“But why would Tina let her sister take the phone call from her. Is she that afraid of who was one the other end of the line?”

“But Al, think about it. You were the one that saw her when Michela drove her away right? What was Tina like?” Alice blinks a couple of times after remembering Tina’s face. Completely flushed, her hair slightly disheveled. Definitely had the look of a woman completely dismantled.

“She was broken.” she simply said.

“So, it’s possible that the same could be true now?” The other two accompanying Shane just nodded in agreement before the took a seat at the caf.

“What about calling her cell?” Alice asks after minutes of sipping their drinks in stunned silence.

“Maybe we could talk her into coming home.”

“Maybe, Shane you have your phone?”

“Yes. But why can’t Grace call her?”

“Hello. Shane weren’t you there when she went all Bruce Lee on my car door today?”

“Oh yeah.” Shane said, slightly blushing because she had completely forgotten that important detail and at the fact that while Tina was going off on Grace, she was in the background enjoying the show. She quickly found Tina’s cell numbered and dialed.

*****************************************************************************

“Mickey did you pack my phone, in my bag? Or did you confiscate that too.”

“You’re so funny. You should be on TV. Anyway smart *****, you didn’t have a phone with you. So no, I didn’t pack your phone.”

***** if I never took it with me when I ran out of Bette’s house, then there’s only one place that it could be.

******************************************************************************

“Baby sis, why is Shane calling you? Isn’t she in the living room?

“Let me see that.” My first words spoken in almost an hour.

“That’s not my phone. It’s her’s” I say. Looking at it, I remember all the late night calls she would make to me on this phone. Her voice would instantly light up when she heard my voice. I would too. I couldn’t wait to take a break from work to hear it. I can remember the night I got this number. So unsure if that night was just a crazy introduction to LA life or if it was the start to something real. Lot of good that did me. Here, alone a ***** mess, listening to the most depressing ***** in the history of depressing *****. And all over a woman. But never again. There’s no way in ***** I’ll let some woman do this to me again. For starters this phone has to go. I chuck at the wall, its pieces flying all over the wall. Goodbye Tina Kennard. Have a nice life.

******************************************************************************

“Hey Tina, it’s Shane. Look when you get this message, call me back. We’re worried about you . And we all think you should at least come home. We already miss you. And Bette……well Bette’s pretty broken up here…..so……..whenever you get this message just give me a call, anytime. I’ll be waiting…….alright bye. Uh and hey be safe.”