Chapter 4Leaving You All Behind

By the time I woke up, it was already bright outside, and there was barely any sign left of last night's storm.

"You're awake?"

I tried to turn my head, but a stabbing pain shot through it.

Ms. Parker handed me a glass of water.

"You never showed up when we'd agreed to meet last night, and you weren't answering your phone. I got worried and called the police. I had no idea it would end up saving your life."

She took the transfer application out of my bag and stamped it.

"Amanda, does your family know about your transfer?"

I stared at the ceiling, confused by the question.

"I called your husband this morning. The first thing he said was, 'Stop pretending.' The hospital tried to contact your family too, but they wanted nothing to do with it. It was like they were afraid to get involved in anything involving you."

I'd expected them to react that way, but hearing it out loud still made my chest ache.

After Ms. Parker helped me finish the hospital paperwork, she left.

I was scrolling through my phone when I saw that Olivia had made a new post.

"I suddenly felt like learning how to bake a cake in the middle of the night, so Mom and Dad got up and started watching tutorials.

"Chester called a chef friend of his for help, and my husband drove dozens of miles to get the baking supplies. 27 years old and still surrounded by so much love!"

Hank was the first to like it, followed by Chester, Mom, and Dad. Three minutes later, all four of them shared the post.

I casually liked Olivia's post and kept scrolling. Less than five minutes later, my phone blew up with dozens of messages.

Hank: "What are you trying to pull now? We're just making a cake with Olivia. Do you really need to be mad about that?"

Chester: "Amanda, you're taking this too far. What gives you the right to threaten Olivia like this?"

Mom and Dad: "Amanda, Olivia is your sister too. She's been through a lot because of you all these years."

My stomach turned.

It had been more than ten hours since my car accident, and not one of them had called to ask if I was okay. But all I did was like Olivia's post, and suddenly they were blowing up my phone.

My expression hardened as I blocked every one of them.

The crash had come out of nowhere, but luckily, I hadn't hurt my legs.

I had a mild concussion, so the hospital kept me for observation for a few days. Once I was discharged, I bought a plane ticket.

Before I headed to the gate, the bridal shop called.

"Ms. Olivia Horton? We finished altering the wedding dress you tried on last time. When would you like to come in for another fitting?"

"There's no need. The wedding's off. And I'm not Olivia. My name is Amanda Horton."

I took the SIM card out of my phone, dropped it into a trash can, and headed for the gate.

"Your flight will depart in 30 minutes. Please have your ID ready for boarding."

A notification suddenly popped up on the account Hank and I shared.

For some reason, Hank had a bad feeling. I'd packed my bags four days ago, so why was I only leaving today?

Chester glanced at the notification and scoffed. "I bet she was never going on a business trip. She's probably hiding from us on purpose. Does she really think this will get our attention?"

Normally, Hank would've thought the same thing. This time, though, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Mom and Dad asked carefully, "Why don't you call that number from the future again? See where she's hiding."

That made Hank feel a little better. He still had the calls from the future to rely on.

He dialed the number.

As soon as the call connected, an unfamiliar woman answered. Hank tried to explain everything, but she had no idea what he was talking about.

"What future call? I just got this number today. It was assigned to me when I got a new SIM."