Thursday (Timeless Series #4) (4 page)

Heartbreak

Marie

I knew something was wrong when Francesca didn’t come home for two days. If she didn’t sleep at the house she was usually with Hawke. But she always checked in at least once a day. Two days had come and gone and I didn’t hear a word from her.

I started to freak out.

I called her but it went straight to voicemail. It didn’t even ring.

I called again because I assumed the line was just busy. But it went straight to voicemail again.

I started pacing in the kitchen, about to explode in fear. I thought about calling 9-1-1 but I didn’t know if that was too presumptuous. Maybe she and Hawke were making up from their fight and they’d been in bed for two days.

But it’s still unlike her not to call.

Unsure what else to do, I called Axel.

The phone rang three times before he picked up, and when he answered he sounded different. “Hey, I was just thinking about you.”

Both of my eyebrows rose. “What?”

He paused for nearly ten seconds. “What?”

“What do you mean you were just thinking about me?”

“Uh, sorry. Thought you were someone else…”

This was the weirdest conversation ever. “I’m worried about Frankie. I haven’t heard from her in two days and her phone is off.”

“She’s probably just with Hawke.”

“Maybe. But she always checks in with me, even if it’s just a text. But now her phone is off and I’m freaking out. I can’t even think right now because I’m so terrified.”

“Alright. I’m sure everything is fine but we’ll look into it.”

“Can you call Hawke?”

“Yeah, that’s a good place to start.”

“Call me back.”

“Alright.” He hung up.

I paced in my kitchen with the phone held tightly in my hand. I kept waiting for it to ring, needing some kind of news. Frankie was my best friend and I couldn’t picture my life without her.

The phone rang and I accidentally threw it in the air because I was jolted with adrenaline. I caught it before it hit the ground and answered. “What did he say?”

“His phone is off too…”

Now I was really freaking out. “Axel, I’m scared.”

“It’s okay, baby. I’m sure they’re both fine.”

I didn’t like the baby comment but I was too upset to care. “What do we do?”

“I’ll go to his apartment and check it out. They have to be there. If not, we’ll call the cops.”

“I’m coming with you.” I could barely wait for him to call me back. There was no way I was going to stand around and wait for him to investigate Hawke’s apartment.

“I’ll pick you up in five minutes.”

“Just hurry.”

***

I sat in the passenger seat of his truck and gripped the armrest in fear. My worst nightmare was playing in front of my eyes. Francesca and Hawke were butchered into indefinite pieces across the apartment. Some criminal robbed them then decided to have some fun.

Axel glanced at me from the driver’s seat. “I’m sure they are both fine, Marie.”

I bit my nail, something I never did.

He grabbed my hand and held it on his thigh.

I let the touch linger because I was numb anyway.

We pulled up to the building then ran to his apartment. He was on the second floor and at the end of the hallway. Hawke’s truck wasn’t in the parking lot so that wasn’t a good sign.

Axel got to the door first and stopped when he realized it was cracked. He eyed it before he looked at me, the fear finally entering his eyes. He held up his hand and told me to stay back before he kicked the door in.

The apartment was completely empty. There was no furniture in sight. It was just bare carpet and walls.

What the hell? “Is this the right apartment?”

“Yeah.” Axel stepped inside and looked around. “Frankie!”

The second he said her name I was in the apartment, not caring if there was a serial killer in there with her. My best friend needed me, and I’d kick some serious ass if someone even touched a hair on her head.

Axel kneeled on the floor where Frankie lay. “Frankie?” He shook her arm. “Wake up.”

I stopped when I reached them and stared at my best friend. She was lying on the ground in the same clothes she’d been wearing two days ago. Her hair was oily from not showering and she looked thin, like she hadn’t drunk a glass of water in days. “Frankie?”

Axel forced her to sit up. “Frankie?”

She opened her eyes, looking dead inside.

“Are you hurt?” I examined her forearms, searching for bruises and cuts. “What happened? Are you okay?”

Frankie opened her mouth to speak but her voice came out raspy. She cleared her throat but that didn’t help much. “I’m okay…”

“You don’t look okay.” I placed my palm against her forehead but she was cool like ice.

“He left.” When she said those words I noticed the tear stains on her face. They formed tiny valleys in her skin, dried up riverbeds.

“Who left?” Axel asked.

I already knew the answer.

“Hawke.” It pained her to say his name. Her face contorted like she was about to cry again but didn’t have any moisture in her body to form tears. “He packed his things and left.”

“Where did he go?” Who does that? Who just gets up and leaves like that?

“New York.” She stared at the door like she expected him to walk back inside. “He’s gone and he’s never coming back.”

I stared at Axel, silently having a conversation with him.

He met my look with a blank one of his own, just as bewildered as I was.

I had so many questions but I knew I wouldn’t get answers. Right now, Francesca needed to get home and have plenty of fluids and food. If not, she would shrivel up and die.

Axel adjusted her so he could lift her.

“No.” Francesca pushed him off. “I can get up by myself.” She climbed to her feet and swayed on the spot for a second. Then she walked forward, moving slow like a child taking its first steps.

I watched her move, feeling my heart break for her. I knew their relationship was rocky the moment that fight erupted in that bar. But I didn’t understand why that would make him leave and move so far away. Francesca clearly didn’t understand it either. Why else would she be lying on his floor for two days? “Axel, I’m so worried about her.”

“I know.” He kept his voice low. “I’m worried too.”

