Work Text:
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Hey, just checking in. You said you’d be back today, but it’s getting late so I’m just trying to see where you’re at. Muriel gave us a gift card to that restaurant that we like. Apparently, her grandson gave it to her but didn’t know her doctor wants her to go vegetarian. Not a lot of selection for a vegetarian when the restaurant is literally named ‘Meat’. Call me when you get the chance. Love you.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Hey Habibi, it’s fine if work is running long, I’d rather know than sit here twiddling my thumbs wondering if you’re dead. Also, Amazon dropped off a package for you, if you’re not home soon I’m gonna open it.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
You got another Amazon delivery. Seriously considering opening them, better hurry home Habibi.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Hey Marc, uh—I’m starting to worry? You said you would be out of contact for 2 weeks, and that you’d be back on the 16th. It’s been two days—it’s not like you to not check-in. If you’ve gotten yourself killed so help me I will murder you.
Please call me when you get this.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Marc where are you? I’m far passed concerned, this isn’t like you. Please come home.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Where the fuck are you? I got Frenchie to look into it, he said you never checked into the hotel in Dubai. You drained your account. You faked your plane tickets—not for the airlines—for us. Marc, what is going on? If this is Konshu’s plan, tell him to go fuck himself and come home, please.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Marc. It's Frenchie.
Whatever is going on, we can help.
Please give Layla a call, she's not doing good and I'm concerned.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I can not find any leads on where you went. Marc, please just tell me what is going on, I’m scared. I love you.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Marc, it’s been a month. Sometimes when I call, it rings only a few times before it sends me to voicemail. I know it’s you hitting the ignore call button. What scares me is when the call doesn’t go through. It’s happening more and more now. I don’t know if you’re keeping your phone off, or if you’ve died. You better have a good reason for going silent on me.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Muriel found me crying in the elevator today, so she invited me over for dinner. She doesn’t ask many questions, I always liked that about her.
We watched an old movie off Netflix. Also, I shared the Netflix password with her. We planned to meet again in a couple of days.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
If this has to do with that thing we discussed that night, please tell me. You said we would figure it out together. Don’t let the big guy intimidate you.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Amal asked where you were today. I can’t keep lying to my family about you Marc, what do I say? He said you would take him to the batting cages for his birthday, and I can’t even tell him if you’ll be back for it. I miss you so much. Frenchie says you haven’t checked in with him either. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m fucking scared.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
A month and a half, Marc. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I hope it’s not because of us. Not knowing is what’s driving me crazy. I keep replaying every conversation we had, looking for—anything. Something I did, something you said, but everything was fine, wasn’t it? We were good… Weren’t we? Your mess is still in the apartment. I haven’t touched it, whether it’s out of spite because I’m not cleaning up after you, or because I don’t want to think about you being gone. It’s like if I clean up after you, it means you’re not there to do it yourself.
That sounds dumb now that I say it out loud. I’ll wash your fucking breakfast dishes.
I accidentally knocked your book off the coffee table this morning. You left it open, face down on the table. It’s been there so long it fell on the floor and opened exactly to the page you last read. You’ve been gone so long that even the book is stuck where you left it. I screamed and threw it across the apartment. Please come back to me.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
It was Amal’s birthday today. He’s 8 now. I had to tell him that his uncle wouldn’t take him out to the batting cages because he was still working. Do you know what he did? He smiled, said it was ok, and knew you were doing important work to help people. He gave me a letter to give you when you get back. I haven’t read it. That kid is too good, you don’t deserve him.
I don’t know how much longer I can keep telling my family you’re away for work. My brother took me aside today and asked if everything was all right between us, Marc. They’re getting suspicious and I don’t know how to tell them you just left me. I don’t know how to tell them you packed 3 shirts, 5 pairs of underwear, a toothbrush and some deodorant into a bag and left. Everything you own is still in our apartment. How can I tell them you left me when you’re still here?
What if you’re dead in a ditch somewhere. I can’t—fuck!
I hope you’re ok and decided you didn’t love me anymore. That’s better than the alternative.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I’ve spent most nights recently on Frenchie's couch. He’s the only one in our circle who really knows what you do. He came over the other day, unannounced, as he does. Found me crying in the bathroom clinging to one of your shirts. He found it ‘concerning’, or whatever.
I just—I can’t bear being in our apartment. Not right now.
