QUOTE : I reached for the phone and dialed his number. I listened to it ring. It rang on and on. I imagined the phone crying out in his empty room.<br />I didn't count the rings, but it felt like hundreds. Could Mr. Tate hear them echoing through his house? Was I torturing him? Making him scream in frustration, pressing his hands to his ears to block out the noise? <br />If he wanted to make the ringing stop, all he had to do was pick up.<br />Maybe he had unplugged Jonah's phone. Maybe he couldn't hear the ringing at all.