Phone

Elena made sure that her husband was already boarded on a bus before she locked the apartment door.

She headed straight to the red sofa, sat, and waited for the cordless phone beside the sofa to ring.

When the phone finally brayed, she picked up the phone and tried to calm herself. "Hello." A statement, not an inquiry.

"Hello." Elena said. She heard a sound that seemed like a smirk. She tried to picture him do it, but she can't: she never saw this stranger's face nor he even bothered to send her a picture of him. Not that it's an issue for her.

"You pick up the phone pretty quick." the stranger said.

"And you always have the perfect timing." Elena replied.

She pondered how on earth this guy manages to time his call this well.The stranger gave a long sigh. "What should I do? I'm bored and lonely, you're bored and lonely. We need each other."

Elena chose not to respond to this statement. They both knew he's right. She made love to her husband in every corner of their apartment like rabid dogs while stifling moans, making sure their neighbors won't hear. However, these blissful activities only lasted for a few weeks. Five months ago, her husband, a lawyer, was entrusted with a high-profile criminal case that left him going home only to sleep. For five months, her lustful needs went unfulfilled until the cordless phone, which went with the apartment when they rented it, started to ring.

On that same day, the stranger made Elena touch herself on the sofa. She became addicted to this cordless phone affair. Every day, right after her lawyer-husband boarded the bus, the phone will ring and she would pick it up. The stranger will then proceed to seduce her with his indecent words and his stimulating voice, leaving Elena gasping and tired at the end of every call. She often tried to justify this illicit activity by convincing herself this is due to her husband not meeting her needs, but Elena knows that even with all the justifications (It is only a phone call, for Pete’s sake!), it is still a departure from faithfulness.

Yesterday, Elena bought a toy -discreetly- from an online shop and decided that its first use will be with the stranger, which she confided to him. The stranger responded with a laugh and asked her what she's wearing. Elena playfully revealed she's not wearing any. This made the stranger draw a deep breath, a sign that he's getting aroused, and made Elena feel damp and warm between her legs.

Elena was about to use the toy when she heard a faint knock on the door. It made her jump and Elena quickly grabbed her bathrobe on the floor. In her haste, she forgot that the phone rested on her shoulders when she stood up. The phone disassembled as soon as it hit the floor. She decided to answer the intruder first, believing that he will call again right after she fixed it.

The pesky intruder introduced herself. "Hello. I'm your new neighbor across the hall, Cindy."

"Hello. Cindy." In an irritated tone that Elena hoped her new neighbor can pick up.

"I'm really sorry for bothering you," Elena's gauge was right. "But the electricity's gone for more than an hour now, I need to know the landlord's cellphone number so I could tell him about this."

"What? No! I was actually on the-" Elena stopped herself from revealing her secret. She gave Cindy the landlord's number in surrender and promptly closed the door.

Elena began picking up the pieces of the cordless phone when she noticed that the batteries were gone. She looked around the area until she got exhausted looking for it and decided that the handheld unit runs on the electricity from the base.

She was about to turn on the phone when she remembered Cindy's comment about having no electricity for almost an hour. Not making any sense of what's happening, Elena went down and talked to the landlord to ask about the cordless phone that came with the apartment when she and her husband rented it.

"The phone? I thought the police took it for evidence."

"Police? Evidence?" Elena was getting more confused.

The landlord gave a long sigh. "I admit, that beautiful apartment is cheap because no one wants to take it."

"Why?" Elena asked, the chilling cold started to seep in to her stomach.

The landlord turned away as if he didn't hear Elena's question.

"Please, sir. I beg you, are you sure about police and evidence thing?" Elena asked, scared out of her wits. Tears streamed down her face. What did she get into?

Finally, the landlord turned to face her.

The landlord's face was pale white. "A tenant of mine was murdered by his wife when she caught him cheating over the phone."