A Shattered Moment (Fractured Lives 1)

“What about you? What would you have done if you had a photographic memory?” I asked, hoping she’d keep talking.

“Definitely something worthwhile like cure cancer or end global warming.”

“That’s cool.”

“I’m actually kidding. I wish I could say I’d use it for something that noble, but I’d probably use it to win Jeopardy! or something like that.”

“Hey, at least you’re honest. You know what I always wondered? Is everyone with a photographic memory a genius, or are there some poor bastards out there who can answer like any question in the world, but still can’t figure out how to change the clock on their microwave?”

“I guess I never considered that,” she answered after actually giggling slightly.

“See, I wonder about these things. Regardless, if nothing else, you could have gone to Vegas and cleaned up counting cards.”

“What exactly is counting cards?”

“Like in blackjack. If you had a photographic memory, you could memorize the cards that were dealt, and you would have a better chance at knowing how many high cards were left in the deck to either bet high or hold back.”

“Sounds like a subject you know quite well. Maybe you’ve done a little card counting.”

“I wish. Imagine being able to pay for school in cash. I’ll be paying off my student loans forever, even with having some scholarship money.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure that will be an issue with me.”

“Trust fund baby?”

“No.” She thumped her bad leg. “My lawyer thinks this will earn me a pretty penny.”

“Right.” I couldn’t seem to stop dragging the conversation back to the topic she obviously wanted to avoid.

“It’s okay. It’s all my parents talk about,” she said, pulling the thoughts from my head. “Not the money, I mean, but the accident. They’re not overly happy it’s dragged out so long.”

“Can’t say I blame them. It’s been a year, right?”

“It’ll be a year and a half next month.”

I let out a low whistle. “That’s seriously fucked-up.”

She laughed at my words. It was the first time I’d heard her laugh that way. I liked it. If anything, she was even more beautiful. “I think my dad would agree with you. He’s not taking the delay that well. I’m just ready for it to be over.”

“I can understand that. Why the delay?”

“It’s a lot of blah-blah-blah, but it all boils down to the blame game. Thankfully, the insurance company finally smartened up and stopped trying to blame us.”

“Why would they blame you guys?”

“Because it’s easy to blame the teenagers. We had to be doing something wrong, right? They figured it out, though, by talking to eyewitnesses and checking the truck driver’s phone records.”

I mulled over her words, not sure what to say. After a few awkward moments, we both returned to studying. I wanted to ask more questions. Everything about her intrigued me. Originally I thought it was because of the accident and the part I played in the situation, like I had some kind of vested interest in her life now, but that wasn’t it. Something about the way she talked made me want to listen. That was the only way I could describe it.

We never really spoke again until she packed up her belongings at seven o’clock on the dot. I followed suit, debating whether I should ask her out for coffee. I tried to get a read on her body language, but it was hard to decipher. One thing was for sure, I didn’t want to make the same mistake as the other night and scare the shit out of her, or take a whack in the head with a cane, for that matter.

Stepping outside, I smiled with satisfaction from the light breeze. A mild front had moved in earlier that day, dropping the temperature to a tolerable level. Now that October was nearly over, we might actually have highs that didn’t reach almost ninety.

“It feels nice out,” I said conversationally.

“We’re getting close to my favorite time of year,” she answered, zipping up her light hoodie. She adjusted her cane to balance her weight and gave me a look of dissatisfaction when she noticed me watching her. “Catch you later,” she muttered, heading down the sidewalk.

“Hey, wait, I’ll walk you to your dorm,” I called out, jogging up to her.