My Neighbor's Friend

The Call

~~Levi Ackerman~~

I'm washing the dishes after dinner when my phone buzzes with a new text.

From: Shitty Glasses
Don't be mean to him!

Huh?! What the fuck does that mean?

It's probably that four eyes messing up the sender again. I shake my head, dismissing the matter, but not before punching out a reply.

To: Shitty Glasses
Idiot! Stop sending me other people's texts!

To: Shitty Glasses
And get new glasses since you obviously can't read with the ones you have!

Usually, it's followed by Hange sending a text saying sorry which they obviously don't mean. Or if I'm having a particularly bad day, I'm graced with Hange's incorrigible teasing instead of an apology which of course, makes my already sour mood even worse.

But today is different.

Today, Hange doesn't reply.

I find myself wondering why that is. What in the world could be keeping Hange fucking Zoe from making my life a living hell since that's what seems to be their sole mission in life. Then I realize with a grimace that I'm fussing over useless things, and it makes me feel even more annoyed with myself.

Within the next half an hour, I manage to pry Izzy off her phone and make her go to bed. Once that's done, I let out a sigh. Not frustrated or tired. Just feeling the relief of passing another not-so-bad day. A day without too much workload, without Izzy being difficult or rebellious. I'm not kidding. That young woman gets too much of those teenage hormones flooding her system sometimes, and I'm the one who ends up dealing with the consequences, which mostly consist of her rapid mood swings and a general disagreement to anything and everything I say.

Life of a thirty four years old single father can be quite complicated at times.

It's not until I get in the sanctuary of my own room that my phone starts ringing. I pick it up from the bedside table and squint at the unknown number.

Who the fuck is calling at this hour?

I have half a mind to ignore it or maybe reject the call. But then again, it could be someone I know. Not that I know a lot of people. But it could be an emergency and in that case I probably shouldn't be ignoring the call.

Tch! What the hell.

"Hello."

I'm met with dead silence.

"Hello!" I say again after a long pause.

This time, there's a gasp. So there is actually a human being on the other side. I was beginning to think someone accidentally dialed a wrong number and forgot their cell.

Who the fuck is this? Calling someone and then gasping into the phone.

What a creep!

"If you've got nothing to say, I'm hangin–"