Thursday (Timeless Series #4) (9 page)

“If she says they aren’t serious you can still make a move.”

I didn’t want to compete with anyone. And I didn’t want to disrupt her happiness—if that’s what she felt. “No.” Sometimes I felt something between us, some kind of hum in the air, and I was pretty certain she felt it too. But that could just be a figment of my imagination.

Hawke sighed in defeat, irritated with my response. “Don’t wait until it’s too late.”

“You’re acting like I’m in love with this girl. I’m not.”

Hawke leaned back in the booth and stared me down. A question or statement was about to escape his lips, but it wasn’t clear which one it would be. Nearly a full minute passed before he opened his mouth. “Axel, have you slept with anyone since Marie?”

I refused to meet his gaze because my heart just fell into my stomach. On display, my emotions burned like a fire. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide. For the first time I actually felt ashamed for an answer I was about to give.

“Axel?” He pressed the question on me even though he already knew the answer.

My throat felt dry like I hadn’t had a glass of water in years. When I swallowed it actually hurt. Like a dog that couldn’t look at his owner after pissing all over the carpet, I avoided his gaze. “No.”

Sorrow

Marie

Like always, Francesca was a living corpse. She didn’t want to do anything, go anywhere, or eat anything. If I didn’t pester her to get out of bed, shower, and eat something, she probably would have died by now.

It was a type of sorrow I couldn’t understand. I was there when both of her parents passed away. She was devastated, but what she felt now was completely different.

I wish I could fix this.

On Sunday night, I tried to convince her to go to school the following day. “Frankie, you’ve been moping around for too long now.”

“I don’t care.” She lay on the couch, wearing the same pajamas she’d been wearing all week.

“Axel and I can cover for you but we can’t do everything.”

“I never asked you to do that.” Her voice always held the same tone, one of pure boredom.

“Well, I’m obligated to do that. You’re my best friend.”

She slowly got off the couch, like her body was failing her. “You aren’t obligated to do anything, Marie. Don’t let my misery ruin your life.” She walked down the hall and shut her bedroom door.

I stayed on the couch and stopped myself from screaming. I missed my best friend, the feisty and badass chick I used to know. Nothing could bother her. She was like a concrete wall that an army could never break through.

But now she was as good as dead.

My phone rang and I looked at the screen.

It was Axel.

Anytime I saw his name on my phone my heart did a tiny somersault. I suddenly grew nervous, feeling my mouth go dry. A tiny burst of excitement exploded inside me. When the nerves faded away I answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey.” Static sounded behind him, like he was driving.

“Hi.” I already said that but I said it again. I listened to the sound of his moving car, wondering where he was and if he was coming by.

“Hey…” Now he listened to the static over the line, probably listening to my voice over the speakers of his Bluetooth.

“So…how’d it go?”

“Fine. I’m on my way home now.”

“How far away are you?”

“About an hour.”

So he wasn’t coming by. Disappointment flooded through me.

“How is she?”

I kept the bitterness out of my voice. “The same.”

He sighed into the phone. “Come on, Frankie…”

I was disappointed too, even though I would never actually tell her that. “How is he?”

“He’s upset too. But he’s better at hiding it.”

If they were both so miserable why weren’t they just together? “I hate them both.”

“I know what you mean.”

I sat on the couch and listened to the static again.

He didn’t say anything for a long time, but he didn’t try to get off the phone either.

I didn’t have these kinds of conversations with Cade. Was that a good thing? Or a bad one? Actually, we didn’t talk on the phone at all. All we ever did was text.

“Well, I should go. I just wanted to check in.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Good night.”

“Drive safe. Good night.”

He didn’t hang up. The background noise still played. He waited for me to hang up first.

I listened to the sound for a moment longer, taking it in as comfort.

Then I hung up.

***

While juggling my classes, I took care of picking up Francesca’s assignments from other students in her classes. I had to hunt them down and make copies of everything I needed. I already had enough on my plate, but I would do anything for my best friends.

