Chloe watched as Darius powered up his phone and checked the signal. She wasn’t sure if she was more relieved or embarrassed when he informed her that he had service, albeit weak. He held the device out to her and Chloe hesitated only a moment before taking it from him. Better to get it over with she supposed. ”Thank you,” she said softly, watching as he stepped back to give her some privacy.

When he was a few feet away, Chloe looked down at the screen and blushed yet again, embarrassed by the personal object in her hands. Everything from the wallpaper to the way the icons were arranged would say something about the man who had lent it to her. She hadn’t thought about that previously. There was something strangely intimate about holding onto the device that was still warm from his pocket, that had previously touched his face…

Trying to push those thoughts out of her head and not snoop on whatever personal information might be contained in the device, Chloe brought up the dial screen and typed in her father’s cell phone number. He picked up on the third ring with a gruff “who is this”. ”Hi dad, it’s me,” she said, glancing over at Darius. He seemed focused on his book but she spoke softly even so. There was a jumble of words on the other end as her father put her on speaker so her mother could speak as well. The two tripped over each other, chastising her for not calling and simultaneously asking her if she was okay. The phone did it’s best to transmit their voices correctly but the weak signal crackled and snapped, breaking their voices off in the middle. ”I’m fine,” she said, annoyance leaking through her voice despite her attempts to be patient, ”I arrived about an hour ago, yes I’m fine, yes Mom, yes, I know…” She sighed and let them ramble on a bit before finally cutting them off, ”Anyway, the connection is really bad, I have to go. I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely and that my phone doesn’t have service so you won’t be able to call me.” There was another flurry of responses on the other end and Chloe sighed once more, ”I’m going to hang up now, alright? Bye. I love you, bye.”

With one last sigh, Chloe took the phone away from her face and tapped her finger on the screen to hang up the call. Turning back towards Darius’ camp, she walked slowly back to where he was sitting. How much had he heard? Did he think she was childish for calling her parents? Pushing aside those insecurities she held the phone out to its owner. ”Thanks a bunch,” she said with a smile, ”It seems you’ve saved me once again.”