Never Ending

 The dial tone rang out as her fingers slid smoothly over the keys. The small phone on the wall hummed and her foot tapped slowly against the tile to the beat of a song only she knew. Connie held her breath as the phone rang. 

"Clairefork Police Department, this is Lila. How may I direct your call?" the voice on the other end of the line asked. 

"Lila? I-um... hi," Connie started. "I-I'd like to report a missing person."

 "Oh, um," Lila paused. "Okay, can I get your name? Then I’ll get you on another line and you can talk to someone qualified to deal- uh, help you with that." 

"Thank you. Uh, my name is Connie. Connie Valence." Connie stated, panic hiding in her voice. 

Lila’s voice was barely audible through the phone’s speaker, but it was filled to the brim with fear. “Connie Valence.” After a moment, she spoke again. “Um, s-sorry. Let me, uh... let me connect you.”

Distasteful hold music played while Connie’s toe tapped a few beats faster. This time she tapped it to the beat of her heart. The hold music stopped, suddenly, but no voice sounded. 

"Hello?" Connie heard heavy breathing on the other side of the call.

 “What do you want?” A male voice hissed. 

Connie was taken aback by his harsh tone. "Oh, right. Andrew. I mean, um, I-I'm reporting my friend, Andrew Pickens. He's been missing for about three weeks, and no one has heard from him, seen him, or anything like that." 

"Oh, yes. I know your little... friend. You must be worried about him.” The man paused. “But guess what. I don't care. Although, you can rest assured. He's... hmm, how would you say it? ‘In a better place.’" 

“What? What do you mean? I-I haven’t told the police department- ” Connie stopped abruptly. A small shiver slid down her spine as Connie realized who this perpetrator was. "Jason King," she whispered. "What- Jason, what did you do?" As hard as she tried, Connie couldn’t suppress the panic in her voice. 

"Oh, Connie. I didn't do anything. Really, it's what you did. And that should be your top concern." 

"Jason, if you don't fix... whatever it is you did, I'll... I’ll call the police." 

"It's too late for that," Jason's voice snapped. With a deep breath, he began again. "What's done is done. And you won't be saying a thing to the police. I have all of your lines tapped. Oh, and when they find Jason, they’ll come knocking on your door. All evidence points to you, hun. Also, your tapped lines include your security cameras. I always know where you are, what you're doing, and who you're talking to. And, in case I’m curious, I can listen to your conversations at any given moment. If you even try to report me or speak of this moment, I promise you’ll regret it." 

Connie's breathing rapidly grew heavier, her heart pounding expeditiously. "Why Jason? What did I do to you?" 

Jason scoffed."Con, if you don't know, then you have more important problems than Andrew to be worrying about." 

Connie looked for something to say. As she thought of a retort, the phone clicked, signaling the end of the call. She looked up at the camera in the corner of the room. Fear, anger, and confusion coursed through her veins as she stared into a black abyss of unknown. 

Connie tore her coat out of the closet, grabbed her keys, and ran outside. Connie ran down the stairs, and up a small hill in the park across the street. She stopped to take a breath when her apartment building was hidden behind a series of office buildings. 

Running up to a small condo she knew all too well, Connie pounded her fist against the door with more force than necessary. Connie looked at the street behind her, looking for cameras or anyone watching her. When the door opened, she spun around, hands shaking.  

"He found me. A-again. And this time he’s not going to stop till he gets what he wants.” Tears formed in Connie’s eyes and a single drop cascaded down her face, tracing the scar from the first time she’d been found by Jason King. The first time she’d ever tried to leave him.