Notes

CARN: Ring, ring...

Before Caleb could have a change to answer, there was a slew of Chinese curses and, "Oh, look who finally decided to call."

Caleb: Caleb tried to contain the sigh and the tiredness in his voice, "Hi mom."

CARN: "Hi? *Hi*? Is that all you have to say for yourself? I haven't heard from you for a month, and now all of a sudden, from a random number, you finally called. Where were you? You weren't home when I came home from work, *like I told you to*."

Caleb: "Sorry, I was at the beach..."

CARN: "The beach. For a month."

Caleb: Caleb cringed. That wasn't what he meant. "The bus took the wrong route and exploded."

CARN: "And *why* didn't you call me."

Caleb: "My phone was destroyed in the explosion." Actually, he never found his phone, but he assumed that's what happened.

CARN: "*Okay*," his mom didn't sound at all convinced, like she was of the opinion that if he didn't have his phone, it was his fault. "And *why* didn't you contact me

Caleb: *I was afraid of you and this exact scenario*, Caleb didn't say. "I went to a camp-"

CARN: Before Caleb could finish, or explain any further, his mom cut in, screaming, "You went to a CAMP?! All this time you were missing, and you were at a CAMP?! I wasted so much of my time because of you. I filed a police report. I did all of that work, and pulled out IDs, and take police calls- I had to take time off to talk to them! They had to go into my house and search through everything, and then they sent a social worker! I could've gotten in trouble! All because you were at *camp* and didn't want to tell me about it. A *camp*, when you told me you didn't want to go to a camp this summer. Are the camps I pick not good enough for you? Is that it? Well, if you like that camp so much, you could just stay there permanently-"

The sound of the phone being taken away and an indignant "Kyle!" being screamed from the other end as a tired, yet friendly-sounding man came on the phone.

"Hi Caleb, don't worry about your mom. She's just stressed worrying about you."

Caleb: "Hi dad." What his stepfather said was a lie, and they both knew it.

Caleb cringed as he heard his mother speaking, physically curling in on himself as he heard his mother's voice. No rest, no chance to explain himself. If he talked, it would just go on longer, so all he could do was internally sigh and resign himself to listening. Caleb didn't let his guard down now that his dad was on the phone, but it was a nice break from the yelling.

CARN: From his mom came a whisper-shout of "Why did you *do* that?"

There was the sound of the phone being put down, but apparently his stepfather forgot to mute, as Caleb could still hear the distant argument.

"You shouldn't be so hard on him. He's just a kid."

"He sounded perfectly fine on the phone! He's sixteen, he can take care of himself!"

"Melissa, please. He's your son."

The sound of shuffling, then a long silence. "Fine, but if anything happens, it's your fault."

Caleb: He stayed silent, minimizing his own existence as much as possible, even after he muted himself on the phone. The bystander that gave him their phone is giving him a half-concerned, half-impatient look now, and Caleb could only return it with an apologetic glance and a mouthed "sorry", hoping it could be over soon.

CARN: Eventually, the phone was picked up again, and his stepfather's voice was cold. "Caleb, I'm very disappointed in you. You should know better. We're going to have a talk once we see you."

Caleb: Caleb held back a sigh. "Okay."

CARN: Softer, "Where are you right now?"

Caleb: "Um..." Caleb looked around and read the first business sign he saw. "Peacemaker Divorce Mediation? I'm heading to a bus stop. It should take me home after a few connecting stops."

CARN: There was sputtering in the background, "A bus stop?!"

"Okay, how about-"

"-He is NOT taking any buses-"

Without missing a beat, "See if you can stay with the nice people at camp for a bit longer. Mom and I are busy, but we will come get you as soon as we're able."

Caleb: Even though he knew his parents couldn't see him anyways, Caleb nodded, a bit resigned. "Okay."

CARN: "Remember, we love you."

In the background, Caleb could hear, "What the hell was that, Ky-"

It hung up.

Caleb: Caleb took the phone away from his ear and stared at the black screen for a few moments, before sighing and handing the phone off to the good Samaritan with a muttered "Thank you" and starting to trudge back in the direction towards camp.

Gods he hated this so much.