When the phone rings

The bottle felt cold in my hands, but the liquid inside burned as it slid down my throat. I sat immobile in front of the TV screen, which was the only source of light, as I kept the curtains tightly shut, refusing to acknowledge the outside world.
I take another sip. The burn is tolerable now. I stare aimlessly at the TV without hearing anything from it. It was almost as though my own pledged thoughts were louder than the volume. Stupid choices, public humiliation, losing my job—it’s all led to this moment. Me sitting here feeling sorry for myself, it's almost laughable having everything you’ve wanted only for it to be taken away in a heartbeat.
Time passes through the night; I feel the numbing effect of the alcohol and light, warm vibrations going through my body. I hear a soft buzz, and I look over towards my phone. Someone’s calling, but I feel too heavy to move, and my eyes start slowly drifting shut...
 
I wake uncomfortably; I shouldn’t have fallen asleep on the sofa, and the stiffness of my neck is proof of that. I opened my eyes but instantly regretted it, blinded by the bright light that even my curtains couldn’t block out. I groan as pain pulsates in my head, but there’s no one else to blame but myself, especially when another bottle is waiting for me to repeat yesterday’s antics. No longer able to deal with the roughness of my throat, I rubbed my eyes and then reached for a half-empty bottle of water, letting the stale taste soothe my throat. I stand, trying my hardest to be steady on my feet.
Trudging to my bathroom I ran the tap, splashing water so cold on my face that a gasp left my mouth.
Heading back to the living room, I grab my phone, having the slight memory of a missed call last night and half expecting it to be from my mum, but when I see the caller ID, my brows furrow in confusion.
"What?" I whispered to myself, having to reread the contact number once more in case I was mistaken. But no, the missed call was from me. Well, it’s my number showing up as a missed call; how is that possible? Could I have accidentally called myself? I may not have been in the clearest of my mind, but I do remember my phone buzzing on the coffee table. There is a voicemail from my number left at 2:30 am that must’ve been around the time I fell asleep. Pressing play, I put my phone to my ear, but all I can hear is burbling. I try listening carefully; there is something else—some other noise—but I can’t make it out, and the pain in my head worsens the more I try to concentrate.
A piercing scream knocked me out and my phone dropped to the floor. My heart started to race as the voicemail stopped and the screen went blank. What in the hell was that? I tried to think of some reasonable explanation for this. I must’ve buttdialed myself or something on the TV was left on; maybe a horror came on that could explain the scream.
Feeling unsettled by this, I don’t even pick up my phone from the floor; it’s not going anywhere. I head into the kitchen, putting the kettle on and some bread in the toaster.
Peering outside, the sky is grey and the clouds are thick; it could rain at any moment. I haven’t left my house in days because I can't bear to face people, not yet. Closing the curtains, I turn towards my bedroom. The pain in my neck is still there from my awkward sleep; maybe if I rest in bed it will help, but I didn’t get very far. Ringing filled the room; my phone was still on the floor; I can feel the vibrations through the floorboards.
I cannot understand why, but a sinking feeling rests in my chest as I pick up my phone but falls into my stomach as I see the contact number—it's mine again.
I press accept, my curiosity slightly outweighing my nerves. "Hello," I said, not expecting a reply. The burbling sound was still there, but this time I can hear crying. It starts with a low "hello! Who is this?"
The crying continues this time louder, but I hear music in the background. Putting the phone on a louder speaker so I can hear it better Even though it's hard, I can make out a DefLeppard song from anywhere. Foolin’ is playing, but I can still hear the cries in the background. "Okay, thats enough, now tell me who you are." The feeling of curiosity has left. I'm tired and not in the mood for these kinds of jokes. But I still got no reply. Anxiety reaches its peak within me; this is all too weird.
"Do not call this number again." I almost choked on my words as I ended the call.
Running my hands through my hair, I stepped back, hitting the wall. The phone started ringing again.
I wanted to scream, but nothing came out.
The ringing seemed to get louder; it would cut off only to ring again. My breathing was getting harder to control after the third ring, and the desire to scream won. I launched myself towards my phone to accept the call.
"Listen here, I don’t know if this is some sick prank, but"
"Hun, what’s going?" My mother's voice cut me off.
"Mum, oh my god," tears spill from my eyes.
I try to explain to my mom what's going on, but I know I'm not making sense.
"Are you okay? I know things have been stressful recently; it must be getting to you."
She sounds sympathetic, but I know she doesn’t believe me.
"Mum, I'm serious. I even got a voicemail." I go to forward the message so my mom can listen.
But when I look, the voicemail isn’t there. I go to my call log, and the missed calls are not there either.
"Are you still there?" I can hear my mother talking, but I block her out, and my breathing becomes harder to control. "No, no, no," I whisper to myself, I'm sobbing now.
Hunny, are you still there?" I couldn’t take this anymore without finishing saying goodbye. I turn my phone to the side. I go to the kitchen to get that bottle of alcohol, taking a large swig now, welcoming the burn.
I notice myself in the mirror: my hair is matted from sweat, my face is red, and my patchy eyes are swollen. Still, in a state of panic, I take another sip. I take a deep breath, trying to clear my mind, and for a split second my mind was quiet, only hearing the rain fall outside, but then I heard the ringing of a phone that I knew I had turned off.
A tremor overtook me, and despair poured out of me in a flood of uncontrollable tears.
Please, please leave me alone," I begged, falling to my knees.
"Help me!" There was a voice coming from the living room. I got up and headed towards my phone, sniffling as I got closer.
"Someone help me please," a piercing scream filled the room. I stopped my body from going stiff and was unable to move as the rain outside got heavier. That’s my voice; I know that’s my voice.
It's repeating the same thing, ‘someone help, but the words start to mumble as gargling noises take over. I couldn’t take my eyes off my phone. Water started coming out of the screen and onto the floor, and I shook my head.
"This isn’t possible!" I yell.
I have to get out of here. It feels like fog is clouding my mind as I reach for my car keys and rush outside. Only to be met with rain pouring onto me. The sky was dreary, and running through puddles, I got into my car, turned it on, and drove. I have no particular destination; I just need to calm myself down. The rain is heavier now, so I turn the radio on in hopes it will call me down. I make a turn for the bridge, where my mom lives at the other end of it, but then that familiar song sends an unwanted shiver down my spine.
Foolin’ plays on the radio, "No!" I screech. I try turning it off, but it only gets louder. The rain is making it hard to see. I look down, banging on the radio in hopes it will turn off, but once I look back up, I see a figure in front of me that I can't make out, and with me not paying attention, I had time to take a break. Instead, I swerved, a scream leaving my body. Pressing my foot on the brake, my car came to a halt. But it was too late. I swerved too close to the edge. The front of my car tilts forward as the back starts to lift. Under me was a river. I try to stay still, but I can't think straight, and with every forward tilt, I feel sick to my stomach. The music still blares and the car goes forward, but this time it was enough to send it off the edge. I try to scream, but no sound comes out as my car plunges into the water. The car rocked back and forth in the water. I floated for only a short while, but then water started to leak inside, and I felt myself being pulled down. Water filled my car.
"help me!" I cried
The song was no longer playing. All I can hear is water and my cries.
"Someone help me, please!" I choked on a sob as realisation hit me—that’s exactly what I heard on the phone call.
The water was up to my chin now, and with one final strangled scream, I was submerged underwater.