After class I finally got into my car and headed home. There was a stack of papers sitting beside me that made me depressed just thinking about it. Axel and I would spend all our free time working on it before submitting it online. My life had suddenly become extremely boring.

I stopped at the stoplight then eyed the papers beside me. Thankfully, Axel was smart enough to take care of most of it on his own. Personally, I didn’t know anything about science. And I definitely didn’t know anything about business or mathematics.

The car behind me honked.

I looked up and saw the green light. Then I gave the people behind me the bird before I drove through it.

BAM.

Out of nowhere a car collided into my door going at least fifty miles an hour. Before I knew it my car was spinning in the middle of the intersection, the momentum of the car throwing me back and forth. My airbag deployed and hit me in the face, the scent of latex accompanying it. I screamed even though no one could hear me, and I felt the seatbelt dig painfully into my skin, burning it like fire.

The collision happened so slowly, taking forever to come to an end. I feared another car would strike me and make me spin all over again. There was a weak sense of pain coming from my left arm, but since I was terrified of dying it didn’t matter at the moment.

Finally, the car stopped.

Smoke erupted from my engine and my windshield was cracked all the way through. The seat belt was still biting into my skin, almost making it bleed. I breathed hard, feeling my lungs expand normally. I was alive.

I was alive.

When I looked down at my arm that’s when I realized the damage that had been inflicted. It was bent at an odd angle, and the reality sunk in.

My arm was broken.

How would I take care of Francesca with one arm?

I leaned back into the seat and closed my eyes, trying to remain calm. The sound of the ambulance reached my ears and I knew help was on the way. It would only be a matter of time before the police questioned what happened. It was such a blur that I honestly didn’t know what happened.

I didn’t know anything.

***

My parents were the first ones to arrive. Mom was terrified, crying hysterically. Dad yelled at every person who came into my room, demanding I get more pain meds and an extra blanket. When he was stressed out he screamed at people because it kept him calm.

“The doctor said you’re going to be fine.” Mom patted my hand as she sat at my bedside. “The orthopedic surgeon is going to come in here soon and pop your shoulder back into place.”

Ugh, that sounded terrible
. “Okay.”

“I called Francesca but she didn’t answer. I left her voicemail.”

Which she would never listen to
. “Do you have my phone?”

“Yes.” Mom quickly fished it out of her purse and handed it over.

Without thinking twice about it I called Axel. He was probably at work but he said it was okay if I called him.

He answered almost immediately. “Hey.” Now that we were spending more time together he said less than he used to. It was strange, but not strange at the same time.

Talking to him immediately made me feel better. I forgot about the pain in my shoulder. “Hi…”

Axel remained quiet, saying nothing but saying so much at the same time. A voice came over the loud speaker from the ceiling, calling a code red on a different floor. “Where are you?”

“At the hospital…”

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” The words flew out faster than ever.

“That’s why I’m calling. I was in a car accident—”

“Shit, are you okay? Fuck, I’ll be right there.”

“Axel, wait—”

He hung up.

I didn’t bother calling him back because I didn’t want him to crash the way I did. I handed the phone back to my mom.

She took it and eyed me suspiciously. “Who was that…?”

“Axel—Francesca’s brother.”

“Oh…”

“He’s just a friend, Mom. Don’t get your hopes up.”

She kept giving me that look. You know, the kind that mothers do. “Just a friend that happens to be your first call…”

“Francesca would have been my first call but you said she didn’t answer.”

She patted my hand. “Whatever you say, honey.”

***

Axel darted into the room, out of breath. He wore a gray collared shirt with black slacks along with a black tie. He clearly darted out of the office and got here as fast as he could. “Marie.” He ignored both of my parents and immediately came to my bedside. “What happened?” He eyed my arm in the sling. “Are you okay? What can I do for you?”