Your pillow doesn’t smell like you anymore.
I should probably stop calling you, but I’m so scared all the time. Marc, it’s been two months. I’m never not searching. I have my people keeping an ear out for you, Frenchie is doing everything he can to figure out what you’ve gotten yourself into. But we can’t find—godfuckingdammit Marc why are you so good at your fucking job?
We can’t tell anyone you’re missing. They’d report you and there’s too much tied to your name. A missing person report would quickly become a warrant for your arrest.
I miss you, Habibi.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Marc. It's Frenchie.
Layla is really unwell.
A gig went south. It was touch and go there, for a minute. The Docs still aren't confident.
I'm watching her for you buddy, but please come back.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I got shot yesterday. Damn near died. Thought you’d like to know.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I haven’t been able to do much besides sleeping and staying in bed. I don’t know if you cared or were worried, but Muriel’s been cooking me meals.
You left your actual proper, not-burner phone on your nightstand. I went through it. Sorry if that’s an invasion of privacy, I got bored.
There were more nudes than I was expecting, that was surprising. Didn’t think you’d save all of them.
I was kinda hoping for more photos of you, but I get it, you’re not the vein type. Sent a few ridiculous selfies to my phone though, for safekeeping.
I love you.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
You motherfucker. Three months in and that’s when you think, ‘huh, maybe I need to tell my wife that I’m not coming back. What’s the best way to do that? Flowers? A card? No! Divorce papers!’
I’ll sign these over your dead body, Marc Spector. Your blood will be my ink, you fucker.
…
I keep thinking maybe I will wake up one day, and I’ve been dreaming this whole time. Maybe this is just some sick nightmare, and in reality, we’ve never met. You never made me fall in love with you. You never married me and that it’s just me, against the world. Because that’s how it feels now.
I hate who you’ve made me become.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I got really drunk and I called you the other night. I can’t remember what I said but I know I hated you.
It makes me physically sick being in the apartment. I try to be here as much as I can because it’s my apartment. We bought it together, but my name is on the deed.
The papers are on the kitchen counter, next to the gift card, and on top of your Amazon packages, in case you want them back.
Please come home.
Or at least call me and tell me you’re not dead.
Not knowing will do me in one day.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Why are the papers unsigned, Marc?
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
My family has finally stopped asking me about you, after 3 and a half months. They’d ask, I’d give a noncommittal answer, and we’d move on.
A small part of me never wants to see your face again, but I can’t sleep without wearing your hoodie. It hasn’t smelt like you in months, but it still feels like you.
Ugh, fuck you, Marc.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I told Muriel about the papers.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I opened your packages because I was tired of having boxes on my counter.
An incredibly dirty card game, a large bag full of googly eyes, and a sweatshirt.
Sometimes I wonder how your mind works.
Other times I don’t want to know.
I imagine the card game was for us. Unless there was something you weren’t telling me about Frenchie. I have several questions about the googly eyes, but I’ve started to use them for my own entertainment.
Sweatshirts mine now.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Marc, I’m so tired of crying over you. One moment I’m fine, I’m doing my weekly shop, and the next I’m on the floor in the middle of the store, next to the carrots crying because they’re playing ‘Downtown’ over the speaker.
Of all the fucking songs to remind me of you. You had to ruin Petula Clark for me.
All I could think about was the time I was trying to do a deal in that sketchy alley, and you would be there, hiding in the shadows, ready to be back up.
You would be singing that damn song the whole time in my ear.
Do you know how hard it is to try to get stolen artifacts off the black market? Now add your backup being a fool in your earpiece. It’s extra hard, Spector.
I hope you’re having a terrible day. I’m still not signing those papers.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Happy 4-month ‘abandoned your wife’ anniversary you asshole.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I punched a guy so hard last night that he threw up. You would’ve been proud.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Frenchie and I went to Meat. The gift card was expiring soon. We drank way too much and told the waitstaff we were celebrating our 5th anniversary so we could get a free dessert.
He walked me home and then held me all night as I cried over you.
You know how to pick good friends.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I’m thinking about framing our divorce papers and hanging them up in the foyer. You know, next to that painting you got in Barcelona? Everyone who comes over always comments on it, I figured it would act as a nice segue. It would draw their attention from the painting, seeing a framed document on the wall. They’d ask about it, and I could say it was a gift from my husband. One day, he got up, left without a word, and 3 months later he sent me that.
