Dana barely heard her as she was reaching for the phone, her heart pounding and not even thinking of what she was doing.

 “Okay, next caller?” Alice prompted.  “Caller, what’s your story?”

Dana froze as she heard Alice on the other end of the line.  She never imagined that she’d get through.  She didn’t know what to say.  She’d just wanted to hear Alice’s voice talking to her, and only her.  A tear escaped Dana’s eye and slid down her cheek, landing on the phone.

“Hello?  Caller?” Alice repeated, sounding a little impatient.

Hearing Alice’s voice again caused the dam to break, and Dana burst into hysterical sobs, clutching the phone to her ear for dear life.

“Caller?  Are you okay?” Alice asked, sounding concerned.

“No,” Dana managed to gasp out into the phone, curling herself into a little ball on the bed.

Something was bothering Alice.  There was something familiar about the caller.  And when the caller said “No,” Alice recognized her from that one little word.  “Dana?” she whispered hoarsely, unsure.

The only response was a muffled sob, and then a small thud.

Dana dropped the phone to the floor, her hands covering her face as her body shook with sobs.

“Umand now, here’s a quick word from our sponsors, folks,” Alice said quickly, going to an unscheduled commercial break.  As the on-air sign went off, she whispered a timid, “Hello?” into the phone, but heard nothing but muffled crying in the background.  That couldn’t be Dana.  I must be mistaken.  Sighing, she shook her head and motioned for the call to be hung up.

Hearing Alice’s voice come from the phone again, Dana managed to pull herself up and lunge for the phone.  “Alice?” she asked, sniffling, trying to compose herself.

The sound of a dial tone met her ears, and Dana collapsed once again in tears, holding the phone to her chest.