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

but we had to push on. She loved Hawke with everything she had but she was happy before he came along. She’d be happy now that he was gone. “I’ve covered for you as much as possible, but if you don’t work today Tony is going to fire you.”
    “Good call.”
    I wanted to scream. “I can’t cover all of the bills, Frankie. I don’t make enough money.”
    “Like I said, I have my savings.”
    When she was unreasonable like this I couldn’t talk to her. I stormed out of her bedroom and slammed the door. I loved Frankie like family but her depression was really taking a nosedive.
    I called Axel, someone I spoke to on a daily basis now. “Hey, can you talk?” I assumed he was at work.
    “Yeah, I’m at my desk. You can call me whenever you want. What’s up?”
    “Frankie…”
    “What did she do now?”
    “She refuses to go to work. I’ve covered her shifts as much as possible but my manager said he’d fire her if she doesn’t come in today. I don’t know what to do…I can’t pay all the bills on my own.”
    “Don’t worry about that,” he said. “I’ve got her covered.”
    “What…?”
    “If she’s not going to class, then she’s definitely not going to work. I can cover her bills as long as she needs it. Right now, we need to focus on getting her back to class. That job doesn’t matter. She won’t need it when she graduates anyway.”
    Gratitude washed through me in waves. The last thing I wanted to do was ask my parents for money to cover Frankie’s expenses. I’d resort to anything else before that. “Thank you.”
    “Don’t thank me. I’m not going to let my sister’s break-up ruin your life.”
    “It’s not ruining my life…but it’s nice to have one less thing to worry about.”
    “When is your rent due?”
    “The first.”
    “Alright. I’ll write you a check when I come by.”
    “Okay.”
    “How is she today?”
    I didn’t even want to answer.
    “Nevermind.” He sighed into the phone. “Forget I asked.”
    “That’ll probably be best.”
    ***
    My photography class just ended and I was walking to the parking lot when Cade came to my side.
    “Hey. Haven’t seen you in a while.”
    I hadn’t spoken to him since that horrific night in the bar. Actually, I hadn’t thought about him either. “Hey. How are things?”
    “They’re okay.” He walked beside me with his hands in his pockets.
    “How’s Aaron?”
    “He’s back on his feet and going back to school. But he was pretty messed up.”
    I can imagine. “I’m glad to hear it.” Cade was the next guy on my list. I thought he was really cute and smart. He had a nice body, the athletic type. I was really into him until recently—when Axel started coming around.
    “So, when are we going to go out?” he asked. “Now that the dust has settled.”
    I didn’t know how I could make that happen. What kind of friend would I be if I went out on a date with Cade while my best friend stayed home and sulked in silence? I’d probably spend the night, which would make things worse. “I’m not sure but now isn’t the best time.”
    “Why not?”
    I didn’t want to tell him about Francesca. I wanted to protect her privacy as much as possible. When people asked why she wasn’t in class I said she was sick. “Francesca is really under the weather and I should probably keep an eye on her.”              “But you can’t keep an eye on her all the time, right?” He nudged me in the side playfully.
    “I guess not…”
    “Then I’ll text you with a time and a place.” He walked with me to my car then stopped at the driver’s door. “I’m thinking dinner—something romantic.”
    “That sounds nice.” I wanted to go out with Cade but now Axel was in the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to date Axel. Our relationship already went as far as it would go. A month had come and gone and he didn’t bring up our night together. He got what he wanted out of me and returned to seeing me as his