All this thinking was making her tired.
Maura found herself nodding away again—her consciousness slipping; eyelids fluttering shut. She slumped against the plush pillows and quietly dozed off.
That didn't last long when she heard the phone ring again and bolted up, blinking through the hazy film of sleep mystifying her.
Fresh irritation skittered under her skin.
If this wasn't a scam call or a friend trying to ring her up from a different country, then maybe someone had accidentally inputted the wrong number.
Maura glared down at the unfamiliar number.
Just by looking at the first three digits, she could tell it was from someone within her area.
Maura glanced around undecidedly. She had hoped they'd have given up by now. But they didn't, and she had little choice but to pick up the phone.
Clearing her throat, she pressed the large green button and balanced the device between her shoulder and ear. Maura fell silent and waited for the other person to answer first, awaiting whatever response they had been preparing for ten damn minutes.
