Thursday (Timeless Series #4) by E. L. Todd Page A

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