The Call

Faster than I could process,  I picked up the call and pressed the phone to my ear. "Catherine? Where are you? Are you alright? Please tell me your coming home now."

All I heard was her heavy breathing, as if she had run hundreds miles without stopping. I couldn't detect anything else besides that.

"Elizabeth..." she said, catching her breath, "I'm done."

Done? Done with what? "Are...are you finished with whatever you needed to do? Are you coming back?"

"No!" I had never heard her sound so angry. "No, I'm not coming back. I'm done with you, I'm done!"

What did she just say? I must have mumbled something deliriously, as she continued.

"Our engagement is off, Elizabeth. I want nothing more to do with you or our little circle, understand?"

If I had been shot in the knees, the stomach or even the chest, it would have hurt less that Catherine's words. The harsh edge to her voice cut through me without any effort. It couldn't been happening. Maybe it was a joke...a sick joke. "Wha...why? Why?"

It sounded like she snorted, as if the reason should have been as obvious as 'the sky is blue,' "I don't need to elaborate, alright? I don't want to be engaged to you any longer. I'm done. Why can't you just respect that?"

This blindsided me completely. Even as I felt my heart breaking I didn't stop talking, "What's the matter? Why are you doing this? I need an answer, Catherine, please. I-Is there someone else? I don't...I don't understand at all, okay? Are you even feeling alright? I can't understand why you're doing this. I love you, Catherine. You know how much I do." I couldn't stop. I don't remember what else I said, other than pleas, declarations of love, platitudes, desires for an explanation and pauses to see if she would respond at all. I must have sounded so pathetic.

Through my weeping, Catherine managed to say four last words: "Don't look for me."

She hung up the phone. I fell to my knees. And I couldn't feel anything besides sorrow. Calling her back did nothing but go straight to voicemail. I told everyone what happened, much to their surprise and confusion. Why did Catherine do that? What was the purpose? Hypothesis after hypothesis was thrown around, yet none of them sounded right.  There was no evidence to back up what we thought, and so our misery had been increased fifty-fold.

The police couldn't track her by the cell; something made it impossible, they said. They tried and tried yet nothing. I had such a panic attack that day I collapsed in a heap.

I don't think Catherine was in her right mind, that or someone put a gun to her head and told her to say that. She would never say those things to me, that I know.