“I was driving through a light when a guy ran the red. He smacked right into me.” It was scary at the time but now that I knew no one died it wasn’t as big of a deal. “But everything is okay. My shoulder came out of the socket but the doctor is supposed to put it back in.”

He eyed the sling again, the devastation written all over his face. “You have enough pain meds? Do you need something? I can hunt down a doctor and take care of it—”

“I don’t feel a thing.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and continued to stand at my bedside. He eyed my hand like he might take it.

I waited a moment, feeling my fingers tingle with need.

Axel stared at it for another moment before he looked at me, the same devastation still glued to his face.

I cleared my throat. “Axel, these are my parents. This is my mom, Dorthy.”

He turned to her, and judging the surprise in his eyes he didn’t see her sitting there when he walked inside. “Oh, I’m sorry.” He extended his hand to shake hers. “I got caught up with Marie…”

“It’s more than okay.” She grinned from ear-to-ear as she shook his hand. “That’s very sweet of you to care so much for my daughter.”

“She’s an amazing woman.” He dropped her hand then turned to my father. “I’m sorry for my rudeness. I didn’t see you either.”

Dad stared at him affectionately, liking him before he even met him. “It’s okay. Your heart was in the right place.” He shook his hand and sized him up, noting his attire and perfectly styled hair. “What do you do?”

“I work in finance,” Axel answered. “I’m an intern for Charles Schwab.”

“That’s great,” Dad answered.

“Working for pretty much nothing isn’t all that great, but I’m thankful for the experience.” Axel put his hands in his pockets, clearly uncomfortable talking to my parents in a cornered environment.

“Dear, let’s get something from the cafeteria.” Mom rose out of the chair and grabbed Dad by the arm. “I’m starving…” She pulled him with her and gave me a mischievous look as she went.

I really hoped Axel didn’t notice.

Axel turned to the bed and sat in the chair my mother had just been sitting in.

“You didn’t need to leave work…”

“I know. I wanted to.” He eyed my arm in the sling, disturbed by it. “You got the info from the guy who hit you?”

“Yeah. The police are taking care of it.”

He nodded. “Let me know if you need any help with that.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you were planning to sue or something.”

“Oh, no. I’m sure it was just a mistake.”

Axel clenched his jaw like I said the wrong thing. “A mistake is messing up someone’s drink at Starbucks. This is completely unacceptable. You could have been killed, Marie. No, it wasn’t some human mistake that we can just forget about.”

I pulled my knees to my chest.

Axel realized his anger got the best of him. “Sorry…I shouldn’t stress you out.”

“It’s okay.”

“Where’s Francesca?”

“Mom called her but she didn’t answer.”

He shook his head in disappointment. “She should be here right now.”

“She doesn’t know, Axel. If she did she would.”

“I hope so. If not, I might have to knock some sense into her.”

Even though my shoulder was in serious pain, I knew it was only a fraction of the agony Francesca felt.

“Your parents are nice.”

“They’re great. Annoying—but great.”

He chuckled. “My mom used to be that way—really attentive. She would be in my business every second of the day. Now I miss it.”

Now I wish I could take back what I said. I had two parents and Axel didn’t even have one. I should never take them for granted. For all I know, they might not be here tomorrow. “I love my parents.”

He looked into my eyes and gave me a slight smile.

“Well, thanks for coming down here but you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to be here.” He sat perfectly straight with his hands in his lap. “I can’t go back to the office now.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I’m pretty much free labor. They aren’t going to get rid of me for any reason. Don’t worry about it.”

I was glad he was there. He was distracting me from the pain and making me smile. With him at my side I didn’t think about anything else.

***

The orthopedic surgeon walked inside and prepared to return my shoulder to the socket. Even though my entire arm had been numbed I was nervous. Just the idea of returning a body part where it belonged made me nauseated. “I have to ask everyone to step out.” He pulled on his gloves and set up the table.