On a smile, she ended the call. She just wanted one normal night. One night with him in her bed and her in his arms.
The traffic light turned yellow and she slowed to a stop.
BAM!
Someone had rear-ended her. It wasn’t strong enough to set off her airbag, but she’d banged her head against the headrest. She glanced in the mirror. A woman got out. Caroline joined her at the rear of her SUV.
“Whatdidja stop for?” asked the woman.
“Are you hurt?” Caroline asked.
“I dunno, maybe.” She glared at Caroline. “Depends.”
Caroline didn’t have the time or the patience for this. She glanced at her bumper. No damage, but when she ran her fingers over the surface, she felt an indentation.
Great.
“You know, you shoulda kept going,” the woman said. “Thelight was yellow,notred. If I didn’t have excellent reflexes, it woulda been a lot worse.”
As the cars slow-rolled by, someone hurried into the street. “Everything okay?”
Caroline swung her attention toward him. It was Stan from Lost Souls, dressed in street clothes.
“Caroline, is that you?” he walked closer. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“This chick stopped on a yellow.” The woman stared at her completely untouched bumper. “I think I’ve got damage.”
Caroline turned on her phone’s flashlight. “Your car is fine.”
She remembered that the ALPHA vehicles weren’t registered with the Motor Vehicle Administration. Since the damage to her bumper was so minimal, she just needed to move on.
“But my neck.” The woman gripped the back of her neck. “I’m injured. Let me get your contact info?—”
“Look,” Stan interjected, “you’re fine. Are you trying to scam this woman?”
“Excuse me?” barked the stranger. “She stopped short, my fast reflexes are the reason we’re not hurt. This coulda been a lot worse.” She eyed Caroline. “Yeeesh, a lot worse.”
“I need to go.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Stan asked.
“What about me?” the woman pushed back.
Stan regarded Caroline. “I’ll follow you home to make sure you get there safely.”
Caroline didn’t need an escort. “No. Don’t.”
She climbed into her SUV, checked before pulling into traffic, and drove away.
Even though she wasn’t hurt, she started trembling. “It’s good,” she said. “I’m fine. I can check the SUV again when I get home.”
She drove to her condo building, parked beneath the well-lit covered entryway, and got out. The back hatch worked, thevehicle wasn’t making any weird sounds, but she had no idea if that fender bender had caused structural damage. As she was closing the back hatch, Stan pulled up alongside her.
Not again.
“Just checking on you,” he said. “There’s been a bunch of accidents like yours where scammers pretend like they’re hurt.”