It’d clear the air, nice and early, so you’re not worried about any awkward conversations later in the evening.
You’re a coward, Marc Spector.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
I’ve stopped wearing my wedding ring. Continuing to wear it 2 months after your husband mails you divorce papers from an unknown location really starts to look desperate.
That’s not the vibe I’m going for.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Sometimes, I think my father would be disappointed in me. First, I married a guy who left without a word. Then, I won't stop calling him, using his voicemail box as my own personal diary.
I’m sorry Baba.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
A guy hit on me at the bar tonight, I didn’t know what to do so now I’m hiding in the bathroom and calling my husband who wants a divorce. My makeup is ruined I’ve cried so much—I can’t go back out there. Marc I—I don’t know what I’m doing with my life. You won’t judge me too hard if I climb out the window and leave, right?
Marc, my heart literally aches every time I think of you. I didn’t think that was possible, but I am in physical pain every time you cross my mind.
I should’ve stayed home. Muriel asked if I wanted to watch a movie tonight, but I said I had plans with my friends. This is so much worse.
Oh shit—I gotta go.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
There is a video I took, from our last holiday. It’s of the ocean, and it’s nice and peaceful. I watch it multiple times a day because I can hear you talking in the background to some locals. We were lost, and you were trying to find directions back to the hotel.
It’s not the only video I have of you, but I like the sound of the waves.
There’s also a photo, that I listen to a lot. That’s such a weird thing to say, but it’s one of those Live photos? That captures video and sound when you take a picture? It was early one morning. The sun was just rising, and peaking through the curtains. You were still asleep and snoring SO LOUD. I took a photo because you looked sweet, and your snores can be heard in the Live photo.
I never thought I’d miss being woken up by your snores, but here we are.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Uhh… Muriel, uh she, uh—she died. The Patel’s found her in the elevator, thankfully the little one wasn’t with them. The doctors, uh, they say she had a heart attack. It was quick. She probably wasn’t in pain.
The funeral’s at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, at St. Patricks Cathedral, in case you wanted to go.
She was always good to us.
Never pressed for details, just sat and listened.
I was with her this morning.
…
I’m gonna miss her.
…
She was like a lifeline to me.
Fuck, Marc, I don’t know what I’m gonna do. Without her—she—I—
…
What was that word your Abuela always said? Alabanza?
Alabanza Muriel.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Why did you leave, Marc? I thought we were doing good, I really did.
Some days, I think I’m doing ok. I eat food, I get enough sleep, and I work. But most days…
It’d be different, I think—if you told me you didn’t love anymore or if we were fighting all the time. I could move on from that. But this? The not knowing? It’s a new type of hell.
Sometimes, I call and immediately hang up again, because I can’t handle being sent to voicemail again. I just… I miss your voice, I miss your laugh, I miss your everything.
Abandonment issues are not something I thought I would’ve identified with, but you really fucked me up good Marc.
Whatever’s going on, I hope you’re ok Habibi.
I still love you.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
YOU CANCELLED THE NETFLIX SUBSCRIPTION WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!
IS IT NOT ENOUGH TO DIVORCE ME BUT NOW YOU TAKE AWAY MY MOVIES?!
I don’t know why but this hurts the most.
I forgot that you signed up for the account.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
Fuck you, Marc.
The person you have called is unavailable right now. Please leave a message at the tone.
At this point, I don’t even know what I would do if you picked up.
I don’t know what I would do if I saw you again.
You’d want to sign the papers? Right? You wouldn’t have sent them otherwise.
I’d respect your wishes, but. God. All I ask is you tell me what went wrong, please.
This mailbox is full.
…
“Yeah?”
Oh my god, you’re alive.
“Yeah, all right.”
That’s it?
I’ve been texting and calling you for months.
You couldn’t give me any sign that you were okay?
I thought something happened to you!
Where are you? Where’ve you been?
“uh..”
Hello? You ju—.
“—Sorry, I just found this phone in my flat, and I’m just trying to figure out whose it is.”
What—what is with this accent?
“What?”
What is happening right now?
“Sorry, who do you think I am?”
What do you mean, ‘who’?! What’s wrong with you, Marc?
“What did you just call me? Who is this?”
“Why did you call me Marc?”
“Hello?”