Soren: I'm sorry about yesterday. I think I'm menstruating or something.

Talia: I'm not laughing. Either give me an explanation or leave. You're so rude for saying that stuff. All I did was care.

Soren: I'm a jerk, I know. I can't give you an explanation, but I can give you an apology.

Talia: K.

Soren: Dear Talia MiddleName LastName. I strongly apologize for being a poopy butthead and saying mean and uncalled-for things to you. I hope you can accept my apology. From the bottom of my heart,

— Soren.

Talia: Gee, I'm touched.

Soren: /:

Talia: Whatever, poopy butthead.

Soren: Can you talk right now?

Talia: Let me check my schedule.

Talia: Sorry. No scheduled appointments for poopy butthead.

Soren: Can I make one?

Talia: Sure. Call to RSVP.

> Incoming FaceTime from Soren.

For a moment, I chewed on my lower lip, debating on whether to answer the FaceTime. Without thinking twice, I tapped accept on the call, but angled my camera towards the ceiling so I couldn't be seen. Apparently, Soren had a similar idea in mind, as I was met with a pure black screen.

"There's not much trust in this friendship, is there?" I heard him joke, after a moment of silence. Once again, his slight British accent caught me off guard, even though I already knew about it.

"Nope," I answered coyly, an edge of laughter in my words. My heart still  pounded in my chest at Soren's voice, and I felt a silly grin form on my face.

Sheesh Talia. Control yourself, I thought sarcastically.

"You're pretty hot, if I do say so myself," he remarked, and for a moment I was flustered, until I remembered that my camera was still facing the ceiling. Stupid sarcastic boy, I wanted to mutter.

Instead, I chose to say, "You don't look too bad yourself."

Soren just chuckled, and I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my stomach do a flip. I didn't know if it was possible to have a crush on a persons voice, but at this point, it seemed likely.

"How about we both uncover our faces on the count of three?" he offered, to my excitement. Part of me was terrified to see the person behind the attractive voice and wrong number text, and part of me was thrilled. Luckily enough for me, I didn't look half bad today – if not a little rough from swim practice. My auburn hair curled near the tips from its exposure to chlorine, and my skin felt kinda dry, but that was as bad as it got. "Are you sure you'll uncover yours?" I asked unsurely, worried that I was making a bad choice.

"Of course," Soren assured me.

Like the idiot I was, curiosity got the better of me. "Okay..." I replied hesitantly, smoothing my hair down with a trembling hand. There was a short pause on the other end of the line, and then the sound of rustling.

"Three," Soren began, "Two..."

He drawled out the number, and with each millisecond, my heart rate multiplied.

"One!"

I jerked my camera upwards and nearly went into cardiac arrest. As soon I caught sight of the screen, I dropped my phone on my pillow and shrieked in horror.

The image displayed on my phone was not an 18 year old boy with black hair and a British accent. Instead, it appeared to be what looked like a dead body, mangled and bloodied, as if somebody had ripped it open and then left it to decompose. Flies surrounded the carcass, And for a moment, there was a deafening buzzing noise. Suddenly, by phone went silent, but the gruesome picture remained.

With my stomach in my throat, I squeezed my eyes shut and fumbled around with my phone until I successfully hit the end call button. As soon as I did, I clamped my hand over my mouth and bit back a scream. The image seemed to be burned into my mind. Every time I blinked, I saw blood. Even worse yet were the eyes of the dead body. They were wide and frozen, half-rolled back into the persons skull.

It wasn't until minutes later that I felt my breathing begin to return back to normal. My fists were white from clutching onto my bedsheets as hard as my strength allowed me to. I'd almost completely forgotten about the call from Soren, until my phone began to buzz with unread messages. Truth be told, I had barely processed anything. All of my willpower was directed towards making the horrifying image leave my mind. Now, I watched as messages filled up my screen.

Soren: #passiton.

Soren: I'm so sorry.

Soren: Talia???

Soren: Please pick up the phone and let me explain.

Soren: It doesn't have to be FaceTime. Just let me explain.

Soren: Please!

Soren: This is important.

Soren: Oh god Talia. Oh my god.

Soren: Pick up the call. PLEASE.

> Incoming call from Soren.