Time Left Over (Time Book 1)

Chapter 32

10:09 PM
November 24, 2019
Olathe, Kansas
7 Months and 26 Days Left

A cold silence hangs in the air between us as she waits for me to respond. There's a look of impatience plastered on her face as I contemplate my answer. This is the very question I seem to have been struggling with for the last few hours. And after the fact, I don't think I'm any closer to an answer. "I don't know yet" I say truthfully.

"Well just so long as you know how I feel about it." She says, turning around to leave.

"Hey Anna," I say before she leaves.

"Yeah."

"Thanks for your concern, I'll be careful." Her posture relaxes a bit and she seems to be relieved that her message got to me. She says nothing before walking away.

Roughly an hour later I receive a visit from my other companion. "We seem to be the topic of the evening." Lucy says entering my room.

"Yeah about that." I say searching for some sort of affirmation of what Anna suspected.

"Jack, I wish we could talk about that I really do, but since we're leaving to fight Hunter tomorrow i'm afraid we've got some other things to talk about." An apologetic look crosses her face as she changes the subject.

"We can talk strategy tomorrow, right now we need to talk about what happened." I say persisting. "I mean, first you shoot me in the neck to get rid of my friends, then you kiss me saying we have to take chances before it's too late... I... I just don't get it." I plea hoping for an explanation. She only stands there staring back at me in silence. Sadness, solace, and confusion evident on her face.

"I... I thought you forgave me for that!" She says after a few moments, I can see tears starting to form at the corner of her eyes. "A... And do you want to know why I kissed you!? I kissed you because I thought I could trust you!! But apparently I can't." She continues her voice becoming more fragile and hurt with every word. Then she turns around and walks out looking more hurt than ever.

"Lucy wait!" I say realizing how much I've messed up. Getting up from my desk I follow her into the hallway. She stops for a moment.

"Just don't." The words make me freeze in my tracks. She lets them hang in the air before walking away.

I go to sleep that night wondering how I'm going to fix this and how tomorrow will play out.

* * *

4:38 AM
November 25, 2019
Olathe, Kansas
7 Months and 25 Days Left

I wake up the next morning having gotten little sleep. Pulling myself out of bed I walked downstairs to the living room to find Anna asleep on the couch. Her eyes flicker open and she sits up as I approach. "There's another bed in Lucy's room you know." I say inquiring as to why she was sleeping on the couch.

"You mean you didn't hear her." She says rubbing her eyes.

"Who, Lucy?" I say worried.

"Yeah, for some reason she cried herself to sleep last night, I tried to comfort her but I think I made her mad." She responds yawning. "I hate to think it was something I might have said. I mean yeah we argue but, I didn't think it affected her that much." She continued.

"It's not anything you did, is she still in there?" I ask Anna hoping to be able to make amends before we leave to fight Hunter.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" She replies yawning.

"I'll explain later, thanks for letting me know." I say as I disappear back up the steps.

"Anytime." She calls after me. I don't respond, I'm too focused on getting to Lucy.

"Lucy I..." I start as I open the door to find the sheets on her bed in a disarray. She's nowhere to be found, the only trace of her are a few burn marks leading to a charred and broken window. She's been taken by Hunter.