My phones ring tone blares on through the night. Finally I lift my hand out to my bed side table and grab my vibrating phone. I keep my eyes closed as I press the green call button.

“Hello?” I mumble, expecting a salesman, or one of those stupid prank phone calls.

“Melody? Is that you?”

My eye’s shoot open as I clutch my phone like it’s trying to jump away.

“Mel? Are you there?”

I swallow once’s trying to calm my breathing, “Ray,” my voice is small, so small I can’t even hear it.

“Melody,” Ray sounds relived, “Mel, I’ve been calling all night. Why didn’t you pick up?”

Ray, his voice is like music to my ears. I feel like I was deaf and am hearing sounds for the first time in my life.

“Ray, how are you. . .is this a dream?”

Ray was quiet, the only reason I knew he hadn’t hung up was because I could hear the calmness of his breathing on the other end.

“Mel, why didn’t you pick up?”

Because the last thing I ever imagined myself doing was hearing from my dead boy friend. I thought that he was a salesman. Or someone not important enough to pick up in the middle of the night.

“I didn’t know it was you,” I finally respond.

“But all week, ever since that night. The night you left me I’ve been trying to call. I’ve been up all night and all day just trying to get you to answer.”

My head started hurting, and suddenly I felt like I was about to throw up.

“Ray, I,” I shut my eyes trying to gather up my thoughts. “Ray, you. . .you aren’t here.”

I almost hear something like a laugh on the other end, “Mel, I’m right here.”

I shake my head like he’ll be able to see, “Ray that night when I left. You told me that you’d pick me up, that you’d meet me at the diner after I cooled off. But you never came Ray. You never showed up. Then. . .three days later the police found your body. . .in the woods. Ray your not here. Your. . .”

I can’t bring myself to say dead. I know he is but he doesn’t know he is.

And realizing you’re dead would be like realizing. . .it would be like realizing you’d been living a lie.

“I’m dead,” Ray’s voice is small on the other end, “I know.”

Out of all the reposens I was expecting from Ray this was the most surprising. I guess I should have seen it coming.

“You do?” I ask, tears filling my in my eyes.

“Mel, it would be a little hard to not remember. But that’s not the point. I want to know why you aren’t taking my calls.”

I feel like I’ve been asked this question all night, “I told you Ray, I didn’t know it was. . .”

Before I can finish my sentance I feel a sharp pain in my back.

I let out a scream as I hear the deafening sound of laughter.

“Melody!” I hear Ray’s voice coming form my phone.

A dark hand reaches over and picks it up.

“You’re too late,” his voice is raspy, “Nice try.”

The last thing I hear before everything goes black is the sound of Ray’s voice.

“Did you stab her in the back?” He asks, “Like she did to me that night?”