Page 8 of Timeless
A slight breeze swept between us, causing a piece of her hair to blow across her face. Without a second thought, my hand lifted on instinct. My fingers brushed across her forehead, soft and tender, as I tucked the errant hair behind her ear in what was once a practiced move. A level of intimacy I’d only ever had with her.
Lily’s breath caught in an audible gasp, and my eyes dropped to the exposed skin on her arm, just below the sleeve of her blue scrubs, where goose bumps stood tall and defiant. I shrugged out of my leather jacket and wrapped it over her shoulders. The move caused her eyes to widen before she lowered her chin, with brows pinched and her lips pressed into a thin line.
I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if the same memory assaulted her as it did me; all the times I draped my prized football jacket over her shoulders out by the lake. A much simpler time, one that led me through the dark days that followed high school.
“You shouldn’t be here, Jaxon.”
Her tone took me aback. I was suddenly a fool to think she’d willingly wanted to see me after all this time. Even though I was angry learning that she had returned to California and lived one town over, I’d taken it as a sign there was something more to it. But she managed to shred that idea to smithereens by stringing five simple words together, jerking me back to reality.
“Are you kidding me right now? Where the fuck else should I be when the person who was my everything up and disappeared suddenly calls my brother’s phone after ten years?”
I hate that she thought I wouldn’t jump at the chance to make sure she was all right.
“You should’ve sent Jameson.”
“Yeah, well, hate to break it to you, Lily-Bee, but you’re stuck with me.” I walked past her with irritation coursing through every inch of my being. “Pop the trunk.”
“You don’t have to do this; I can call someone else.”
“Pop. The. Trunk. Lily.” I gritted my teeth, hating the tone I’d taken with her.
After she pressed the trunk release on her key fob, I used my phone’s light to find where to lift the trunk liner, exposing the spare tire, scissor jack, and wrench I needed. I’d never been more grateful that it wasn’t my first rodeo when it came to changing a tire since being in Lily’s sphere had me completely off balance.
My mind was a jumbled mess, deeply entrenched with questions I’d asked myself a thousand times over. Why did she and her family disappear? How did they manage it, in broad daylight and all, without drawing any attention? Years of theorizing had me concluding it was out of safety, but thewhystill plagued me, as did the hurt that she didn’t trust me enough to say anything.
I dropped to my knees beside her car and got to work. One step flowed into the next—jack, wrench, spare—each motion grounding me while everything else felt uncertain and unbearably fragile.
What if, after all this time away, she found happiness with someone else? Was that why she stayed away? What if she built herself a life where I didn’t fit, and staying away was her way of protecting it or protecting herself from me? It would be a bitter pill to swallow either way; though, I would if it meant she was happy and safe.
But was she safe? That was the real question as Ari’s warning hung over me.
I knew Lily’s father had a wicked temper. Was that why they left? Did she and her mom leave him? But I knew that didn’t make sense since their entire house was wiped clean, as if none of them had existed at all and were some figment of my imagination.
I was spiraling.
With one last crank of the wrench, I tightened the final bolt, locking down the only thing I could control, since my thoughts were bleeding me dry and gutting me from the inside out with each breath I took.
“With it being a holiday, you might need to wait a few days, but I’m sure Pete over at Pit Stop Repairs could help you out.” I brushed my hands against my thighs when I stood up, not caring about the dirt and grease that came along with the job.
“Thank you. I know I’m the last person you’d want to help after everything.”
“Can’t very well in good conscience leave you on the side of the road, now, could I?”
While I was equal parts furious and heartbroken—and well within my right to be—she had to know I would never, ever not be there for her, no matter how much time had passed.
“Thank you.” Her appreciation was earnest, yet was quickly swallowed by a wave of nerves. “Ah?—”
“Now that your car has four working wheels, mind giving me a ride?” I asked, swiftly shifting gears.
Her eyes widened for a flash before she schooled her expression. “Of course, it’s the least I can do after you came to my rescue.”
“Lils, you have to know?—”
Like a deer caught in unsuspecting headlights, she opened the driver’s side door and practically jumped inside as if she couldn’t slam the door on my confession fast enough. With my thoughts left suspended in the air, I tossed the flat tire and tools back in the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat.
She might think she can sidestep the inevitable, but there wasn’t any length I wouldn’t go to to get the answers I so desperately needed. I felt I deserved them, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit it.
Silence filled most of the ride to my place. The only sounds that had filled the awkward space and drowned out the roaring thud of my racing heart were the electric beats of a New Year’s dance mix on the radio and my occasional directions.
