“Only Jance’s number,” I said. It didn’t feel right to tell Neil what was going on before Jeremiah’s father knew.
Neil didn’t hesitate this time. He released a deep sigh, sounding regretful when he replied. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to call him right now. He’s still calming down over what happened the other day. Why do you need to get a hold of him?”
Taking in a shaky breath, I ran my gaze along the damaged sides of Jeremiah’s Chiron—at least I thought that was what he had called it. Did it really matter who knew first? “Jeremiah came to pick me up for work this morning, but I’m outside my apartment building next to his abandoned car waiting for the police to arrive. The car looks like it’s been in an accident, and Jeremiah’s nowhere to be found.”
Recounting the nutshell version of the story for the third time didn’t make it feel any more real. It felt like I was stuck in a terrible loop where I was being forced to say things that couldn’t possibly be true.
I walked up to Jeremiah’s car again, tearing up when I saw the extent of the damage to the beautiful interior. Not because I felt anything about this car, but because Jeremiah had been so grateful when I suggested we didn’t eat the Greek sugar cookies I made a while ago in it. What would he say if he saw what it looked like now?
It was then that I realized the airbags had gone off. Both the front and driver’s side door airbags were hanging, deflated against their housing. Another, fresh wave of tears threatened to rise. Airbags only went off if the car got hit really hard, didn’t they?
“Stephanie?” I heard Neil’s voice as though he was talking to me through a plexiglass screen. It was there, but faint and unclear. “Are you still there?”
I blinked back the tears and focused on Jeremiah’s friend. “I’m here. Sorry.”
“I’m on my way to you.” I hadn’t noticed it before, but it sounded like he was running. I heard his footsteps slamming down, and his words were punctuated by his heavier breathing. “I should be there within twenty minutes, probably less. I’ll call Mr. Williams for you while I’m on my way. Hang in there, Steph.”
“Hanging,” I said. “I’ll see you when you get here. Drive safe.”
Hundreds of thousands of car accidents happened every day. People always said things like “your car is more dangerous than flying,” or quoting astronomically high road accident statistics as part of a car’s safety ratings. Despite all that, I’d never thought of driving as particularly dangerous.
Now, I was nervous just knowing Neil had to get in his car right away to come here and that Tiana would be driving to work later. And I was still baffled and terrified because as far as I knew, car accident victims were usually present at the scene of the accident.
Unlike Jeremiah.
“I’ll be right there, Steph,” Neil said, once again reminding me he was on the phone. It was like my brain was a sieve this morning. Things kept leaking out.
“Thanks,” I said, then hung up the phone. Turning away from Jeremiah’s car, I saw Tiana waving her hands above her head as the police rounded the corner. Dread and relief filled my heart simultaneously, and the uncomfortable mix made me nauseous.
“Thank god they’re here,” I whispered, but then the dread part kicked in. Getting them here was one thing, what they would find now that they were here was something entirely different. And it scared the living daylights out of me.