***

Francesca sat at the table, her hair pulled into a greasy bun. She rested her chin on her palm and stared at the table. Her eyes were endlessly open, and she stared blankly at her fingertips. She didn’t move or make any sign of life.

I made macaroni and cheese with breadcrumbs and pita bread with hummus, her favorite things to eat. She finished the glass of water I placed on the table so I refilled it. “Look. It’s your favorite.” I placed everything in front of her.

“Thank you, Marie.” Her voice was lifeless. “But I’m not hungry.”

I immediately snapped. “You’re going to eat this whether you like it or not. Now do it.” I sat in the chair across from her. Axel was sitting beside her, glancing at her every few seconds.

I had my own plate of food and so did he. If we ate with her, maybe that would encourage her to eat.

Axel picked up his fork and took a few bites, clearly forcing himself to take it down.

I wasn’t hungry either. But I was doing it for Francesca.

Francesca did as I commanded and ate a few bites, moving at a sloth’s pace. She had three glasses of water inside her, and now she was getting some desperately needed nutrition. If we hadn’t found her how long would she have lay there? Until she died?

This wasn’t normal behavior for Francesca. She was always so strong and fearless. Nothing could ruin her day because she never allowed that to happen. Men weren’t worth her tears so she never cried over any guy. She always held her head high, refusing to let anyone pull her down.

But now she was weak. “Frankie…what happened?”

She picked at her macaroni and cheese, only taking a few small bites. “Hawke said it wouldn’t work out between us. He got a job in the city and said he was leaving. I asked him to stay but he refused…he walked out.”

This wasn’t adding up. All I’d been hearing for the past year from her was Hawke was her soul mate. Whether they were lovers or friends he needed to be in her life in some way. Francesca wasn’t a hopeless romantic and she never talked about any other guys in this way so I believed her. Hawke was really the one, the guy she’d spend the rest of her life with. But if that were the case, what would make him leave like that? And so suddenly? There was no way Francesca cheated on him so that wasn’t it. And I didn’t expect him to cheat on her either.

So what the hell happened?

“Why?” Axel asked. “Did you have a bad fight?”

“No.” She dipped her pita bread into the macaroni and cheese instead of the hummus. “He has some personal issues that he can’t…let go.”

“Personal issues?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

Francesca kept her eyes glued to her food. “I can’t say. But he’s had this problem for a while. Now he’s let it consume him.”

Problem? Like, drugs? Alcohol? Hawke never struck me as an addict.

“Tell me.” Axel watched his sister closely, the brotherly concern in his eyes. “I’m going to get a hold of him eventually and we’re going to talk about this. So you may as well give me a heads up.”

“Axel, just leave him alone. He’s made his decision and he’s not going to change his mind.”

“But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to give him an earful.” His temper flared, burning in his eyes.

I gave him a look that told him to back off. Getting worked up wouldn’t help Francesca in the least. What she needed was our support and nothing else.

Somehow, Axel read that in my eyes. “Just talk to us, Frankie. We want to help.”

She set her fork down and released the most depressing sigh I’ve ever heard. Then she stood up and left the table. “I’m going to shower…” She walked down the hall and got into the bathroom. A moment later, the water started to run.

Axel stopped eating and rubbed his temple, dropping his calm façade now that his sister wasn’t in the room anymore. His eyes were glued to the table, his thoughts elsewhere.

“I’ve never seen her like this.”

“I know.” Despite his relation to Francesca he didn’t look anything like her. He had the same dark hair but his eyes were blue rather than green. He had a strong jaw with soft lips. His cheekbones were fair, giving him a masculine face that Frankie simply lacked. He took after his father in every way imaginable, while Francesca was the spitting image of her mother. Axel was handsome in high school, that was why he was my biggest crush ever, but he had become a million times more desirable. He hit the gym every day and had nearly doubled his size. Anytime I saw him in a suit he filled it out perfectly. Even in his depressed state he was oddly beautiful.

“Even when your parents…” I didn’t finish the sentence because it was too hard. “She kept it together.”

“I know.” His eyes were still on the table. “Nothing can break that woman…except him.”

“I wonder what happened.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never understood them so I doubt I’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Whatever it was must have been pretty devastating.”

“I guess.” He grabbed his fork again and pushed his food around.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on her. I know she’s not…insane. But, I don’t like the idea of leaving her alone.”

“Neither do I.”

“I’ll figure something out—a way to be around her as much as possible.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he whispered. “She’s my sister. It’s not your problem.”

“She’s my best friend,” I argued. “She is a sister to me.”

“Then we can work something out,” he said. “We should both be around her as much as possible, distract her. We can play board games, watch movies, go do stuff…whatever helps.”

“I think that’s a good idea.” I hadn’t eaten in hours but I wasn’t hungry. I was too miserable to have an appetite.  I pushed my plate away, not even wanting to smell it.

Axel did the same thing then looked out the window. His blue eyes were unreadable, but the sadness was unmistakable. Hair started to come in around his chin because he hadn’t shaved in a few days. He normally kept it clean but he seemed to have forgotten. The look suited him well, made him look a little older and wiser. He wore a black jacket with a white t-shirt underneath. A nice watch was on his wrist, something that looked too expensive for an intern to be able to afford. “Hawke promised me he wouldn’t hurt her.” The hurt in his voice was unmistakable.

“We don’t know what happened.”

“I don’t care what happened. Packing your shit and leaving my sister on the floor is unacceptable.” He spoke quietly but his threatening tone was unmistakable. “She’s been through enough as it is. I warned him of that. But he fucked with her head anyway.”

I watched him, feeling my heart ache for him.