Before I can reply, one of the staff members comes up to the table.
“Mrs. Ramos?” Grandmother and I look over to see Gina, one of the girls at the front desk, handing a phone over. “Call for you.”
Grandmother blinks, confused. “Who the heck’s calling me on a Sunday?” Taking the phone, she says, “Hello?”
It only takes seconds for her face to pale. Her eyes go glassy as she stares into nothing.
Something’s wrong.
“Grand,” I whisper. “What’s wrong? Who is it?”
She doesn’t respond, nor does she move. My grandmother sits frozen and barely breathes as I wait for her to respond.
I wait a few more seconds before I pry the phone from her hand. “Give it here.”
She doesn’t argue, just shakes her head.
I press it to my ear. “Hello?”
“Sienna?” The voice is raspy and broken, and goosebumps break out along my skin. “It’s me. Your old man.”
My stomach drops. “Dad?”
He lets out a manic laugh. “I heard you were home. Word spreads fast. They said he let you go.”
“How did you get this number?” I whisper furiously, rising to my feet and striding from the room. “Don’t call here again.”
“I just needed to hear your voice. He’s coming for me, baby. You know that, right? You brought him to me.”
I clench the phone harder and violently shake my head. “Don’t you dare put this on me. You did this. You borrowed money from people you shouldn’t have, and you… yousoldme.”
“I’m gonna die,” he says shakily, ignoring the fact that he put mein jeopardy. “You know that, right? That’s how this ends. He’s a monster. You saw it.”
Tears burn the back of my eyes. “I told you to never call again, and I meant it.”
“I don’t want to die, Sienna. I don’t?—”
“Get out of town. Fast.” I bring my fingers to my forehead. “I can’t save you. You can’t bring me down. You called Grand.”
“This was the only number I knew, Sienna. You have to help me.”
No. No. No.
“Dad, I?—”
Glass shatters in the Bingo room, and I jerk, almost dropping the phone.
A grunt.
A thump.
Shouting.
Then silence.
“Dad?” Nothing. Not a word. My heart skips a beat. “Dad!”
The line crackles. And then nothing.
