The Unanswered Call The Ignored Daughter’s Last Words Chapter 02

The Unanswered Call The Ignored Daughter’s Last Words Chapter 02

After Mom and Dad left, I sat on the couch, glancing at the clock on the wall every so often.

Mom said that after the little hand went around twice and the sun came up one more time, they would be home.

As the sky slowly darkened, I knew I was one step closer to seeing them again.

The characters in my cartoon were eating ice cream.

It looked so good that I was about to get some from the fridge when someone suddenly knocked on the front door.

I recoiled and fell back onto the couch. The teddy bear in my arms slipped to the floor.

Mom and Dad had told me never to open the door for strangers.

“Who is it?”

I called out softly.

No one answered.

I had just started to relax when the knock came again, harder this time, almost a pounding.

I got even more scared, and tears immediately filled my eyes.

“Mommy! I’m scared!”

I fumbled with the smartwatch on my wrist. My fingers shook so badly it took me several tries to tap Mom’s picture.

The call rang a few times before she answered.

“Hello? Nell? What’s wrong?” Soft restaurant music drifted through the call, and Mom sounded surprised.

“Mommy, someone’s knocking! Nell is scared. Come home!”

The other end went quiet. Then I heard Dad ask, “What is it? What did Nell say?”

Mom’s voice tightened. “She says someone’s knocking. I’m worried.”

Celine cut in. “Mom, did you check the cameras? What if she’s just bored at home and making it up?”

A few seconds passed before Mom came back on, this time sounding angry.

“I checked the cameras. There’s nobody at the door.”

“Are you lying again? Do you have any idea how busy we are right now?”

I cried even harder. “Nell isn’t lying! Someone really is knocking! I heard it!”

“Enough.” Mom cut through my sobs. “If you keep lying, Mommy will leave you.”

My sobs caught in my throat. “Nell will be good… Nell won’t make trouble… Mommy, don’t leave Nell.”

“Okay. I’m hanging up. Don’t keep calling. There’s cake in the fridge. Eat some and go to bed.”

The call ended.

I picked up my teddy bear and curled back into the couch, trying over and over to convince myself not to be scared.

But the knocking didn’t stop. It came back every few minutes.

Sometimes it was three soft taps. Sometimes it was one hard bang. It was as if whoever was outside was taking their time, toying with me.

I covered my ears and buried my face in the teddy bear’s fur.

By the time it was completely dark outside, a man’s voice came through the door.

“Nell, I’m a friend of your dad’s. I’m here to take you to your parents.”