The One who got Away

“Kent’s changed a lot since I’ve last been here,” I said.

“Yeah,” Samuel replied, his face scrunching up in what I could only assume was disgust. “Anyway, Kelly isn’t going to be able to get through the day without a proper meal, so what do you wanna do?”

“Red Roof sounds like a plan,” I offered.

Samuel drained the rest of his beer and nodded. “Then Red Roof it is,” he said, pushing himself to his feet with a grunt. “I’ll call her.”

“Don’t bother,” I said, taking out my phone. “You wanna reach Kelly Logan, you gotta message her.”

Chapter 6: Jenni

“Dammit!”

I turned the key in the ignition, waited for the engine to roar to life, and cursed again when all it did was sputter and die. I slammed my fists against the steering wheel, opened the door and stepped out into the night. The summer breeze that welcomed me was supposed to calm me down, but instead I felt like grabbing a baseball bat and hit on the car.

I had been planning to change the battery a week ago, but never really got around to doing it. Now I was paying the price for my burst of procrastination. I looked up the street, toying with the idea of just walking the rest of the way, then quickly abandoned the notion. The café was at least three miles down the road, and by the time I’d get there, I wouldn’t be able to get any work done anyway. I had a better chance of walking home than trying to get any work done tonight.

I cursed again, kicked at the wheel, and pulled out my phone, trying to decide on whether I should call my dad or Garth.

Definitely, Garth. Dad’s just going to use this as an example of why you can’t be on your own, and he might even bring up the little ‘adventure’ you had in the back room this morning.

Yeah, but Garth was going to be just as useless. He rarely answered the phone anyway, something I had learned early on. And even when he did, he always found some excuse to call you back.

Which never happened.

I scrolled through the contacts on my phone, wondering if I may have saved Pete’s Garage’s number somewhere, when the battery began to blink and the screen went dead.

“Just my fucking luck!”

I kicked at the wheel again, winced with the pain that shot up my leg, and hobbled back to the driver’s door. I took in a deep breath, trying my best to calm my nerves, and let it out in a long sigh. I looked up and down the road, hoping I could maybe hail someone down, but the streets were deserted. You’ll just have to wait.

I looked across the street at the few houses that sat in a huddle around the ballpark, and considered my options. The typical ‘can I use your phone’ excuse might be a little too cliché, and even in Kent, people had begun to lock their doors.

With the spike in recent crime rates, it’s not really a surprise.

I opened the driver’s door, slumped into my seat and closed it with a slam loud enough to portray my frustration. Not that it mattered, really; no one was around to watch me break into a three-year-old’s tantrum. I fished in the glove compartment for a car charger, and when I didn’t find one, slammed that shut, too. The night couldn’t have gotten worse.

Maybe you can get some work done here?

I thought about that for a second, shrugged, and reached for my laptop in the backseat. I took it out, flipped the cover open and waited for it to start up. In the rearview mirror, I spotted twin lights in the distance. For a second, relief washed over me, and then the lights disappeared as the car turned onto another street. I sighed and settled back down, turning my attention back to the laptop.

The battery only had thirteen percent left.

I slammed the lid shut and lay my head back. Why I constantly forgot to charge my electronics, I had no idea. The only thing I was sure of was that if one thing went wrong, everything else probably would to.

“Three dead batteries,” I said to the empty car. “That’s nursery rhyme material right there.”

Another pair of lights illuminated the rearview mirror, and these didn’t swerve onto any other streets. I watched them approach for a few seconds, trying not to get my hopes up, and when I realized that the car might pass me by, I quickly stepped out and waved it down.

The Ford truck slowed to a stop beside me, and I found myself gazing into eyes that seemed to glimmer in the little bit of light that the night had to offer. The man gazing back at me took me by complete surprise, and I found myself lost for words as my eyes traced the strong jaw and cheekbones down to the muscular arm leaning on the open window. Why, hello!

I thanked whatever God was in heaven for the fact that he couldn’t see me blush.

“Jenni?”

I frowned, recognizing the voice immediately, and looked past the hunk in the passenger seat at Samuel Logan. He was leaning on the steering wheel to look at me, and between the two men sat a beautiful girl with thick brunette hair, probably no older than twelve or thirteen, with her eyes glued to her phone.

“Sam!” I cried out, a wave of relief washing over me. “Am I glad to see you!”